🎄 Christmas 2023: Campaign Plan

Everything you need to know to plan your Christmas Marketing

This guide provides an overview of the marketing campaign plan for Christmas 2023. It outlines the objectives, strategies, and tactics that will be used to maximise holiday sales and ensure a successful holiday season for hotels and restaurants.

Contents

• How Christmas is Celebrated

• Christmas Spending & Buyer Behaviour Trends

• Christmas Buyer Personas

• Festive Food & Beverage Trends Christmas 2023

• Christmas Marketing Tactics

• Christmas Marketing Resources

• Christmas Marketing Mistakes to Avoid 

• Christmas Marketing Strategy 

Due to the length of this guide, please read it in your browser or the Substack app for the best experience.

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How Christmas is Celebrated

Christmas is a Christian celebration of Jesus Christ's birth, celebrated on December 25th each year. It is a holiday celebrated with gift-giving, decorations, and special meals.

The Christmas season is a significant period for individuals and businesses alike. It allows people to unite and cherish special moments while providing businesses substantial revenue opportunities. This time of year sees a surge in sales and remains important for consumers and hospitality businesses despite fluctuating figures from year to year. 

During the Christmas season, customers in the hospitality industry tend to be more generous and festive, leading to increased spending on luxury items and experiences. 

Hotels and restaurants can tap into this market by offering special promotions and packages, such as holiday-themed menus and decorations, to attract and retain customers.

When it comes to Christmas expenses, one of the most significant outlays for consumers is purchasing gifts for friends and family.

Surprisingly, over half of consumers actually begin shopping for Christmas presents before December arrives. Statista revealed that 16% of shoppers had completed all their intended purchases by December 3rd 2022.

While traditional options such as supermarkets, discount stores and department stores remained popular choices when hunting down Christmas gifts, 78% of consumers opted to purchase from online retailers – clearly establishing it as the preferred choice. More specifically, Amazon, Argos and eBay emerged as top contenders in online retailers where UK shoppers purchased their Christmas gifts. 

❄️ Consider listing your Gift Cards on these popular sites.

In the graph above, we can see the upward trajectory in spend on Alcoholic and edible gifts.

Dinner

Christmas dinner is a holiday season highlight, with families and friends coming together to enjoy a festive meal. Hotels and restaurants can offer special Christmas menus featuring traditional dishes and innovative twists.

According to Google Search Trends, people researching where to eat Christmas Dinner near them peaks in mid-to-late November. So, you must ensure your campaigns are online by October to raise awareness and drive interest. 

Shopping Meals

Christmas shopping can be exhausting, and customers often seek a break and a meal to recharge. During the Christmas shopping period, footfall typically increases significantly, with retail sales rising by as much as 25-30% compared to other times.

Offering shopping meals or packages can attract customers looking for a convenient and enjoyable dining experience. Foods and drinks popular with late-night Christmas shoppers include alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, and handheld snacks. Hot foods such as pizza and hot dogs are also popular, allowing shoppers to recharge quickly. Hot drinks such as tea, coffee, and hot chocolate are often sought after to keep shoppers warm during late-night shopping trips.

Parties - At Venue

Many people celebrate Christmas by attending parties and events at hotels and restaurants. Offering party packages, themed decorations, and entertainment can attract customers looking for a festive and hassle-free celebration.

Source: Google Trends

Parties - At Home

Inflation and the cost of living crisis can significantly impact consumers' budgets, making it challenging for them to enjoy the holiday season fully. However, hotels and restaurants have an opportunity to support consumers by offering services that remove the hassle of hosting Christmas parties at home, while boosting revenue.

The holiday season is the perfect time for hotels and restaurants to provide catering services. By offering a wide range of festive menus and packages, they can cater to customers who prefer to host parties at home but want to avoid the stress of cooking and preparing food. These catering services can include everything from small plates and main courses to desserts and beverages, ensuring that customers have a complete and delicious holiday spread without the need to spend hours in the kitchen.

Hotels and restaurants can also offer party platters that can be easily ordered, picked up, or delivered. Popular platters include a selection of finger foods, snacks, and desserts, providing customers with a convenient and hassle-free solution for hosting holiday gatherings. By offering an array of platters with different themes and options, hotels and restaurants can cater to various tastes and dietary preferences.

DIY kits can be a fab choice for customers who enjoy the experience of cooking and decorating but want to minimise the effort and time required. These kits can include pre-measured ingredients and detailed instructions to help customers prepare festive meals or create holiday-themed treats at home. 

Upload instructions on preparing the meals to YouTube, and encourage your customers to upload videos of themselves cooking to social media. 

DIY kits can range from gingerbread house kits to cookie decorating kits, allowing customers to engage in fun and creative activities with their families without extensive planning or shopping for ingredients.

Work Christmas Party

Searches for Work Christmas party start around mid-September and peak between the end of November and the 17th of December for Australia, New Zealand and the USA. 

Use scarcity marketing messages to drive conversions for people planning at the last minute - e.g. Last Chance to Book, etc.  

Holiday & Travel

Christmas is an opportunity for people to take a break and go on holiday. Hotels and restaurants in popular holiday destinations can leverage this by offering special packages and experiences.

Searches for Christmas Holiday packages begin in September and peak by mid-November.