The rule in our house is that you can only talk about Christmas once Bonfire Night has passed, its my husband’s rule not mine, so I happily break it whenever possible!
I have a Christmas planning meeting on Thursday and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s with a retail client who have been planning Christmas since January 2 this year and we’ll be running through the dates, times, schedules for activities and making sure that there is enough Christmas sparkle and magic on the agenda to guarantee that a good time is had by all.
Planning, nay, good planning is vitally important in communication. Without it opportunities are missed, strategies are not developed and important questions are not raised.
In homes across the country, after November 6 obviously, children will be planning, they will write their letters, form lists and ensure that parents know what to leave out for the big guy on Christmas Eve. Grown ups will have gift lists, food lists, decoration lists and all of the planning will help to make things come together as they wished for December 25.
Planning and being prepared needs to be at the top of the list when we work in PR and communication. We need to work out what we want to happen, when and how. We also need to know what the contingency plan is for as and when things change (best laid plans and all that!)
Because we’ve been planning, we’ve taken the time to look outside of the organisation and its brand, and found out what else is happening across the area where they are based. This has given us some great ideas to tie in with themes adopted by the local council and will hopefully make Christmas feel a little more joined up across that town.
Two weeks ago an email landed in our inboxes, it had in it exciting news, yet to be announced, but totally threw our launch plans, this is where planning pays off, well planning and a flexible approach. Plans have been moved, dates changed and we are on for a great launch with all the elements we had before but on an even bigger scale.
We’ll see what the Christmas planning meeting brings later in the week and over a bite to eat we’ll formulate a plan to make it work. The right people will be around the table and the decisions can be made, after all we’ve planned for it!
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