Staying on brand during the holidays card graphic

The holiday season is in full swing and you are most likely in the midst of hanging lights and drinking peppermint mochas, but is your brand holiday-ready? As tempting as it is to incorporate every reindeer and snowflake graphic that pops up on Pinterest, it’s important to still maintain your brand recognition. Here are a few guidelines that will help add some cheer while staying on brand and keeping your identity at the forefront:

Keep your logo intact and visible.

Now isn’t the time to replace your mark with a Christmas tree. Or to change your type to a scripty holiday font. Your logo should still be highly visible and unchanged. If you’re feeling really festive and want to incorporate your mark into a holiday theme in some way (i.e. your mark as a snowflake or an ornament on a tree), then go for it. But don’t forgo using your actual logo.

Keep your color palette.

Using all red and green when your colors are purple and gray isn’t going to make anyone recall your brand (unless you are a highly recognizable brand like Starbucks). If you want to add some holiday color, consider adding a luxurious, rich, warm accent color. Something that conjures feelings of warm fireplaces on snowy nights. Or going monochromatic, such as silver or gold, feels very elegant and merry, while being different but not too off-brand.

Green snowflake featuring Jets logo showing holiday brand identity

Tailor your messaging.

Tweaking your tagline or message is a good way to include the holiday spirit. Just make sure to keep it in the same voice as the rest of the year. If you typically have a serious and deliberate tone, now is not the time to be cutesy and humorous. And be sensitive to the fact that the holidays don’t mean “Christmas” for everyone. Keep your holiday marketing more general to the season so as not to alienate your audience.

Keep it fresh.

Consider updating your holiday approach each season. Using the same idea over and over each year can feel dated and tired. Take Starbucks for example. While they are known for their holiday cups, people eagerly await each year to see what the NEW design will be. If they were to parade out the same cup every year there definitely would not be the hype and anticipation that their holiday brand is now known for.

Don’t overdo the cheer.

It’s fun to get in the holiday spirit, but that doesn’t mean it should overtake your brand. Acknowledging the holidays and spreading some joy is absolutely acceptable but make sure that your brand doesn’t get buried in the eggnog and sleigh bells. Keep your message on point and make sure it’s still meeting your business objectives.

The goal is finding the connection between the joy of the season and your own brand. It’s a fleeting time of year that luckily, we get to do all over again next year!


Profile photo of Erin Rogers, Creative Director at Jet Marketing Erin Rogers, Creative Director at Jet Marketing

Erin is busy this holiday season trying to help her 3 year old resist the urge to cover every square inch of the house in holiday trinkets. Let’s not even talk about the outside decorations.