It’s February 25th – Today marks the 10-month countdown to Christmas. I know, the holiday season just ended not that long ago. Most people won’t think about the holidays for another 8 months or so, but for those of us in Public Relations (PR), now is the time to start thinking about planning for the holiday season. 🌲 ⛄
For example, on the media relations front, long lead holiday editorial opportunities start in early Summer and PR pros need to be ready then to start pitching details to media. Now is the time for PR teams to start having initial conversations with internal PR/Marketing teams and Product Managers to learn about general holiday plans and direction, focus products, campaigns, and events. With this insight, PR shapes a program to complement and augment Marketing and Communications initiatives, campaigns and goals.
Thinking about the holidays 10 months in advance might seem like overkill but planning well in advance is critical for an impactful PR program. PR planning for any major event, tradeshow, holiday or buying season starts many months in advance. For example, while CES 2024 just wrapped up a little over a month ago, you can bet that in just a few weeks from now, PR teams with clients or companies planning to be involved in CES 2025 will be starting to engage with the appropriate teams about initial plans for next year’s event. A rule of thumb in the PR world… PR should always be 10 steps or ~10 months ahead. ⏰ ✅
