Golden quarter week ten: my five best Christmas activations from the UK

It’s the second week of December and many of us may already be suffering from advanced festive fatigue as the Christmas activations have been knocking around in shops since September. Despite the elongated nature of yuletide activation these days, there have still been some pleasing examples of innovation and collaboration as brands and shoppers alike ready themselves for a frenetic few weeks heading towards the big day.  

As many of you will already know, we monitor over 1,500 retail media and shopper marketing activations all year round in the UK and these reports can all be found in the category section of our site. Here we call out the five activations that have really caught our eye so far in the golden quarter:

Campari Group, Tesco and Timpson

This is fantastic. A pleasing, if delightfully unlikely, partnership between Campari Group, Tesco and Timpson comprising a Clubcard deal, a free in-pack bottle medallion and an affordable personalisation flourish via £5 engraving in Timpson. We admire the imagination and collaboration on show here as three parties work together to elevate the gifting occasion.

HALEON and Tesco

With a reminder that Christmas is not necessarily all fun and games, HALEON’s display asserts that ‘colds and flu are coming to town’. Excellent work from HALEON in terms of a pre-emptive reminder for customers that stocking up in advance of Christmas could be a timely move. The Clubcard deal could provide a smart incentive.

Molson Coors and Sainsbury’s

Very impactful display at the entrance to a Sainsbury’s store. The efficient pallet calls out the fact that the beer cans are cold-activated and that consumers should crack one open when the mountains turn blue. There is a generous Nectar promo available and we really like the 3D Coors can detailing on each side of the display too.

Mondelēz and B&M

Lots to like here. The 3D roof / chimney / Santa design catches the eye from metres away and the display houses several SKUs to attract shoppers into some Secret Santa gift buying. The side of the unit holds different items and the fact that the Christmas tree has been designed with bespoke B&M logo baubles says a lot for the thought that the Cadbury team have put into this.

Nestlé and the Co-op

This is cute! The branded stand complete with a 3D sign for Quality Street creates some effective visibility in the travel retail environment. The franchised Co-op is operated by Roadchef: creating visibility and impulse in a busy motorway services area is no mean feat and the design here has a lot going for it.

There will be plenty more first-class examples of Christmas activation in the November and December retail media reports – watch out for them on the site.