If you’re a brand that sells a product online, you’ll already be fully aware of how important the Christmas period is for boosting sales and increasing your brand’s visibility online.
It’s the most popular time of the year for shoppers to be actively searching for gifts, deals, and inspiration, meaning it’s the perfect opportunity to maximise your PR and marketing efforts in order to stand out against your competitors.
But while you’re planning your social media campaigns, email marketing pushes, and festive ad spend, don’t forget about the power of press and PR at Christmas. Securing media coverage in the run-up to the festive period can put your products in front of huge, engaged audiences who are hunting for gift ideas – and unlike paid ads, that coverage comes with the credibility of trusted publications recommending your brand in a more natural and authentic way.
If you’re approaching Christmas PR campaigns for the first time and are unsure where to start, we’ve collated our top tips and advice in the blog article below.
What’s in this article:
- What is a Christmas PR campaign?
- Why you need a PR plan for Christmas
- When to start planning your Christmas PR campaign
- How to find journalists for your Christmas PR campaign
- What to include in a Christmas product PR pitch
- Christmas PR examples to inspire your campaign
- Key takeaways
What is a Christmas PR campaign?
Christmas PR campaigns are all about getting your brand seen and talked about during the most competitive shopping season of the year. It’s your chance to ride the wave of festive excitement and make sure your products are right there in front of people when they’re actively hunting for gift ideas for their loved ones.
While ads and social media are great, PR gives you something money can’t buy – credibility. When your product pops up in a national newspaper’s “Top 10 Gifts for Her” list or gets mentioned in a glossy magazine’s “Christmas Home Trends” feature, it comes with the weight of a trusted recommendation which is pure gold during the festive rush.
One of the benefits of running a PR campaign for Christmas is that they can come in many different guises, so no matter what you’re selling and who your target audience is, there’ll be suitable PR tactics that you can use. Here are a few examples:
- Gift guide pitching: Sending your product details, images, and USPs to journalists working on “best gifts” round-ups. This often goes hand-in-hand with offering press samples, so writers can see, test, and photograph your product before deciding to feature it. For physical products, this can make all the difference in getting that all-important inclusion.
- Data-led stories: Commissioning a festive survey or research piece that sparks media coverage. Think “The UK’s Favourite Christmas Film” or “Most Loved/Hated Festive Foods” – but the more unusual and creative, the better.
- Expert tips and advice: Sharing your brand’s expertise in seasonal features, from décor or consumer trends to budgeting tips.
- Creative festive stunts: Limited-edition products and quirky pop-ups that get people talking.
The key is to make sure your brand is part of the festive conversation – not just running ads in the background, but appearing in the features, articles, and social media posts that people actually trust when deciding what to buy.
Done right, a Christmas PR campaign doesn’t just boost sales in December, it can earn you long-lasting brand awareness that carries well into the new year.
Why you need a PR plan for Christmas
The festive season isn’t just busy for shoppers – it’s busy for journalists too. From September onwards (and sometimes even earlier), media outlets are flooded with pitches for gift guides and seasonal features ideas. So, without a clear PR plan, your product risks getting lost in the noise.
A Christmas PR plan helps you:
- Secure valuable coverage in the publications your customers are reading for gift inspiration.
- Stay organised so you’re hitting journalist deadlines (which, as mentioned above, often fall months before Christmas).
- Maximise your story angles so you’re not relying on one pitch to do all the heavy lifting.
- Stand out from competitors who are targeting similar features and audiences.
Christmas PR campaigns give you a chance to get your product in front of people who are already in buying mode. And when those features come from trusted, recognisable media outlets, they carry far more influence than an ad or social post alone.
When to start planning your Christmas PR campaign
If you’re picturing December when you think about Christmas PR, you’re far too late. Many long-lead magazines and national newspapers start planning their festive content as early as July and August! By September, some journalists are actually finalising their gift guides and seasonal features. So, here’s a rough guide you can follow on timings:
- July - August: Start gathering product information, images, pricing, and story ideas.
- September - October: Pitch to long-lead magazines, big national features, and high-profile online gift guides.
- November - December: Target short-lead press, reactive stories, and last-minute gift round-ups.
You'll give yourself the best shot at securing coverage across both long-lead and short-lead media by starting early, and that’s how you keep your brand in the festive spotlight right through to Christmas Eve.
How to find journalists to target with your Christmas PR campaign
A great Christmas PR plan starts with developing a media list of ideal press targets, so that you can get your brand in front of the right people. You could have a fantastic product, case study, or festive stunt, but if you’re sending it to the wrong journalists, it’ll fall flat. You need journalists who are actively covering Christmas content in your niche.
The more relevant your journalist list, the higher your chances of getting coverage – especially when inboxes are overflowing in the run-up to December. Below are five tips on how to find journalists, but if you want more information, we have detailed articles on the best way to contact journalists and how to pitch:
- Search for recent Christmas articles
Use Google News and type in keywords like “Christmas gift guide”, “festive deals”, or “Christmas food trends” alongside your industry.
- Check who’s written similar stories before
Journalists often return to seasonal topics year after year, so past bylines are a goldmine.
- Use media databases wisely
Tools like Roxhill and Vuelio can filter journalists by beat and publication.
- Keep an eye on hashtag requests
#JournoRequest on X (Twitter) and Facebook journalist groups can reveal real-time callouts for festive stories.
- Look locally as well as nationally
Regional press often have strong Christmas coverage and can be easier to land.
What to include in a Christmas product PR pitch
Once you’ve got your media list, the next step is crafting a pitch they actually want to open. Christmas is one of the busiest times of year for media, so you need to make it clear and compelling, and put everything they might need in front of them so they don’t have to come back and ask for more.
A strong Christmas product pitch should include:
- A short, festive-focused subject line that mentions the product and angle right away.
- A clear hook that leads with why your product is relevant this Christmas (e.g. a new launch or trending feature).
- Key product details including name, price, stockists, and a short, snappy description.
- High-quality images that journalists can drop into their pages. Supply hi-res lifestyle and cut-out shots in a Google Folder or another downloadable link.
- Delivery info and deadlines including cut-off dates and whether samples are available.
- Any unique festive extras like limited-edition packaging, seasonal bundles, charity tie-ins, or personalisation options.
Keep your email under 200 words and make it skimmable – journalists will thank you for it, and you’ll stand out against the seasonal spam.
Christmas PR examples to inspire your campaign
Christmas is prime time for brands to get creative – and sometimes, a little eccentric – with their seasonal product launches. From limited-edition festive menus that have customers queuing at the door, to headline-grabbing novelty items that spark online chatter, these ideas prove that thinking outside the box can pay off.
Some brands keep it classy with seasonal flavours, festive packaging, or exclusive bundles designed to tap into the Christmas spirit. Greggs, Starbucks and McDonald’s are great examples of this with their gingerbread and eggnog recipes that become synonymous with the festive season. Others take a bolder approach, launching products that are so unusual they can’t help but generate column inches – whether people love them or loathe them.
And you can’t talk about Christmas campaigns without thinking about the good old UK supermarket Christmas ad war. Every year, the big names – from John Lewis and M&S to Aldi and Sainsbury’s – battle it out for the most talked-about festive commercial. These ads have become cultural events in their own right, sparking social media debates and even influencing shoppers’ brand loyalty over the festive period.
Here are some iconic Christmas PR campaigns from recent years to sprinkle a little inspiration over your own festive plans:
Hungry Horse’s Glitter Gravy
Hungry Horse’s Glitter Gravy campaign was a festive PR triumph, transforming a classic Christmas staple into the UK’s first glitter-infused gravy.
The quirky and highly visual idea was irresistible to media and social audiences, securing instant coverage across national titles, regional outlets, and major viral platforms like UNILAD, Mashable UK, and Metro.
GAME’s Christmas Tinner
GAME’s Christmas Tinner was a tongue-in-cheek PR stunt offering a nine-layered festive dinner in a tin, designed for gamers too immersed in their consoles to break for a proper meal. The outrageous idea generated massive viral buzz, appearing in hundreds of articles across multiple countries.
Mars Wrigley’s No Bounty Tub
Mars Wrigley’s No Bounty Tub jumped right into one of the nation’s longest-running festive debates – should Bounty even be in the Celebrations tub? Off the back of a brand survey revealing that nearly 40% of people can’t stand the coconutty sweet, the company decided to take it out completely in a limited run of tubs.
It was the next step on from the previous year’s “Bounty Return Scheme,” where shoppers could swap their unwanted Bounties for Maltesers. Unsurprisingly, the move got people talking – and arguing – with the story splashed across newspapers, websites, TV, and lighting up social media feeds in the run-up to Christmas.
Cadbury’s Secret Santa Post Office
Cadbury put their own sweet twist on festive giving with their Secret Santa’s Post Office – a pop-up service where you could send a free bar of chocolate to someone you love… but you couldn’t keep it for yourself.
The travelling post office toured busy cities and high-footfall spots across the UK, with a recent version adding an extra feel-good factor: for every bar sent, Cadbury donated another to a food bank in the Trussell Trust network.
Key takeaways
- Christmas PR campaigns help boost brand visibility and credibility during the festive season with gift guides, data-led stories, expert tips, or creative stunts.
- Developing a Christmas PR plan ensures your brand stands out, hits deadlines, maximises story angles, and reaches shoppers ready to buy.
- Start planning your Christmas PR campaigns early. Gather assets in July/August, pitch long-lead in September/October, and pitch short-lead in November/December.
- Build a relevant media list using recent articles, past bylines, media databases, #JournoRequest, and local as well as national press.
- Keep your Christmas pitches short and skimmable with a festive hook, key product details, images, delivery info, and any seasonal extras.
- Looking at successful Christmas PR examples can help inspire ideas. Review creative, bold, and shareable campaigns – from quirky stunts to limited-edition products – drive media coverage and social buzz.
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