Can we say the C-word yet?
For PR teams, probably. Christmas campaigns are already taking shape, research is being commissioned, talent is being booked and launch dates are starting to land in diaries.
If TV and radio are part of the brief, though, there is another timetable worth thinking about.
In our experience, broadcast tends not to go properly Christmas until December. That matters because a campaign can be perfectly timed for print, online and social, but if its biggest festive moment lands in late November, it may be asking broadcasters to start talking Christmas before their own editorial agenda has really moved there.
That does not mean late November is automatically wrong. It means broadcast timing needs to be part of the conversation when the campaign is being planned, rather than something considered once everything else is fixed.
Timing Is Only One Part Of It
By the time a finished press release reaches us, a lot of the decisions that affect whether something will work for TV and radio may already have been made.
The research is complete, the spokesperson is booked, the launch date is fixed and the campaign assets are finished. There can still be a very good broadcast story in there, but sometimes the opportunity to make it stronger has already disappeared.
A slightly different research question might have produced the statistic that gets discussed on air. A different spokesperson could give the story a stronger human angle. A filming opportunity might turn something that works well for radio into a story television can use too.
Sometimes even moving the date by a week can make more difference than rewriting the press release.
What Will A Broadcaster Actually Have?
One of the most useful things we can do early in a campaign is look at it from the other end.
What will a producer actually have to put on air? Who can they interview? What can they film? Is there enough of a conversation beyond the headline statistic? Does the spokesperson have a genuine reason to be talking about it? And is the story arriving at a point when broadcasters are likely to want it?
Those questions are much easier to answer while the campaign is still taking shape.
It does not mean every idea needs to be rebuilt around broadcast. TV and radio will not be right for every brief. But if broadcast is an important part of the campaign, it is much easier to make it work when it is considered alongside the rest of the planning.
Christmas Makes That Even More Important
Christmas is a particularly crowded part of the calendar. Brands, charities and organisations are all trying to find their place in a shorter editorial window, often with very similar timings.
A good story still matters. So does getting it there at the right point, with the right people and enough for broadcasters to actually do something with it.
So yes, we are saying the C-word in October.
If your Christmas campaign is still taking shape, this is a good time to think about broadcast.
Planning a Christmas campaign with TV or radio in the brief? Talk to Be Broadcast while there is still room to shape it.
