7 Tips for Christmas and New Year Broadcast PR Campaigns

Decorations may already be up in the shops, but broadcasters don’t want to mention Christmas until the first day of December. The BBC is particularly strict about this.

A lot of stations (particularly radio) are reduced to a skeleton staff between Christmas and New Year. As a result, they pre-record some of the programmes earlier in December. So it’s worth booking in campaigns in the lead up to Christmas in the hope they’re also used across the last week of December. Unusually for broadcast, this can result in the same story been used over a prolonged period of time.

There are SOME opportunities however, particularly in news (rather than daytime programming). And, because a lot of people take the best part of two weeks off, spokespeople can be thin on the ground. The reward however, for the client you persuade to be available over the holiday break, is that audience figures are very high, with even more people than usual at home between Christmas and New Year.

Light hearted, cheesy and well, really a bit slushy……in the week leading up to Christmas broadcasters only want good news, upbeat stories. It’s a good time for charity stories too.

Inevitably they’ll cover it, but it’s a competitive field! Broadcasters will be looking out for the quirky and unusual angles.

They say there’s no such thing as an original story, so you’re looking to put a new twist on an old tale here. It’s that water-cooler/in the pub line – the one that you hear on the news, it sticks in your mind and you tell someone about it later in the day….. We know it’s hard and we’re always happy to brainstorm with you. We think losing weight is a very competitive market, so unless the client is specific to that sector, try and avoid.

Blue Monday is always a good one – although you might advise a client to go on the Friday before Blue Monday. The date we pack in our resolutions is also popular. A gain it’s trying to generate an original story.