Are Tech-Focused Holiday Campaigns Naughty, or Nice?

The thought of elves packing gifts in an automatized fulfillment center doesn’t conjure the same cheerful image as Santa’s workshop. But when used creatively, technology can make miracles happen just in time for the holidays.

Rich in tradition, ritual and nostalgia, it may seem as though cutting-edge technology doesn’t lend well to the holiday season. But technology—which can include anything from the digital platforms we use each day to more cutting-edge experiences—is the closest thing we have to magic. “I think Christmas campaigns try to steer clear of technology,” says Andy Hopkinson, Lead Producer at MediaMonks. “But there’s really nice ways that technology can make the things we do all the time quite fun.” Brands who don’t shy away from tech can realize imaginative campaigns that bring holiday magic to life.

Modernize Tradition

For holiday campaigns, each tradition or symbol becomes opportunity to modernize and add a creative twist. Take letter writing, for example. It’s a yearly tradition for kids to write letters to Santa, detailing their both their good behavior and the gifts they hope to receive.

If any brand has embraced this tradition with gusto and style, it’s Macy’s: the retailer has supported the tradition for years to benefit the Make-A-Wish foundation. Three years ago they upgraded the ritual by asking kids to trade in their paper and pens for an iPad and magical stylus. The Wish Writer pen and its accompanying app—made by JWT New York in collaboration with MediaMonks—allows kids to write digital letters in animated “magic ink.” If they need inspiration for what to say, the app provides several activities that reinforce good behavior, which kids can mention when they Santa if they made the naughty or nice list. The fact that children can write to Santa through a visually exciting digital platform—mirroring how they communicate with friends intuitively—adds a sense of immersion and realism to the campaign.

Digitally Deliver Holiday Cheer

Today’s platforms strive to connect people, so why not use them to deliver holiday cheer in ways that extend beyond a simple social post or hashtag? Just like the Wish Writer example above, supporting native user behavior on popular, everyday platforms can help add a sense of identification or realism. Perhaps one of the most trusted apps for orienting one’s place in the world is Google Maps, so when Google tracks Santa’s activity through the app each year, even Scrooges may have a tough time claiming the jolly holiday mascot isn’t real.

One great starting point for designing an interactive holiday campaign is to consider how everyday platforms can enhance it. When Snapchat unveiled its lens studio, we delivered the holiday cheer straight to users’ phones through a festive world lens. The “world lens,” or small AR model users can place within their surroundings, features well-known Snapchat characters and mascots appropriately dressed for the season on a bank of snow. It’s a bit like putting yourself in a snow globe with the mascots that are brought to life, which you can then share with friends. Because it’s rendered in a communications platform, one can imagine plenty more opportunities for such technology to bring people together—which is what the holidays are all about.

One great starting point for designing an interactive holiday campaign is to consider how everyday platforms can enhance it. When Snapchat unveiled its lens studio, we delivered the holiday cheer straight to users’ phones through a festive world lens. The “world lens,” or small AR model users can place within their surroundings, features well-known Snapchat characters and mascots appropriately dressed for the season on a bank of snow. It’s a bit like putting yourself in a snow globe with the mascots that are brought to life, which you can then share with friends. Because it’s rendered in a communications platform, one can imagine plenty more opportunities for such technology to bring people together—which is what the holidays are all about.

Feeling festive?

Make Miracles Happen

If seeing is believing, then technology can really make holiday dreams come true for your audience—even if they’re not human. Noticing that dogs might feel left out of the holiday festivities by their bipedal family members, gourmet dogfood brand Cesar felt they should be put in charge of a time-honored holiday tradition: designing Christmas sweaters. Fashion design is a bit difficult when you have paws, so Cesar needed a design studio that would help the dogs realize their creative potential to the delight of their masters.

This resulted in a highly advanced yet whimsical scientific lab that’s part Willy Wonka factory, part Santa’s workshop and part scene from The Jetsons. Divided into stations that translate dogs’ everyday actions into design elements, the lab uses imaginative technology that’s also reminiscent of a dog show. “We had to find really simple things that dogs can do that would translate to the design process” said Hopkinson. “How could we make those simple things more fun to watch?” While the dogs are the stars, the technology really does have a presence in the film—it’s tough to determine whether the dogs or the robot are cuter—but thanks to a dynamic, fun design and stylish Christmas elements, the lab never feels sterile.

This is because while the inspiration of the studio was a science lab, vibrant colors and dynamic shapes were used to evoke the sense of fun you’d find in a playground. Instant visual feedback was also baked into the design so the technological aspect would remain fun and not abstract.

“The key thing Cesar wanted us to do is make everything real,” said Hopkinson, highlighting how Cesar’s doggy design studio isn’t just movie magic. In fact, skeptical viewers can watch it all come to life in a behind-the-scenes video augmenting the campaign. “It’s really interesting to see how this came about in reality rather than just the final product. You can see how this stuff truly worked.”

Using tech within your holiday campaigns is all about making the impossible possible and translating imagination to reality. By providing more immersive experiences through tech, you go a long way in impressing your audience and making their holiday wishes come true.