MARKETING


Image courtesy of John Lewis


However, the collision of tradition and commercialism can be problematic. Furthermore, assembling so many different elements in a single production can present licensing difficulties.


The Bear and the Hare


At the time of writing, UK department store John Lewis’s Te Bear and the Hare campaign has had 10 million views on YouTube. Te two-minute clip is the animated story of a hare bringing its friend, the bear, an alarm clock for Christmas so it may experience the day for the very first time.


Set to a soundtrack of Keane’s song Somewhere Only We Know sung by Lily Allen, the clip combines 2D and stop-motion animation. Te total reported cost of the campaign is £7 million ($11.5 million).


Elliot Dear, co-director of the clip, said that the idea behind the advertisement was to “find an aesthetic that had a nostalgic feel to it that was familiar but … also felt quite fresh”.


Aſter debuting on social media outlets on November 8, 2013, the ad was launched in a high profile spot on prime time Saturday television where it occupied an entire commercial break.


“Tis year the launch of the John Lewis ad attracted a huge amount of media attention and social media comment and became an event in its own right,” Smith says.


Te Christmas campaign is about promoting a company’s brand values, and John Lewis wants to be seen as an integral part of Christmas, he adds.


In the week following the advert’s launch, John Lewis announced sales of £101.4 million, up 10.7 percent from last year’s figure.


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John Lewis launched a range of merchandise off the back of the campaign, including toys and clothing, and offers a book based on the story of the advertisement in store.


In addition, the campaign’s music was released as a single, which reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.


The IP issues


Stansfield says that if a festive advertisement features a cover version of a song, there will be another layer of agreements to finalise while considering the talent’s existing endorsement arrangements.


“You end up negotiating with five or six separate entities: the main ones will be the artist, record labels, songwriter and session musicians,” he says.


“If you’re contracting with an artist who has his or her own recording contract, there will be some exclusivity you’ll have to get an exemption from.”


He adds that there could be debate as to whether the artist should have permission to release the track him or herself, though this will all depend on the type of contract in place.


However, negotiation with artists isn’t just about copyright and their performance. Stansfield continues: “Tere are also the rights around their appearance, though most contracts like this are fee-based—typically there aren’t royalty arrangements.”


Some of the big-name Christmas campaigns are becoming increasingly lavish affairs, with Marks & Spencer and Macy’s employing ensemble casts of celebrities in their offerings.


Trademarks Brands and the Internet Volume 2, Issue 4


Stansfield says that celebrity endorsement arrangements with other brands and the complexities they bring around exclusivity can be difficult to navigate.


Brands want to be sure a celebrity recommending their products does not have existing high-profile endorsement agreements in the Christmas period.


“People are getting quite savvy about endorsement arrangements,” he said.


If your celebrity is endorsing another brand at the same crucial time as yours, “it looks like you’ve slipped up,” he says.


Social media


Te way brands promote their campaigns is evolving, with social media becoming an increasingly important element in marketing strategies. John Lewis debuted its Te Bear and the Hare campaign online before rolling it out on the small screen, a strategy Marks & Spencer also used for this year’s campaign by posting a teaser clip on Facebook.


Marks & Spencer has also engaged with its online audience by asking social media users to vote on what to name the dog that features in the clip.


Social media platforms are also a good medium for monitoring how your campaign is being received. Media agency We Are Social named Te Bear and the Hare the most talked-about campaign of the year aſter analysing what people were tweeting about.


However, Smith says, TV continues to be hugely important, and even more so in the context of a Christmas marketing campaign.


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