For many PR pros, the days leading up to Christmas can be eerily quiet. After weeks of intense holiday outreach, the somewhat sudden slow down can be jarring – clients taking vacation time, reporters’ OOO emails flooding your inbox.
Which had me thinking, what if Santa was our client? There certainly wouldn’t be a pre-holiday slowdown; instead the opposite would be true, with a flurry of activity right up until Christmas Day.
Here are some of the Santa PR plan elements we would implement:
Run of Show
Santa’s trip brings a whole new meaning to a “Run of Show” doc – the game plan for the day/night is intense and will likely involve tweaking right up until the moment he departs the North Pole. It’s best to make these docs as comprehensive as possible – hourly break downs, contact details for anyone who may need to be reached, etc.
Making a list, and checking it… at least three more times the day before
In the PR biz list development and management are a big part of our job. While building a list may seem like an easy task that can be delegated, it’s not that simple. A good list is of the utmost importance and if I represented Santa you bet I’d be making sure the “Naughty & Nice” columns were accurately color coded and names were spelled properly.
Prepare for anything
Sick reindeer? Faulty GPS? You just never know! If it’s your client’s big day you should always make sure you have a “tool kit” prepared for any situations that could arise. For Santa, I might suggest some Red Bull, an extra navigation system, a flashlight, and extra copies of the “Naughty & Nice” list.
Share, share, share! And encourage more sharing
Social media platforms, from Twitter to Facebook to Instagram and more, are great ways to spread your brand’s message and spark engagement – nothing you haven’t heard before. Same holds true for Old Saint Nick.
Have a crisis plan ready
Hope you never have to turn to your crisis plan, but if anything happens you’ll be glad to have it in place. Things occur that are out of a PR pro’s control – Santa could miss a house, accidentally leave coal for someone who deserved one of those new (yet kind of creepy) Furbys, or maybe even drop his “Naughty” list – imagine what would happen if that ended up in the wrong hands? Have a plan in place for some of the key “worst case” scenarios and know which media you should proactively reach out to in the event any of these situations ever occur.
What if Santa were your client?…