Can We Bank On Christmas This Year?

Advertisers revise strategies as we face a more expensive Christmas with more people visiting food banks to make ends meet

British families forced to decide between food or fuel this Christmas, as inflation soars higher than it has been for many years. Retail businesses must consider the mood of the current climate during their busiest time of year, whilst food banks struggle to keep up with the demand.

With the wider geopolitical situation, the pressure of rising energy bills, the universal credit cut, and more, food banks are experiencing a ‘heightened demand’ and increased ‘urgency’, according to Charlotte White, the organiser of Earlsfield Food bank in London.

Being at the forefront of the quandary, Charlotte White said there’s “definitely been a decrease in donations” as many people’s lives have become more difficult, and she said she’s noticed that there are “a few people who are now guests who used to be donors”. This clearly shows the current economic climate and its effects on local communities, and especially with Christmas upcoming she says they anticipate “a really busy few weeks”.

The Co-Op’s unique approach this Christmas

The Chief Executive of Co-Op, Shirine Khoury-Haq, was interviewed on Good Morning Britain, and she commented on Co-Op’s brave choice to drop their Christmas advert this year, and instead to focus on a different project by putting ad funds into ‘Your Local Pantry’. She said that the ad would usually cost “5-10 million pounds or even more”, which could’ve been seen as inconsiderate at a desperate time when “families are deciding to heat their homes or to buy food” and “parents are giving up food so their children can eat”.

The Co-Op’s Head of Group Public Relations Russ Brady said: “Co-Op is more than just a business, it’s a business with purpose” and so they must “think about the community in which they operate and work”. A community in which “buying behaviours have changed” and people “are more conscientious about where they’re buying the food, how they’re buying it and for what purpose”.

The business “started in 1884 and started life as a reaction to social troubles and social injustice”, so therefore ditching the regular advert just “felt like the right thing to do” as it is “keeping within the DNA of Co-Op”, said Russ Brady.

While the convenience store takes a fresh outtake this year, they still believe the initiative got “significant media exposure” and has “been able to strike up some really powerful conversations on social”, but how did their approach differentiate from their competitors?

Customising the ‘Golden Quarter’ to fit the economic climate

Although not all competitors followed suit, Russ Brady said he believes that “there has been a really measured response by retailers and other businesses this Christmas which is in tune with the mood of the nation”; where ‘almost a third of Brits expect to spend less on Christmas this year’ according to Marketing Week.

Matt Bourn, Communications Director at the Advertising Association said to ITV news, that the adverts this year can be ‘broken into three different categories’: ‘Christmas fun’, with the Asda advert featuring the iconic Buddy the Elf. Then, ‘Christmas help’, if we take Tesco’s advert as an example, which has a focus on ‘offers and deals…to help families celebrate the season’ when Britain has a ‘joy shortage’. Lastly, the Charity concept, an approach that John Lewis has clearly grasped by trying to make ‘the UK a better place with social contribution’ through supporting children in care.

Due to the cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation, consumer spending is expected to be the worst it has been in many years and the demand for food banks has risen during these times of austerity. Despite this, the advertising sector has customised its messaging to resonate better with its consumers at a delicate time when an economic recession is looming, giving them hope for the future that we can weather this crisis together.