Christmas has a habit of looking comfortably far away until suddenly your calendar is full, everyone wants everything before the break, and January is somehow only a few weeks away.
A little planning now can save a lot of scrambling later.
Use this checklist to work backwards from Christmas and get your marketing, customer communications, gifts and new-year essentials sorted along the way.
The timings below are a planning guide only. Production and delivery times vary depending on the product, quantity and requirements, so check with your local Worldwide team if you have a firm deadline.
If branded gifts are part of your end-of-year plans, start with who they’re for and what they’ll actually use.
Think about your audience, budget and how the product fits your brand before diving into thousands of options. Summer-friendly products such as drinkware and outdoor items can work particularly well at this time of year, while notebooks, technology and premium gifts have year-round appeal.
Already stuck for ideas? Our guide to choosing corporate Christmas gifts people will actually want can help narrow things down.
Your checklist:
With inboxes especially busy towards the end of the year, a printed Christmas card gives you a more personal way to thank clients, suppliers and staff.
And people do still pay attention to mail. Recent Australian research commissioned by the Visual Media Association and conducted by Vypr found 84% of Australians always or often open and read addressed mail.
The card itself doesn’t need to be complicated. Good design, your branding and a genuine message will usually do more than trying to squeeze in a sales pitch.
Your checklist:
Christmas isn’t the only thing approaching.
Summer can bring end-of-year functions, outdoor events, community activities, conferences and January promotions. Check what you already have and what might need replacing or updating.
That could include banners, flags, signage, promotional products, branded drinkware or other event collateral.
It’s also worth checking that anything coming out of storage still has the right logo, contact details and messaging. A banner can last for years. Unfortunately, the phone number printed on it can too.
Your checklist:
Running a seasonal offer, Christmas campaign or New Year promotion?
Now’s the time to work out what you’ll need across print and digital, rather than designing each piece separately as the deadline gets closer.
Depending on your campaign, that might include point-of-sale material, flyers, packaging, inserts, posters, signage, social graphics or email artwork.
Your checklist:
January has a habit of arriving very quickly after the Christmas break.
If you use branded calendars, now is a good time to get them onto the list. They can work as customer giveaways, staff resources or a practical way to keep your brand visible throughout the year.
It’s also worth thinking beyond calendars. If you already know you have campaigns, events or promotions happening early in the new year, getting the groundwork underway now will make the return from holidays much easier.
Your checklist:
Before everyone switches into end-of-year mode, think about what your business will need from day one when you re-open.
That might include January promotions, event materials, new-year signage, updated brochures or anything your team needs to get moving again.
A little prep now means you’re not spending the first week back chasing approvals for something that could have been sorted before Christmas.
Your checklist:
Once your Christmas and New Year hours are confirmed, make them easy for customers to find.
Update the places people are most likely to check, including your website, Google Business Profile and social channels. If customers visit your premises, consider whether you also need printed signage.
And don’t forget the smaller touchpoints, such as email signatures and automated replies.
Your checklist:
Do one final check.
Have your Christmas communications gone out? Are your trading hours correct everywhere? Are your January materials ready? Is anything sitting in someone’s inbox waiting for approval?
Then you can close the laptop with considerably fewer January surprises waiting for you.
Your local Worldwide team can help with design, print, signage and promotional products, from Christmas cards and calendars to summer event collateral.
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