Christmas in July
If you don’t work in PR, you might never have heard the phrase ‘Christmas in July’ before. A staple in the press calendar, Christmas in July is an opportunity for small, creative businesses to get featured in magazines and other press, helping independent businesses drive sales and generate brand awareness.
Christmas in July originally derived from the timing of physical showcases and previews that brands would present to journalists for coverage in Christmas gift guides. It’s now also widely used to describe the concept of starting to pitch your products as Christmas gift ideas to journalists in July.
1
Timing is everything
Long lead publications, such as glossy magazines, work around three or four months in advance throughout the year, but they tend to start their Christmas issues even earlier!
While you’re sipping hot chocolate as you flick through a glossy gift guide in November, PRs and brands will be celebrating that the results of their press pitches from the height of summer have finally paid off.
If you’re reading this and thinking you’ve missed out on Christmas coverage because it’s already July, don’t panic! It’s never too late if you have the right strategy.
Gift guides in magazines are brilliant, of course, but they’re not your only chance to drive sales and brand awareness during festive shopping months. In fact, journalists will still be looking for gift ideas for weekly magazines, broadcast, newspapers, supplements and online titles from late August right through to Christmas.
2
Take a targeted approach
Very often people fall at the first hurdle by pitching to lots of titles that simply aren’t suitable for their brand. As well as being a waste of your time, there’s a risk of annoying a journalist who has taken the time to read a pitch that’s not relevant for them. It’s far better to research properly and pitch to fewer, more relevant journalists.
You can use Readly (which offers a free trial) to research print press and use Google to do the same for online titles, checking out last year’s Christmas gift guides to see if they are a good fit for you when it comes to price ranges and aesthetics.
3
Press-friendly assets
Once you know which guides your brand is a good fit for, it’s time to focus on your assets. At an absolute minimum, journalists need a link to the product online, a short description, a price and one or two hi-res images – ideally one cut-out and one lifestyle.
It’s best practice to also have a succinct and clear press release with key items from your range, plus a link to hi-res imagery that they can look through quickly and easily, rather than having their inbox overloaded with too many images.
Not sure where to start?
Don't panic, we have a range of seminars designed to help small businesses just like you, including our on-demand Introduction to PR session. Watch it back and get detailed insight on how to prep and pitch ahead of the festive season.
