The Early Bird Gets the Bauble: Why Christmas Marketing Starts Sooner Every Year

I have certainly noticed the ‘Christmas Creep’ this year have you? I’d literally just got back from my holiday in France on 1st September, popped into Costco and was surrounded by but skeletons and Christmas trees at the same time. Working in the hospitality industry I wrestle with the idea of when to launch our Christmas menu every year. The question of often ask is why does the Christmas Creep drag its way earlier in the year, every year?

Competitive edge

Every year businesses wrangle with the difficult decision of not being the first to launch the Christmas offers and promotions with not being left behind and lost in the crowd. Hospitality and retail are crowded marketplaces so being the first to launch can offer a significant advantage. It allows business to capture consumer interest and attention and in the end potentially securing a larger piece of the holiday spending pie (sorry for the pun).

Addressing consumer concerns

Launching early can in some way help to alleviate consumer concerns surrounding inflation and personal budgets. Payment schemes and booking deposits allow customers to ‘spread the cost of Christmas’. Early purchases also help waylay consumer concerns about supply and demand issues, ‘will they still have them in stock?’ type questions often arise as we creep closer to Christmas.

In the hospitality industry specifically, early launches mean early bookings for parties, family get togethers and corporate events. This allows caterers and restaurants to manage demand which in turn influences staffing and sourcing of ingredients etc. It also helps to build the excitement and allows customers to have ‘something to look forward to’.

Here at The Busy Food Company we agonised long and hard about when to launch our Christmas menu for our restaurant, The View Bar and Bistro, as well as when to distribute our Christmas corporate menus and launch our Foodie Christmas gift hampers. Too soon and we run the risk of ridicule ‘What Christmas already?!’ Too late and we miss out on our slice of the Christmas (minced) pie.

Hopefully, we’ve got it just right and sharing our restaurant menu at the end of September seems to have been the right time as bookings for large events and small gatherings have already started to

come in. In the next week or so, we will be launching our corporate menus which can be delivered to workplaces for team lunches. Finally, towards the end of October we will launch our Christmas hamper range. Perfect for gifts or just as a treat for yourself over the festive period.

To find out more about what we have on offer for Christmas follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook or if you would like any information sending out directly, then please email us at [email protected]