It’s Christmas Planning Time
It’s that time of year again and that means Christmas is just around the corner. It’s when it can feel like there is plenty of time to organise that Christmas window display or activation but in fact it is almost too late…don’t worry I said almost!
In this blog I will go through some key strategies to ensure that you and your team are on track for a successful Festive season.
Westfield Carousel Christmas Visual Display Unit | Design Merchants
Brand-Aligned Christmas Visual Strategy
At it’s essence this is making sure that you have the foundations right first before layering on top of them. This will ensure that any Christmas visual merchandising and themes ‘speak’ in your brand voice.
Develop a Cohesive Strategy: Create a Christmas campaign strategy that reflects your brand's visual identity. This strategy should be rooted in your existing style guides and visual merchandising manual.
Align with Campaign Goals: Ensure your visual strategy supports your campaign objectives and resonates with current trends.
Consistent Brand Recognition: Maintain a consistent brand presence across all customer touchpoints, defining key elements like colour palette, style, and prop guidelines.
The Westin Perth Christmas High Tea Installation | Design Merchants
Integrating Christmas Trends
Research Relevant Trends: Identify trends that complement your product or service offerings.
Adapt and Align: Tailor these trends to fit your brand, while ensuring cohesion with your products.
Be Consistent: Keep to a consistent theme for your overall Christmas decorations, main display focal points, e.g. window display and first key hot spot displays.
Cockburn Gateway Floral VM Display | Design Merchants
Planning Display Locations
External Displays: Focus on window displays, entrance activations, outdoor decorations and signage that draw customers in.
Internal Displays: Highlight product hotspots, key wall fixtures, accent areas, and counter zones within your store.
Tailored Displays: Customize displays to suit different product types, such as entertaining and gift items.
Montauk Lighting Co. | Design Merchants | Photo Alana Blowfield
Timeline and Budget
Feasibility Check: Evaluate ideas against your timeline and budget constraints.
Plan Ahead for Large Installations: Ideally for large scale decorations and installation you would have started planning in the first half of the year, especially if you’re considering offshore fabrication.
Smaller Setups (or more last minute): Utilize local suppliers, pre-made items, or repurpose existing decorations.
Note: At the latest planning and booking suppliers should be completed by September, with October for production and November/ early December focused on installation.
Cockburn Gateway Shopping Centre | Black Friday Activation
Transition Periods
Create a Seasonal Calendar: Outline key dates for October to January and focus areas to ensure smooth transitions between major events.
From Black Friday to Christmas: Plan for seamless shifts in displays to offer unique customer experiences beyond just sales.
Synergy Opportunities: Explore ways to integrate Black Friday promotions with Christmas shopping to maximize impact.
Shine Enex Christmas Activation | Design Merchants
Action Steps
Define your overall brand and visual strategy for the Christmas campaign.
Research and select trends that align with your brand identity.
Compile a comprehensive list of planned display locations.
Develop a detailed timeline and budget for executing your visual merchandising.
Plan a transition strategy between pre-Christmas events and the peak holiday season.
Successful Christmas visual merchandising hinges on aligning your displays with your brand, integrating relevant trends, and planning every customer touchpoint. By starting early, setting your budget and organizing your timeline, you can create a seamless and impactful festive shopping experience for your customers that stands out. Now is the time to bring your brand’s festive vision to life.
Until next time,
Juliet