OOH Ad Review: Selfridges Christmas Billboard

Each year the Christmas advertising arms race intensifies as brands rush to be the first to pedal their Xmas wares.

Selfridge has fired the first shots in the Xmas sales war, by opening a Christmas shop 137 days before Christmas, the first department store in the world to do so.

Of course, Father Christmas was on hand to cut the red ribbon and open the store which saw its first full Christmas range hit the shelves on 4th September.

The store even pulled back the launch of its Christmas food selection a month earlier than usual, in early August rather than late October.

One of the reasons for this unseasonal display of jollity is to capture the summer vacation market, selling Christmassy souvenirs to holiday goers visiting in peak tourist season. It saves adding many miles to Santa’s journey, one presumes.

The Selfridge Christmas shop also caters for those extremely well-prepared customers who like to buy and wrap their Xmas gifts well in advance to help take the load off in what can often be a busy and stressful time of year. This helps them put their focus on relaxing with friends and family, and to spend some quality time drinking all that Selfridges eggnog.

Selfridges 2017 Christmas billboard

Selfridges Christmas campaign extends beyond their store opening with a Christmas billboard display in Birmingham’s Bullring shopping centre.

The popular shopping centre attracts over a million visitors a week at Christmas time.

The billboard design has been kept simple yet unmistakable: a besequined Santa striding towards us across a snowy landscape accompanied by the copy, “gather, give and beautify.”

The emphasis on the communal, giving aspects of Christmas, accompanied by the apparent urgency of Santa’s stride speaks to those who want to beat the crowds whilst imbuing festivities with a touch of luxury.

Selfridges and out-of-home

Selfridges, like other iconic department stores such as Harrods, John Lewis and Marks and Spencers, has an air of tradition about it.

But they are constantly striving to stay relevant in a changing retail environment.

Their store sports an Internet of Things section, positioning the brand for the anticipated wide scale takeup of IoT. This ties in with their focus on integrating the digital and the real wherever possible, with an app whcih allows you to create wishlists and make in-store product reservations, an innovative in-app Instagram store and more.

And when they embrace the potential of out-of-home advertising they grab the bull by both hornes. Last year’s Chritsmas display saw 12 of their 16 Oxford Street window displays adorned with life sized Santas, relaxing in a hot tub of baubles, dancing under a disco ball and manning the decks at a club. Not so much murder on the dance floor, as sleighing on the dance floor.

Selfridge don’t do anything by halves. They beat the compeition to an early doors Christmas opening, go huge on their in-store products and displays, and emblazen large billboards with upfront Christmas propaganda. No doubt they’ll be ho-ho-hoing all the way to the bank.

Booking Billboards for Christmas Advertising

To ensure your business reaches seasonal shoppers this winter, start booking your Christmas out-of-home advertising space now. Read our blog post about how to beat the big brands at Christmas to find out more.