This Christmas the advertisers that chose to fling their hats into the festive Super Bowl ring were also presented with the added challenge of a cost of living crisis. With budgets for both advertisers and consumers tight, this year the onus is on value.

Marketers want to get the most out of their spend and equally customers are looking for brands that can add that special something to the festive season. Yet with the likes of Iceland and Co-op sidestepping a star-studded ad in favour of lower prices and giving back to the community, choosing not to invest in marketing has become a communication strategy in its own right.

Balancing short-term strategies like price slashing and long-term brand building that proves that products are worth investing in is a challenge year round. But in the key sales period of Christmas, it's a balance which is particularly acute.

With this in mind, we asked industry leaders, do brands need to do more to redefine value to consumers in the run-up to Christmas?

The lengthy and somewhat overwhelming run up to Christmas is a minefield for brands, with more and more desensitised consumers either switching off from Christmas advertising entirely, or distracted by worrying increases in household costs.

While the cost-of-living crisis has understandably caused brands to focus on affordability, I think brands need to do more to retain and define the aspirational value they bring. Defining the meaningful value of a brand is ultimately what makes it worth paying more for. 

That means not justifying price but justifying your role in the lives of consumers. Whether that role is to bring joy, serve a practical need or enable a little bit of frivolous enjoyment, there is room for all these things at Christmas. They all add some form of value and brands need to be single minded and unapologetic about celebrating exactly what it is they bring to the Christmas table, so to speak.

This Christmas, brands need to go beyond just talking about prices. Successful brands will be the ones that understand and respond to what customers really value, creating connections that go beyond festive consumerism. Amidst the turmoil of war, emerging COVID variants, and the escalating cost-of-living crisis, consumers want more than brands serving them idealistic Christmas ads.

One brand that has nailed this is the supermarket chain Iceland. This year, Iceland chose to skip a traditional TV Christmas ad in favour of price cuts. Bypassing an expensive, celebrity-endorsed ad doesn’t just resonate with their regular customers, but also with a huge portion of the population struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. According to new data by the Advertising Association and World Advertising Research Centre, advertisers are expected to spend a record £9.5bn during this festive season. By skipping on tradition and rejecting a festive-themed ad, Iceland is addressing an issue so many consumers will face at Christmas this year and giving back to those who need it.

Brands that can establish these emotional and impactful connections contribute to a more meaningful and resonant Christmas experience, transcending the transactional to create brand loyalty. In doing so, they not only navigate the challenges of the present but also sow the seeds for enduring customer loyalty in the future.

The Christmas season is always a mixed bag for UK consumers. A sense of warmth and togetherness, coupled with yearly recurring concerns about the cost of all that cheer and sparkle. And frankly (and unsurprisingly) in 2023 it looks like Brits will be spending more and getting less.

A stat shared previously in Marketing Week indicated that 79% of UK consumers will be cutting back on non-food items this year – couple that with the rising cost of food and other essentials, we’ll be spending more on filling our dinner plates but missing out on getting seconds.

With everyone feeling so stretched, should brands be doing more? Not necessarily. It isn’t about a confetti approach to marketing. Brands need to mean more. In a cluttered space, with a limited basket spend, brands need to get specific about the moment they connect with, the problem they solve, or the emotion they enable. Looking at vertical campaigns that speak to people through the most relevant and meaningful channels. Whether it is a focused creator campaign that will travel into media but speaks clearly to your target audience with tangible and measurable commercial outcomes or it’s a partnership that enhances your brand’s relevance and drives immediacy at a time when consumers are putting off unnecessary purchases – being insight driven and human-first in your approach really has never been more important.

Definitely. With the Advertising Association saying £9.5 billion will be spent on Xmas ads this year, there is definitely some fat to trim off that turkey. One place advertisers can deliver better value is to reappraise their production processes and consider using 3D real-time design (such as Unreal Engine) and virtual production.

By exploiting the benefits of real-time 3D, such as being able to reuse recurring animated characters such as Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot year after year, or removing the need for one-use hugely expensive sets, you can achieve cost savings of up to 80% when compared to traditional workflows. And a 30% to 40% reduction in project timelines. With virtual production, TV spots can cost an estimated 30% to 40% less than with traditional methods. Large productions, like so many Christmas ads, can now be completed for £25 million instead of £75 million.

All of which can be delivered back to the consumer as added value. Brands need to recognise that it’s not just the money that matters to consumers, but the impact on the world around them and that the months spent making them could be better used in lowering prices and creating a better all-around experience.

There’s an increasing level of scepticism from consumers questioning if brands are doing enough and truly acting in the interests of the nation. They aren’t looking for token gestures, they’re looking for an on-going commitment to value, so Christmas should be a continuation of that commitment, rather than a radical new approach.

But an on-going commitment to value is only the ‘what’. ‘How’ brands communicate value doesn’t need to be rational and earnest. I would argue Christmas is the time when brands can bring value through entertainment and escapism, more so than at any  other time of  year.

This is exactly what we set out to do in Tesco’s Christmas campaign, an entertaining piece of escapism underpinned by great value - with Print and Social that have prices and headlines that make you smile, Christmas markets springing up in Tesco car parks across the country where you can sample products and get into the festive spirit, and 150 in-store Santa’s Grottos offering families the chance to meet Santa for free.

Value is not always just about how good an offer is, sometimes it’s about what it allows the consumer to achieve, and that’s something brands should look to emphasise. Sustainability, for example, is an area that is easily overlooked amidst the pre-Christmas shopping peak, but it resonates with consumers of all ages, particularly Gen Z. This generation is greener than its predecessors, thinking green, voting green, and, ideally, shopping green. However, they often find the price range of quality items from fashion to electronics unaffordable, forcing them to turn to cheaper, less durable or sustainable alternatives like fast fashion and dupe electronics. It’s a challenge they are actively trying to address, from buying less to using Black Friday deals to shop for preloved items.

And brands are taking notice. Last week, Amazon opened its first Second Chance store, where shoppers can buy returned and refurbished goods for discounted prices. It’s a clever move from a brand whose business model is a celebration of consumerism, focused on delivering multiple items as quickly as possible. This should be a wake-up call to all businesses; if even ecommerce giants are trying to offer more sustainable ways to shop, the topic has to be high on any brand’s agenda.

So this Christmas and the year ahead, if brands want to connect with Gen Z shoppers, they should focus on delivering value – but also showing their values in actions. Our research shows that 91% of Gen Z shoppers are willing to pay extra for brands that support the causes they care about and sustainability is high on that list. That’s a clear initiative for brands to up their game and provide Gen Z with more ethical ways to shop with the brands they love.

In the lead-up to Christmas, the redefinition of value for consumers should transcend the traditional notions of discounts and promotions. It's crucial for brands to recognise that value isn't static; rather, it should continuously evolve, starting from the initial stages of advertising throughout the year. Understanding consumer desires and preferences should serve as the guiding principle in this journey.

Listening attentively to the consumer's voice allows brands to discern their needs, aspirations, and pain points. This invaluable insight forms the foundation for proactive and reactive strategies aimed at enhancing brand engagement. By leveraging this understanding, brands can craft tailored promotions, experiences, and offerings that resonate deeply with their audience.

Moreover, the modern consumer engages with brands across various touchpoints. Establishing a robust presence and maintaining brand awareness across multiple channels is indispensable. Whether it's through social media, DOOH, immersive in-store experiences, or other mediums such as CTV, consistent and strategic communication reinforces the brand's value proposition.

Effectively driving consumers to the bottom of the sales funnel demands an active approach. It involves not just attracting attention but also nurturing relationships and trust. Brands that prioritise consumer-centric strategies, adapting to their evolving needs and preferences, stand a better chance of fostering lasting connections and driving conversions.

Therefore, as we approach the festive season, the focus should extend beyond mere transactional value. It's about creating an ecosystem where consumers feel heard, understood, and valued. By embracing this ethos and weaving it into every facet of their operations, brands can forge stronger connections, foster loyalty, and truly redefine value for consumers in the run-up to Christmas and beyond.

Unless brands want to compete on price alone and win a race to the bottom - which is surely a victory as bittersweet as an unwanted Christmas gift - then the answer has to be a big yes. And a yes with bells on at Christmas. At the more "logical" end of things value can be the quality of the product, an added service or freebie, but at the more "emotional" (and arguably Christmassy) end, it can also be a pure feel-good factor.

At Lucky Generals, we work with Co-op who have a very different value equation to any of the other retailers. Whilst the other players spend millions of pounds in the battle of the Christmas adverts, Co-op is doing things differently and keeping it simple by focussing on giving the 'gift of community spirit' this Christmas, calling on donations from its members and customers, which Co-op pledges to match.

We recognise that giving is tougher for people to do this year, but no less important to them and to their communities. But at Co-op, community isn't just for Christmas, or a trite marketing ploy or one-off CSR gesture. Co-op gives back to its Members and their communities all year round through the power of cooperation.

Generosity is scientifically proven to make people feel happy, it’s good for our health and it promotes social connection. What could be more valuable than that right now?

Christmas – it’s an expensive time of year isn’t it!  

Grandma, Caroline Duddridge from Cardiff, first made the national news in Nov 2022 when she told BBC Radio 5Live she was charging the members of her family for Christmas dinner and she’s in the news again this year saying she’s doing the same thing and she doesn’t care if people think she’s Scrooge.

What Caroline has shown is something all retailers and supermarkets are acutely aware of – that Christmas costs and the financial pressure associated with putting on the perfect Christmas is both considerable and stressful, especially if you are the host.

So, what does that mean for the retailer and supermarkets as they figure out how best to address this

Many retailers have taken a ‘do Christmas your way and don’t feel pressured to deliver the perfect traditional Christmas that might break the bank’.

This is a good strategy but as ever shoppers don’t respond to strategy, they respond to the comms, actions and experiences the strategy give rise to and for many retailers this has resulted in a rejection of many of the most well liked traditions that define Christmas.

So perhaps its better to take a leaf out of Caroline’s book and offer ways to share the load to get to the ideal result. That can mean helping shoppers plan, offering different ways to shop early, buy smartly, get premium quality at standard tier prices, spread the costs over several pay-checks and, most of all, focus on things that don’t cost anything like sharing, fun, humour, kindness and inclusion.

Doing Christmas ‘your way’ with your own traditions is great, but so are the old traditions too which you can still do ‘your-way’ – at the Christmas table there’s room for them all.