This is the season for joy and merriment! From the streets to malls, in-stores to our social media feeds, festive decorations abound, creating a magical atmosphere. As we eagerly anticipate the arrival of December 25th, brands are strategically gearing up for a grand finale to the year. They’re diligently crafting products, promotions, and communication messages specifically tailored for the Christmas season. In this festive flurry, the magic of brand strategy takes center stage, guiding these seasonal endeavors to create a lasting impact. Witness the enchantment as brands employ thoughtful strategies to make this holiday season truly memorable.

In contrast to our Western counterparts, Christmas holds a less pervasive cultural significance in the East. While a few countries may embrace the festivities, it’s primarily viewed as a time for exchanging gifts and coming together, with a diminished emphasis on its cultural roots. Each year, brands in the East launch aesthetically pleasing and limited edition products, incorporating festive elements like Santa Claus, snowflakes, and sparkles into their initiatives. However, the Christmas packaging often leans on common tropes and clichés associated with the holiday, resulting in marketing efforts that can feel derivative and monotonous. This is particularly notable for Asian customers who may not share the same cultural associations with Christmas as their Western counterparts. To break free from this monotony and resonate more authentically, brands in the East can leverage the power of brand strategy to infuse a unique and culturally relevant touch into their holiday marketing campaigns.

However, within the holiday marketing landscape, certain brands demonstrate ingenuity by crafting fresh and creative campaigns that reimagine traditional Christmas expressions. Going beyond the commercial dimension, these festive initiatives are infused with heart-warming and emotionally resonant messages, all while skillfully reflecting the brand’s offerings and core values. In this article, we will delve into four compelling examples of brands in Asia that have executed their festive campaigns with a thoughtful touch, showcasing how a strategic approach to brand strategy can elevate seasonal marketing endeavors.

Examples of brands with Christmas Edition Packaging.

Brand Strategy of Levi’s Philippines: Making Memories with a Personalized Gift

For Levi’s, the brand understood that the festive is fundamentally about love and family to the Filipino audience. For their Christmas ad this year, the context of Christmas is set as “the season of giving”. The ad follows a loving father personalizing a Levi’s denim jacket with studs for his visually impaired son with a message that reads “Anywhere you go, I’ll always be here – Papa”. 

Levi’s Philippines Holiday 2018 Advertisement.

Drawing to the Christmas gift-giving tradition, Levi’s decoded and understood the language of gifting as an expression of love. The personalized denim jacket is not just a piece of apparel that the brand is trying to sell, but a symbol of the father’s unconditional love, encouragement and support for his son. In a direct yet understated manner, the ad was also able to communicate the brand’s latest Levi’s Tailor Shop initiative, which allows one to customize gifts for his or her special someone, while still maintaining the cheery and heart-warming tone traditionally related to the occasion.

Reception of the advertisement proved that it did enough to tug the hearts of the Filipinos. Within a month, the ad garnered 2.8 million views and generated more than 145,000 engagements on Facebook, including more than 32,000 shares and 3,000 comments. 

Brand Strategy of Alaska Milk Cooperation: A Different First Christmas

Alaska, a member of Royal FrieslandCampina, is a home-grown manufacturer of milk products in The Philippines and has provided affordable nutrition to Filipino homes over the last four decades.

The company’s festive ad narrates the story of a Filipino family who is celebrating Christmas a little differently this year. With the recent loss of her mother, the female protagonist decides to make her mother’s signature dish Sapin-Sapin, a Christmas dessert delicacy made with Alaska Milk, using the family’s heirloom recipe. The dish brings back the memories associated with her mother and unites the family again, bringing back the joy of the season. 

Alaska Milk’s Christmas Advertisement (First Christmas).

The tear-jerking advertisement depicts what Christmas, an important occasion for Filipino families celebrated with a feast, is like when it is combined with the pain of a recent loss. Alaska tucked the heartstring of its audience with a strong understanding of what magkasama (togetherness) meant to Filipinos. It showcased an interaction that goes beyond the physical touch, and taps deeply into love, emotion and memories, all brought together by the familiar taste of a family recipe. The unconventional approach to tie the passing of a loved one with a joyous occasion like Christmas further highlights the importance of strong family ties to the Filipinos, and is extremely relevant to consumers as it speaks the unspoken emotions of grief and celebration.

Comments from Netizen in response to Alaska Milk’s Christmas Advertisement #FirstChristmas

Brand Strategy of Singapore Airlines: Gifts That Close the Distance

Seated in forward-facing rows, away from the distraction of phones, instant messages and emails, flying is both an onward and inward process. With little to do, thoughts and emotions are heightened as the environment allows for a quiet moment of self-introspection. Singapore Airlines recognizes that flying provides this distinct experience to their travelers and elaborates this idea in their Christmas ad. The ad features a businessman who travels frequently and receives surprises from his daughter in his bag every time he is up in the air. As his daughter grows older, the gifts become fewer and farther in between. But for one Christmas, she decides to bring back the tradition with a surprise for her father. 

Singapore Airline’s Christmas Advertisement (The Briefcase).

Relating to the occasion of Christmas as a season of giving, Singapore Airlines demonstrated the impact of gifts as an expression of love through a child-parent interaction, which is similarly seen in Levi’s ad. It also featured a cultural insight observed amongst Singaporeans – that the expression of love in a child-parent interaction evolves with age, shifting from emblematic moments derived from everyday life to milestone events in life (e.g. pregnancy). The slogan “You are never far from those you love” also reflects travellers’ heightened yearning to be with their loved ones during the festive periods.

By telling a personal and memorable story from the traveller’s perspective, Singapore Airlines adopted a different approach with its festive communication. While maintaining an emphasis on the delightful in-flight experience, Singapore Airlines also presented itself as a medium of a travelling journey. 

Brand Strategy of KFC China: A Fully Recharged Merry Christmas

Distinct from the familiar analogy of Christmas being a season of joy and giving, KFC China interprets the occasion as a time for people to recharge their hearts and soul at the end of a year. This is delivered through its Christmas ad featuring a young rural-to-urban dweller working in Shanghai. Feeling demoralized by work, she wonders if she should continue pursuing her aspirations or settle for a pre-arranged role in her hometown. While deciding between persevering or giving up, she is reminded of her aspirations for Shanghai and the support from her friends to keep her going. 

KFC China’s Christmas Advertisement.

This holiday advertisement strikes a powerful chord with Chinese consumers, particularly resonating with the substantial number of urban dwellers who have ventured from their hometowns in pursuit of greater aspirations and a more fulfilling life in larger cities. In the face of life’s perpetual challenges, the journey requires persistent effort and unwavering commitment. Acknowledging this, KFC China strategically positions itself as a haven for weary souls looking to rejuvenate after a demanding year through the comfort of delicious soul food. In a brand strategy that goes beyond mere advertising, KFC China embodies the role of a compassionate store manager—a trusted friend who has borne witness to one’s hardships and struggles, offering constant moral support throughout the journey.

As part of the Christmas campaign, KFC China also launched activations across the country where it converted outlets into “recharging stations”. Consumers are encouraged to write a letter to themselves and their loved ones to conclude the year while making resolutions for the new year. 

Brand activation efforts from KFC China for its “Stay Recharged” campaign.

What Can Brands Learn From This?

While Christmas in Asia may have evolved into a more secular celebration with diminished cultural emphasis, brands can enhance their festive campaigns by weaving narratives that evoke emotional resonance with their target audience. To achieve a successful and impactful communication strategy for the occasion, brand marketers should strategically incorporate key elements. Brand strategy plays a crucial role in this process, guiding the formulation of messages that not only align with the festive spirit but also authentically reflect the brand’s identity and values. By considering these factors, brands can effectively connect with their audience during the holiday season and create lasting impressions that extend beyond the festivities.

• What does this festive occasion mean to the target audience?
• How does the brand offering relate to the festive occasion?
• How is the festive occasion celebrated in different markets that drives cultural insights for the distinct behaviors?
• How can these cultural insights be integrated into the marketing communication – through visuals, a narrative thread or verbal messaging?

Crafting an effective brand communication campaign involves striking a balance between tugging at the heartstrings of the target audience and effectively conveying the functional benefits of products or services. When it comes to festive messaging, emphasizing the relevance of the brand’s offerings alongside the intent and cultural interpretation of the occasion is paramount. An impactful expression is one that integrates cultural insights seamlessly, going beyond surface-level appeals. In this context, a well-executed brand strategy becomes essential, ensuring that the campaign not only resonates emotionally but also aligns with the brand’s overall objectives and values.

As we round up the year with Christmas drawing close, it is also time for you to consider how to best represent your brand during the festive holidays in the new year.