Founder and CEO of JSA+Partners, a strategic communications firm working with consumer tech, digital media and gaming companies.
For many consumer brands, the holiday season can make or break yearly revenue targets. One of the most cost-effective ways to help boost sales is to drive awareness with editorial placements in holiday gift guides. For the average consumer, gift guides from trusted experts and tastemakers have always served as convenient sources of inspiration, making guide placement a no-brainer for brands hoping to cash in on the most lucrative season of the year.
Grabbing attention in such sought-after space, however, requires a strong pitch and product, and a thoughtful and proactive strategy to match.
1. Early bird gets the round-up.
While PR has built a reputation for its incredibly real-time pace, holiday pitching breaks the norm. Unlike the rapid breaking news cycle, holiday shopping content is produced seasonally and cyclically, which offers the luxury of time to plan and execute.
Depending on the opportunity and lead time, many journalists begin sourcing and reviewing products months in advance, and PR teams should start the pitching process as soon as July.
Why start so early? In many cases, reporters want to test, review or audit products before suggesting them to readers. This applies to gift guides with thoughtfully curated recommendations that project a focus on quality over quantity. Even for reputable brands considered household names, getting a product in journalists’ hands significantly increases the chances of being included in gift guides and shopping round-ups.
Considering that top journalists can receive upward of a thousand pitches per day, it’s crucial to allow ample time for product testing and familiarization. Brands must earn reporter loyalty in the same way they do with any customer, and their PR teams need to build trusted relationships with those reporters in order to compete for editorial placements.
2. Be a trend forecaster, not a trend follower.
Success in PR is often contingent on an awareness of trends, but landing longer-lead holiday placements requires an even greater knack for thinking ahead. While Gen-Z’s love of baggy denim and ’90s revival fashion might dictate their spending habits today, who’s to say those trends will last the next six months?
Rather than relying on what’s “of the moment” to determine the products and themes within your pitch, pay attention to expert predictions on what will be trending by the time holiday coverage rolls in.
There are countless resources readily available, from consumer surveys to industry-specific forecasts that predict consumer spending patterns. For example, the US Holiday 2022 Review and Holiday 2023 Preview from Insider Intelligence predicted value-oriented spending this year, which means mainstream media will likely prioritize value-first products when compiling their shopping guides and gift recommendations. This insight can help you determine which products to pitch, what specs and features to highlight, and the best language to use when describing them.
Trend forecasts also offer predictions by specific demographic and category. Since holiday gift guides are often segmented—think “best new games for teens” or “practical gifts for busy dads”—PR should structure pitches accordingly.
3. Don’t knock ‘the other’ shopping seasons.
While winter holiday gift guides are considered the Holy Grail of earned media, it’s important to remember other key seasonal opportunities. Even if Mother’s Day and graduation aren’t the most lucrative moments for a brand, they can act as vital touch points that help them stay top-of-mind with journalists.
Relationship-building is a cardinal practice for PR pros, and consistently pitching editorial stakeholders can serve you well, assuming your pitches are relevant and add value. Sourcing products is a full-time job for market and commerce editors, and they’re looking for any timely opportunity that motivates readers to click, share and repeat.
The National Retail Federation predicts back-to-college shopping will reach record highs this year at $94 billion, about a $20 billion increase from 2022. Beyond offering a sales bump, landing placements for back-to-school and other gifting holidays can ladder up to more editorial coverage during the winter holidays, since those placements will have contributed to the brand’s overall exposure and resulting popularity.
Furthermore, the reporters compiling gift round-ups for Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day are typically the same people for the winter holidays, so fostering those relationships throughout the year will make your pitches stand out.
4. Optimize marketing and retail strategies to support your efforts.
Even if a PR pro has the strongest reporter relationships, the wittiest pitches and the best strategy, there are factors within the broader business and marketing mix that play vital roles in determining which products are awarded spots in holiday gift guides. Though a PR department or agency only has so much control over these external variables, there are certain recommendations that can improve the success of the business and your gift guide outreach.
Beyond the obvious marketing essentials like high-quality photography and a robust digital presence, brands that join affiliate networks can widen the net of outlets willing to include their product in holiday gift guides. In light of a steady decline in ad sales, many major publishers are seeking alternative revenue sources.
Affiliate programs offer a commission for each sale generated from a publisher’s article or round-up, and as a result, many major publishers have opted to feature affiliate products exclusively. That rule is then mandated to the journalists who curate products for editorial gift guides, meaning brands that fail to participate in commission-based programs are left out entirely.
A brand’s retail strategy can also work to their advantage when vying for placements in top-tier gift guides. The biggest mainstream outlets often prioritize products available to purchase from Amazon, big-box retailers and major department stores. Diversifying retail strategy beyond direct-to-consumer can significantly increase earned media potential.
While their content may be inherently superficial compared to a feature story or analytical piece, holiday gift guides are a crucial piece of the puzzle for consumer brands looking to drive awareness, traffic and, ultimately, sales. As is the case for all areas of communications, a solid, specialized strategy is the only surefire path to success.
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