The festive season is fast approaching (unless you’re in retail, then it is old news) and now is the time that businesses start to think about sending out some sort of corporate message to their clients.
We at Evans Graphics are not ones for the traditional business Christmas card. No offence to those who are but we like to do something a little more festive than your bog standard card.
There are some amazing examples of corporate Christmas card designs out there. Mercedes as an example, puts their brand front and centre so it looks and feels Mercedes whilst still communicating to the recipient that it’s a Christmas card.
However, it’s still just a card. Whilst a Christmas card is the traditional approach why not try something a little different?
Why not try a cardboard slot together reindeer or snowman complete with Christmas message?
Why not brighten up the office of your clients by sending them a Christmas tree standee?
Why not a routed Ho Ho Ho ornament signed by everyone in your business?
Use the most wonderful time of the year as an opportunity to break away from your competitors and send something that no one else would think of.
Something your clients won’t expect.
Make your company the one that everyone remembers. Make your Christmas message the last one that gets put away after the Christmas break.
If you create something like a decoration or prop, there’s every chance they’ll keep it for next year so your throwaway card becomes a fixture in their Christmas celebrations and that brings with it good will, good cheer and, hopefully, some business.
Christmas is a great opportunity to do things a little differently and to really have fun with it.
Whatever the design, whatever your business does or the message that accompanies your decoration or cut out can be as much about making a statement as it is about wishing your customers ‘happy holidays’.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as with any piece of design, the object of the exercise is to create something that the audience – the recipient in this case – will enjoy and share with friends and colleagues.
Here are a couple of other things to consider:
Make it You
Whilst this is an opportunity to do something different, understanding the part your identity can play can really help when it comes to inspiration. Unless you’re going for a generic ‘Happy Christmas’ vibe, it should be immediately obvious your organisation is the sender.
Looking to your brand will also make it much easier to lock down the colours you want to feature. Whilst Christmas has a palette of its own, there’s nothing to say you have to use it. After all, this is your business, your brand and your design.
The Message
When we say message we don’t mean the bit in the middle but what you want to communicate to your audience.
Knowing what you want to say beyond your name and theirs is a pretty important step. Outwardly the mood is festive but the message should be, to your clients that you are thinking of them.
It does no harm to your cause if your clients’ employees are talking about your Christmas cut out. Better still, include a letter, festively designed on good quality paper to really set the tone.
Design
Whilst you may have settled on a cardboard snowman or slot-together trees for everyone’s desks, the design is still an important part of making your bespoke Christmas ‘card’ unforgettable. Having established your brand and your key message you need to tackle the design. If you’re very lucky the process would have revealed a creative direction to move in.
If so then great but otherwise you really are only limited by your imagination and your festive cheer.
Your card can be warm; it can be cheeky or self-deprecating. It can look handmade or it can be a piece of printed & laser cut MDF. It can be made from wood, cardboard or acrylic.
Whatever your choice all that matters is your custom card excites the people receiving it be it through the material you’ve chosen, the message inside or the design.
It is Christmas after all.
