6 Marketing Techniques Father Christmas Would Use to Reinforce His Brand

When you think of Father Christmas, you don’t really associate him with a brand or refer to his workshop in the North pole as a business but, in essence, that’s really what it is. Considering Father Christmas has been a staple festive figure for centuries across the world, he must be doing something right in order to keep his brand and his image in the hearts and minds of, not only children, but adults everywhere. As such, we thought we would delve deeper into how Father Christmas runs his workshop together with how he uses marketing to reinforce his image. You never know, maybe you could learn a few things from the man in the red suit.

1. He has a solid reputation for being trustworthy & reliable

You know that every single year, Father Christmas is going to come down your chimney and leave you some goodies, without fail, come rain or shine, he will never let you down. That is something that a business needs to remember when it comes to their customer service and customer retention techniques. 

Take a leaf out of Santa’s book and become a brand that can always be trusted and relied upon to deliver high-quality goods and unrivalled services. Where your customers might not be able to set their watch to you, they certainly will be able to set their watch to Father Christmas’ operations.

2. He always delivers on time

Touching on the reliability side of things again, Father Christmas always comes on time. You know that you’ll go to bed on Christmas Eve night and wake up the next morning with presents to open, come what may. Where Father Christmas delivers gifts himself and doesn’t rely on couriers to do the work for him, some businesses have no choice but to rely on a third party to get goods to people’s front doors. If this is something you need to do, then do your research into the couriers that are available to you. If you’re only left with the big names, then make sure you have a strategy in place for if deliveries go missing or arrive damaged.

3. He encourages conversation

Father Christmas encourages children to write to him, asking him for gifts they want if they’ve been good throughout the year. That gets the conversation going, even more so if children then receive a reply from Father Christmas himself, which is something that either the parents will do, or that the Royal Mail will do for you if you send it to a certain address. 

No matter how that happens, children are getting involved in conversation with Father Christmas, engaging with both him and his brand as a whole. This is something that businesses can do effectively through social media. It’s free and easy to do and it’s also the most simple and quick way of receiving feedback and encouraging conversation between your customers, or between yourself and your customers. The more conversation that occurs with your business at the centre, the more positive press you’ll receive.

4. He rewards loyalty & good behaviour

Like any business, Father Christmas wants to make sure his brand is prominent in the minds of boys and girls all over the world. Not only does this ensure his own job security, but also that of his elves’. There are many reasons as to why he has continued to spend many centuries darting across the globe delivering presents, eating mince pies and cookies and drinking anything from a cold glass of milk to a brandy, and one of those reasons is his ability to reward good behaviour and, above all else, loyalty.

You might be wondering how loyalty comes into play when it comes to Father Christmas. How do you be loyal to someone you’ve never seen and who only visits your house once a year? Well that side of things lies in your ability to believe in him. It also comes from those children who take the time out to write to him and to visit him at his grotto. People who believe and who keep the magic alive are all loyal to Father Christmas and his brand. Without those things, we could end up in a world without the big man and we wouldn’t want that.

5. He has a solid team at the helm of his operations (& everyone knows it)

We all talk about Father Christmas, but he has a team behind him that makes his operations possible: his reindeer and his elves. This is the same for many businesses, regardless of how large or established you are. An average business has a strong workforce behind them, often working on different things or in different departments. 

However, teamwork comes in when they all come together to execute the work that’s required, and that’s the same for Father Christmas. Without the elves, there would be no presents to send, and without the reindeer, you can’t deliver anything. Father Christmas also has his own role to play, because without his face at the forefront, you don’t have a brand.

6. He has had (& continues to have) an excellent brand image around the world

You see Father Christmas everywhere. His face is on decorations, wrapping paper, on the television, on Coca Cola bottles, on mugs and on plates, you name it, his image is on everything around the festive season. Where you’re not required to go quite that far for your own business, it’s still important to get your brand and your image out there. Much like when it comes to getting the conversation started, you can do this effortlessly through the joys of social media. Again, it’s free but effective, so why wouldn’t you do all you can to get as much exposure as possible, just like Santa?

Kumo is a digital marketing agency with over two decades of experience in the industry. We have a team of SEO, PPC, content writing and website design specialists who are dedicated to providing unrivalled digital marketing services that will set your business apart from the crowd. For further information about how we can help you today, get in touch with a member of our expert team – we’re always pleased to hear from you.