Every November, the same creative question appears: how do we make this feel more Christmassy?
I think the better question is what customers should recognise when we do.
A festive campaign can change the mood, the imagery and the occasion. It should still feel connected to the business behind it. If the only recognisable element is a logo squeezed into the corner, I would revisit the idea before producing another version.
My background spans sport, agencies and hospitality, including work at Leeds Rhinos and Expo City Dubai. Those are different environments, but they all put the brand in places beyond an advert: venues, customer communications, events and the experience people actually receive. That is the lens I would bring to a Christmas campaign.
Make the season an expression of the brand
Coca-Cola’s Christmas truck is a useful visual example. The red vehicle, prominent wordmark and festive lights bring the season into a recognisable brand world. Coca-Cola’s own account of the truck connects its advertising origins with the physical tour experience.
What interests me is the connection between those touchpoints. A truck on the street and a Christmas advert are very different formats, yet the visual idea can travel between them.
I would ask a smaller business the same question: which existing assets can carry our seasonal story? It might be a distinctive colour, a familiar illustration style, a product shape or a tone of voice. Start there before adding snowflakes to everything.
A photograph of Coca-Cola’s Christmas truck in Germany, 2023. Photo: WikiGenesis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Displayed at a smaller size; no further edits.
Build something people can look forward to
Starbucks offers another useful example. Its official history of holiday cups dates the first designs to 1997 and describes how their return became part of the season. The first cups were not red; that colour arrived two years later.
For me, the lesson is about a repeatable occasion. A seasonal idea can have room for fresh creative while keeping something familiar at its centre.
That does not mean every business needs limited-edition packaging. A restaurant could develop a recognisable festive dining experience. A service business could publish an annual, genuinely useful customer guide. A sports organisation could create a consistent way to welcome families during seasonal events.
I would choose the idea that fits the audience and the business, then consider whether it could become stronger through repetition.
Historical Starbucks holiday cup photograph, taken in 2015. Photo: Hiro – Kokoro☆Photo, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Uses the existing Commons crop, displayed smaller; no further edits. This is not a 2026 cup design.
Brief the customer occasion, not just the artwork
I would want the brief to explain what the customer is trying to do at Christmas.
Are they choosing a gift, organising a group booking, planning a family outing or looking for reassurance before a busy period? Each need suggests different information and a different reason to act.
A hospitality campaign promising an effortless celebration needs clear booking details and a credible service experience. A gift campaign needs delivery information and useful product guidance. Festive styling cannot compensate for confusion at the point of purchase.
My experience across hospitality and sport makes that connection between communication and delivery especially relevant. I would bring the people responsible for the actual experience into the brief early, rather than asking them to support a promise after it has already been advertised.
Keep a few things fixed
I would agree the boundaries before the asset list grows: the central promise, the main offer, the visual elements that must remain recognisable and the claims we can support.
Then I would give each channel room to work. An email needs a useful subject line. A venue needs clear signs. A social video needs an opening that earns attention. Consistency should help those formats feel related without forcing them to behave identically.
This builds on One Brand, Every Channel, but Christmas adds a useful pressure test: can the brand take on a different mood and still feel like itself?
Review the whole journey before launch
Before signing off, I would walk through the experience in order: advert, landing page, enquiry or purchase, confirmation and fulfilment.
I would check dates, availability, offer wording and the next step. I would also check how the campaign ends. Old festive messaging hanging around in January can make a carefully planned launch feel neglected.
The same discipline applies if AI helps produce seasonal copy or design variations. I would use the approved brief and examples as inputs, then check the outputs for invented offers, inconsistent language and unrealistic promises.
My starting point this Christmas would be simple: choose one customer occasion, one recognisable brand idea and one experience the team can deliver well. Build the festive creative around those decisions. That gives the campaign a reason to exist beyond looking seasonal.
