Was I going to bother you with a Thursday ThoughtSpark over the Christmas break?

No I was NOT!

Why?

Because we’re having a break.

That means time off. Rest. Relaxation.

And while many of you have been kind enough to say you find these bulletins entertaining and/or interesting, they’re still about professional matters and should not intrude on your personal time.

Someone said to me a few years back that they thought it a brilliant bit of marketing to send out DM during people’s festive downtime. They talked about ‘cut through’ and ‘holiday eyeballs’.

What utter rubbish.

Unless your message and offer are truly of the seasonal moment.

Otherwise, recipients will just think you’re a nitwit who doesn’t know it’s Christmas!

It’s true we’re all wedded to our computers – perhaps picking up Christmas e-greetings from family or friends. Or running the Christmas quiz. Or looking up the facts to diffuse a seasonal debate.

But holiday time is time off… not a time to be hit with inappropriate marketing.

Let me give you a personal example of the good and the truly ugly.

Ugly first.

I looked at what came into my inbox on Christmas Day(!)

An automated bank message. That’s OK. An advert from Norton. Same – I expect these to be automated. A prize draw (don’t mind that either as someone might want to enter in their Xmas cloud of booze!).

But the one about selling our business.. and asking for an appointment the next day!!!?

And there’s a car leasing offer.

And there’s a recruitment company asking if we’re hiring.

I’ll tell you what these say to me…

… “You can’t even be bothered to programme your automated email to miss out Christmas Day!!!”

Badly done indeed.

Then, on Boxing Day I got some more…

The first one, in contrast the Christmas Day debacle, it was an example of ace targeting.

A specific Boxing Day offer on Boxing Day for great deals that came available only on Boxing Day.

Similarly, there was a message from a chocolatier with a message about New Year chocs for loved ones you hadn’t seen over Christmas.

What could be better? These messages had been specifically programmed to drop on Boxing Day, and for a very good reason.

So at the start of 2025, may I suggest we all remember the greatest marketing advice ever…

“Always put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask whether you would find the message/offer convincing, appropriate and TIMELY?”

I hope you find these bulletins entertaining. I’m happy to discuss all relevant engagements – from customer community creation, to directorial mentoring, to strategy development, to thought-leadership content development, to full campaign structuring and management, and more.

Do get in touch!