COCA-COLA CHERISHES ITS SANTA CLAUS. HOW DID ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MARKETING “ALLIANCES” IN HISTORY TAKE SHAPE?

11. 12. 2023 Although Christmas in the Czech republic is mainly associated with the Christ child, it is not possible to ignore the global popularity of the american Father Christmas, Santa Claus. And in fact, if we take into account the historical context of shaping the image of this character, we are much closer to Santa in our culture than we are often willing to admit. But the legend of Santa Claus is first and foremost a real modern Christmas story in which the marketing of a global soft drinks company played a huge role. And although it is often said that Santa exists because of Coca-Cola, this is not entirely true. But the combination of these two unlikely allies has become so ingrained in the social consciousness over many decades that it is very hard to think of one without the other. But it hasn’t always been this way...

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: THE MOST TOUCHING ADS

10. 12. 2023 Tears welling up is nothing unusual during the holiday season. Alongside festive decorations and omnipresent holiday music, the tender mood can also be attributed to a heightened sense of togetherness we experience during Advent and Christmas. More than ever, we think about those we have lost and those in need of our help. That’s why advertisements built around touching stories often strike a deep chord with us. Which Christmas ads have hit the most emotional notes this year and in past years?

BRANDS TO SPEND RECORD £9.5BN ON CHRISTMAS ADVERTISING

9. 12. 2023 Media inflation set to lift ad spend by 4.8% this Christmas, according to Advertising Association and Warc data.

CONSUMERS DON’T GET TIRED OF ADS, ONLY MARKETERS DO

8. 12. 2023 Data shows there’s no such thing as advertising ‘wear-out’, so save your new campaign budget and spend it on making your current ads effective for longer.

CHRISTMAS BY “UNUSUAL” HEROES. HOW HAS CHRISTMAS ADVERTISING MOVED FROM NOSTALGIA TO MODERNITY?

8. 12. 2023 Christmas advertising has changed over the years. To some extent, it could be argued that the dominance of Santa Claus and other traditional Christmas characters has ended. They have been replaced by somewhat unusual heroes who, on the contrary, we do not a priori associate with the festive season. However, they do not only bring a festive atmosphere but also complex stories in which tradition as well as important messages that are fully in line with the trends of today play a role. It is not necessarily a stolen Christmas - on the contrary, it is an annual gift of distinctive creativity. CHRISTMAS BY CHEERFUL VEGETABLES One of such “unusual heroes” is the most frequently mentioned mascot of this year’s Christmas season, which is in the spirit of the comeback of the character known as Kevin the Carrot. The character has been closely associated with the British-Irish retail chain Aldi since 2016, and given that Kevin is essentially an animated carrot, this is a very telling example of how the Christmas advertising market is shifting from the familiar and traditional to the more experimental.

TV STILL THE MAIN NEWS SOURCE FOR EUROPEAN NEWS, BUT SOCIAL MEDIA GROWING

7. 12. 2023 Television continues to dominate as the primary news source for European citizens, according to a Eurobarometer survey on behalf of the European Parliament.

TOOLKIT: MARKETERS GEAR UP FOR A BRIGHTER 2024

7. 12. 2023 Despite very real concerns about the economy, the majority of marketers around the world are optimistic and expect business to be better next year than this, according to a new WARC report. The Voice of the Marketer 2024 is a deep dive into The Marketer’s Toolkit survey data of 1,400+ marketers worldwide. Key findings Marketers are optimistic despite economic worries Two-thirds (64%) of marketers indicated that economic recession will have the biggest impact on marketing strategies in 2024, while 41% highlighted inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.

DIGITAL TV RESEARCH PREDICTS TOP SVOD PLAYERS IN 2029

6. 12. 2023 Netflix will continue to top SVOD competitors in subscribers in six years: In the race to grow the biggest subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) customer base before the start of the next decade, Netflix is the odds-on favorite, according to a newly released forecast from Digital TV Research.

DON’T SHELVE THAT CHRISTMAS IDEA TOO SOON, STUDIES SUGGEST

6. 12. 2023 A growing body of evidence indicates that ideas and advertisements enjoy a much longer shelf life than many have assumed, with vintage favourites like Coca-Cola’s Holidays Are Coming and Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot outperforming the market – so it may be time to rethink how to approach Christmas. Why wear-out matters There is no evidence to suggest that ads become less effective as they age, but it may feel like they do, especially when as a brand or an agency professional you are watching the same piece of creative for the millionth time by mid-October.

TV VIEWERSHIP IN NOVEMBER: ČT NARROWLY RETURNED TO THE TOP IN NOVEMBER, NOVA IMPROVED THE MOST

5. 12. 2023 Czech Television's stations returned to the position of the TV group with the highest share of viewership in the audience group over 15 years of age by a narrow margin. This is according to the official ATO-Nielsen measurement data for November 2023. The aggregate share of CT stations reached 28.48% throughout the day. However, compared to the same month last year, CT's share was 1.48 percentage points lower.

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: THE MOST FELINE-FANTASTIC CHRISTMAS ADS

4. 12. 2023 A Christmas ad must be emotional. An overly commercial approach during the holiday season can backfire for marketers. Each brand approaches the task of bringing emotions into its Christmas campaigns in its own way. Best practices include children, touching stories and, of course, animals. While one might expect exclusively cuddly puppies, frosty little birds, or adorable bears in Christmas ads, many feature cats as the main characters. Why is that, do you think?

BVOD SHOULD BE FIRST ON THE PLAN

3. 12. 2023 Thinkbox’s Matt Hill questions ViewersLogic’s interpretation of BVOD’s impact – pointing out that basing planning decisions on viewing time alone is a flawed approach. Quality is crucial.

GRIVET: STREAMERS ABSORBING THE DNA CODE OF BROADCAST TV

1. 12. 2023 The chair of the HbbTV Association has said that every big trend shaping the environment is making HbbTV “super relevant”.

ASSOCIATION OF COMMERCIAL TELEVISION HAS ACHIEVED SIGNIFICANT SUCCESS IN THE ANTI-PIRACY FIGHT

1. 12. 2023 The High Court in Olomouc has upheld the preliminary ruling issued by the Regional Court in Brno on a petition by the Association of Commercial Television (AKTV), requiring the operators of the eDisk.cz and Sledujteto.cz repositories not to allow the uploading and downloading of copyright-protected works of Nova and Prima TV Groups. The court thus upheld AKTV’s argument that the repository operator had committed an unfair competition act referred to as “stowaway” or “free riding” (also known as “impermissible parasitism”). Similar decisions have been issued against other repositories in recent months.

16TH NOC FILMOVÝCH NADĚJÍ (NIGHT OF FILM HOPES) HONOURED YOUNG FILMMAKERS

1. 12. 2023 TV Nova presented its sixteenth award to promising young filmmakers as part of the Night of Film Hopes festival. Students and pupils could submit their films in one of five categories. In total, a record 174 entries were submitted this year, which meant 157 films, or 28 hours of material, and 17 scripts were judged by an expert jury of creative producers and dramaturgs. "We are glad that the students, teachers and other film enthusiasts who were part of the festival this year are developing audiovisual creation through their hard work and that we were able to show their work to the general public," says Hynek Lorenc, executive producer of the project.

JOHN LEWIS’ 2023 CHRISTMAS AD: NEW AGENCY, NEW TRADITIONS

1. 12. 2023 The first Christmas campaign for John Lewis created by Saatchi & Saatchi delivers a new message about adapting to change.

I USED TO RECORD COMMENTS TO SUPERSTAR SOMETIMES EVEN UNDER THE BLANKET, SAYS MAXIÁN

30. 11. 2023 The latest episode of the Kuba s Novou podcast (Kuba with Nova) is about dabing.

STUDY UK: FOCUS ON ATTENTION, CREATIVE AND SPEED IN ADVERTS

30. 11. 2023 Attention, creativity and speed are the three most important factors driving brand return on investment, according to an advertising effectiveness study.