The PR Psychology of Christmas

25 November 2025

Every year, as the festive season approaches, people naturally tune in to messages about warmth, community, and reflection. It is the one period where audiences slow down slightly, look up from their routines and become more aware of the stories unfolding around them. For PR and marketing teams, this creates a rare window, where communication isn’t just simply consumed, it’s felt too.

But Christmas PR only works when it matches the tone of the season, thoughtful, grounded and genuinely considerate. This is also where the idea of giving becomes important. At Christmas, generosity is encouraged, but empty gestures are quickly noticed. True generosity, on the other hand, becomes a powerful form of communication in its own right.

Are Christmas ads launching earlier each year?

07 November 2025

It certainly feels like Christmas advertising is appearing earlier and earlier each year, and 2025 seems to be no exception. Debenhams launched its “Debenhams Delivered” campaign at the end of October, starring Olivia Attwood, Peter Crouch and Judi Love. A few days later, on 4 November, John Lewis & Partners unveiled their Christmas advert, arriving almost ten days earlier than usual, while Asda launched its Grinch-themed campaign on 1 November. It isn’t just the major retail players either; Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s have also started their Christmas campaigns earlier than usual, signalling a clear shift in the timing of the UK festive season.

Crisis Comms in the age of ‘Cancel Culture’

17 October 2025

For businesses today, responding to challenging situations has become far more complex. Conversations about a brand can spread rapidly across social media, jump from platform to platform, circulate through private messages or forums like Reddit, and even reach traditional news outlets – the incredible, yet sometimes daunting, reach of the online world.

For companies navigating these situations, having a communication plan that’s both thoughtful and flexible is crucial because how a business responds often shapes its long-term reputation just as much as the issue itself.