How to Land Coverage during the Christmas Season

The annual debate has started; how soon is too soon to put up the Christmas tree?

A similar debate also happens in PR; how soon is too soon for Christmas stories, and do all stories around this time of year need to be Christmas related?

It may seem that all the stories unless they’re hard news, have some relation to Christmas in December, but that isn’t and shouldn’t always be the case. 

For PRs, hanging one single campaign on Christmas can be very risky – what happens if it flops and you don’t quite find the right angle? You can’t wait until next year to re-pitch!

In this blog, I will share my top four tips on how to break through the noise during the Christmas period. 

1. Other News

Although it may not feel like it, other news is happening during the holiday season, but it may be a bit harder to cut through the noise. As with anything it’s all about finding the right angle and breaking through the Christmas coverage. 

Often outreaching to specific niches, such as property, where Christmas is not as much of a big discussion point, you will find success. 

2. Christmas Stories

If you do plan on outreaching Christmas campaigns and stories, consider building in other angles in case the Christmas related one do not land well with the press, and you fail in hitting KPIs. More reactive stories tend to suit this time of year, those where not much research and resources are needed to be put into them. 

3. The “Quiet” Week

Many agencies, including the team here at Kaizen, are lucky enough to have the week between Christmas and New Year off, and this is also a time when many journalists are on holiday. However, the outlets still need stories to fill the pages. 

Using tools such as BuzzStream to schedule outreach for the quieter period means that you may be opening your laptop to coverage come the 4th of January. With so many journalists often away this period, try sending to general desks instead, as most outlets will usually have at least one person operating the desk.

4. New Year

It happens every year, “New Year, New Me” stories come out. Weight loss case studies and money-saving hacks become the norm as we intend to kick off the New Year with good habits. However, people often forget that these stories start on the 1st of January – not the 4th of January when you’re back in the office. 

Like my last tip, schedule these stories to be outreached on the days before you return to the office. It means you get in ahead of the crowd, and clients love kicking off the New Year with coverage!

Interested in working with our team of Digital PR experts this holiday season? Get in touch today.