Prepare Now for Christmas in July Events, says Punch Communications

While carols, eggnog and Santa Claus are still over half a year away, for many PR people and journalists the festive season comes early this summer with an influx of Christmas in July events. Integrated PR, search and social media agency Punch Communications advises that consumer brands with Christmas and winter-specific products should act now to ensure they don’t miss out on listings in those all-important festive gift guides.

“We are already seeing a large volume of requests from journalists asking to be invited to Christmas in July events. While it may seem early, especially as we are only just entering summer, it is important to remember that many consumer publications work at least three months in advance and we all know that Christmas fever starts gripping the nation from around October, and even earlier in some instances!” explains Georgina Dunkley, account director at the online PR agency.

“Events of this nature not only provide excellent opportunities for brands to meet with their key media and build relationships in an informal setting, but they also allow journalists to touch, see, smell and, in some instances, taste the products for themselves. It can be difficult to fully describe the quality and benefits of a product via the telephone; Christmas in July events remove this barrier and allow the media to get a true picture of the festive products that will be available on the market while identifying the season’s ‘must-haves’.”

Brands initiating a SEO campaign to support their seasonal products should also commence activity immediately. “Building up the rankings of keywords can take time, so brands need to invest resource now to ensure that when Christmas shopping arrives, they have secured strong rankings for their terms in search engines,” Georgina concludes.

Punch Communications is a leading PR, social media and SEO agency. For more information visit www.punchcomms.com.