Well, ‘tis the season after all. And Santa is the key influencer at the global brand of Christmas, a huge part of the marketing hype that takes over every year and the spokesperson for the holiday season. If you’re a B2B company, it makes a big difference if Santa is using your software because he has the potential to reach seven billion people, even if that is by climbing down their chimneys.
Santa is interesting because he self-selects the consumers that he chooses to reach. Like Grey Poupon, he maintains an air of exclusivity, except his particular brand relies not on marketing to the elite but on marketing to those who align with the ethos of his brand. He rewards those who are good and punishes those who are naughty.
In many ways, it’s the ultimate form of gamification. Santa’s followers spend the whole year scoring points in the hope of ranking towards the top of a leaderboard. Those who are naughty get a consolation prize in the form of coal in their stockings. Those who are nice get the iPhone X.
Inbound Marketing
Santa generates the majority of his leads from inbound marketing, which is all about bringing potential customers to you through the creation of great content instead of interrupting them with intrusive messaging in the middle of TV shows or magazines. In Santa’s case, his offer (presents!) is strong enough to guarantee an action.
That’s right. Santa knows his target audience (children), and he knows that by deploying a tempting offer, he can convert them from visitors to actual leads. And his target audience is more than happy to give him their contact details in exchange for something of value, which in this case tends to be carried by a sleigh and a team of reindeer and left beneath the tree on Christmas Eve.
Santa is also well aware of the power of branding, which is why he always wears red and why he never shaves. Like all good public figures, he can be recognised on sight. He’s also mastered the power of the franchise, which is why you can find one of his elves pretending to be him all over the world on the run-up to Christmas. Spoiler alert: those Santas at the mall aren’t the real Santa. But they look like him because they follow his brand guidelines.
Conclusion
It’s pretty clear that Santa is a master marketer. He’s always in demand, particularly at this time of year, and he has a personal brand that leaves people feeling warm and content when they interact with it. Most marketers would kill to have a brand like he has, and who can blame them?
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Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.