Happy holidays! See you in 2024

It's the end of another year, one that has heralded the dawn of a new technological era with the explosive potential of generative artificial intelligence for both our personal and professional lives. But it was also a challenging year, where tech platforms and agencies alike battled economic headwinds and felt the sting of layoffs and cost cuts.

If there's one thing 2023 has taught us, it's that standing still is the kiss of death. How often this year did we hear someone preach about creatives, planners, advertisers and retailers all must embrace technology or be put out of work by others who do. 

So, whilst the Campaign Asia editorial team dares to take a year-end break (Campaign Asia-Pacific, China and Japan will cease publishing until the New Year), we are nonetheless reminded by repeated stale end-of-year holiday traditions about just how important this industry is to ensuring that even old brands and practices can embrace future-forward culture and stay relevant to needs and desires of consumers today.

We thus leave you, using Christmas as an example, of five ways that marketing professionals could help save holiday traditions from standing still and being swept aside into the dustbin of anachronism.

Embrace modern ecommerce for better customer service

While ecommerce sites like Lazada, Amazon and Shopee pride themselves on precisely tracking the delivery of your holiday gifts with the help of advanced logistics technology, Santa's North Pole-based delivery service stubbornly remains an antiquated magic-driven platform.  Not only are gift packages untraceable to everyone, but they all come with an inflexible one-date-fits-all delivery time of Christmas morning, no exceptions. Children seeking confirmation of their orders are instructed to write out letters by mail and seldom receive a response. In this age of personalisation this is simply unacceptable and archaic customer experience. An agency could easily help Santa map out a stronger customer journey and tackle the challenges to more seamless CX.

Embrace neurodiversity

Having a nice list and a naughty list in this day and age is too simplistic. Many who appear unattentive, disinterested or who act out publicly may be dealing with conditions that make their behaviours appear inappropriate, but they may make up for it in other ways. Indeed some marketing professionals feel their neurodiversity could be a superpower if understood but are held back due to black-and-white judgment. We encourage Santa to attend Merlee Jayme's Misfits Camp before making rash decisions.

Give credit where it is due—to women

Most Christmas tropes involve North Pole scenes like the ones below, with Santa surrounded by toy-making elves.

All the credit for the magic of Christmas is directed towards males. Oh sure, there's the occasional outdated sexist reference to Mrs. Claus providing moral support or baking cookies in the back kitchen to let the boys do their important work. But as any family that has celebrated Christmas knows, it is actually the women of the family who most often take on the responsibility for, and year after year consistently, the real holiday magic in the form of decorating, wrapping, stocking, cooking, baking, organising and cheering. Too often, women do the work that remains unsung.  It's time for Santa and his boys' club to do what more brands, agencies and platforms are doing in recognising and celebrating the amazing work their women do. 

Improve your brand messaging

Every brand needs a change in their tagline now and again. "Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas" has gotten so stale that no literally no one can make the 'ho, ho, ho' sound either natural or anything like laughter. Use your retainer and please send the brief over to your branding agency. 

Use artificial intelligence for greater efficiency

Can we really lecture someone who delivers gifts to the entire world in one night on efficiency? In ages past, certainly not. But as we pointed out in the first section, companies like Amazon and Alibaba are pretty much matching Santa's exploits already, but do so 365 days a year instead of just the one. Just imagine what Santa could do more accurately if he scraped the world's online content, stored wish list records in the cloud and optimised delivery routes through AI?  As we've learned this year there are myriad ways AI is helping the marketing profession.

Case in point, it took one archaic editor well over an hour to craft the above message, when all Campaign really needed to do was give Bard a single prompt to instead churn out an end-of-year holiday poem that's probably more enjoyable to read: 

Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the APAC,
Not a headline was stirring, the news cycle a slack.
The editors at Campaign, with pencils laid down,
Had visions of holidays swirling around.

Rahat, with plans for a trek in Nepal,
Dreamed of yak cheese and views that enthrall.
Nikita, by beaches in Goa she did roam,
Sipping cocktails and leaving her laptop at home.

Minnie, in Shanghai, with dumplings galore,
Would feast with loved ones, stories to pour.
Matthew, off skiing in Niseko so bright,
Carving fresh powder with pure, snowy delight.

Shawn, in Hanoi, with lanterns alight,
Would lose himself in street food's delicious bite.
Robert, by Sydney Harbour, waves crashing and grand,
With a good book and sunshine, a beach in his hand.

But fear not, dear readers, no need to despair,
For when January's sun paints the sky with its flair,
Campaign will be back, with stories untold,
Of brands and of markets, both brave and bold.

So raise a glass high, to holidays sweet,
With family and friends, a moment complete.
May your break be restful, your laughter ring true,
And we'll meet in the New Year, with insights brand new.

Happy holidays, APAC, from Campaign with cheer,
May your festive season be joyous and dear.
We'll see you in January, refreshed and alive,
With stories to share, and the industry to thrive!

Here's hoping journalists can keep their jobs in the new year. Happy holiday and we, or a set algorithmic avatars will see you in 2024.