I hope you’re all having a really excellent last month of the year and getting it all done before Christmas.
As I’m about to head off to Vietnam for the Christmas period and given the location of where my family and I are going isn’t some where Christmas is necessarily celebrated I thought I’d reflect on how this might work even in the Australian marketing world. Also a bit of research I found this excellent article from the Purple Goat on inclusive holiday marketing (no relation to the Seth, sorry Seth lovers). I do love how these guys are all in on accessibility with their website projects. OT.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year….well for some.
Not everybody celebrates Christmas, and in an age where we all strive to be more sensitive to different cultures and belief systems, it’s important that our content reflects that.
For many businesses, Christmas is a busy time of the year, and their marketing will be themed towards the festivities that many enjoy and love. However, for customers who don’t celebrate Christmas or have different traditions, this marketing style can fall flat and, at worst, cause them to feel excluded.
While this doesn’t mean a business needs to stop following a festive theme, there are small changes it could make to ensure it includes everybody. Let’s look at how a business can ensure its brand is passionate about creating an inclusive environment for all customers and coworkers.
Keep it neutral – Many people don’t celebrate what the Western world would generally consider a Christian holiday. Traditional Christmas greetings might have religious roots that not everybody subscribes to. Instead of wishing customers a Merry Christmas, keep your language neutral and wish them a wonderful holiday season. You can still share your warmest wishes with your customers!
Tone down the imagery – A lot of Christmas imagery can have strong religious undertones. It won’t have quite the same appeal for customers who don’t celebrate a traditional Christmas. Consider toning down any overly religious Christmas imagery in your marketing and social media. Instead, you could stick to neutral images like snowflakes or fairy lights.
Ask for feedback – A great way to help all customers feel included in your celebrations is to ask them about their own traditions. Inviting customers to share how they celebrate this time of year, or if they celebrate it at all, is a great way to open up a helpful conversation and make room for all customers to feel heard.
Don’t clash – Whatever the time of year, it’s essential to stay mindful of other important holidays you might not celebrate. For example, if you’re running an event that overlaps with an important religious holiday, you can risk causing some customers’ traditions to feel forgotten and unappreciated.
What about me?
Ok, so it might seem I’m anti Christian or anti religious holidays. So I wanted to just put it out there and be true to myself, to be clear I’m absolutely not. In fact I’m a dedicated Christian who knows and loves Jesus, reads his bible every day and prays. Sorry for those of you out there who now think I’m a big-got or worse, the truth is Jesus was inclusive to all people despite their beliefs. I can feel myself going down a rabbit hole here so I’m going to stop and just say Christmas although it has it’s roots in Jesus Christ coming to save all from their sin is also an opportunity to be inclusive to others beliefs and when I say inclusive I don’t always mean totally accepting, judging or condemning. I’m just keen to love my neighbour as myself no matter how freakin annoying they might be.
While in Vietnam I won’t be taking my drone but I am taking my beloved Canon R5 a new Macbook air (to keep in contact) and a DJI Osmo Pocket 2 so I’ll finally have some social media content. Please follow my very underwhelming page.
