It’s that time of year again – when we bust out our ugly sweaters and Santa hats and share a very important PSA: KEEP YOUR HOLIDAY MARKETING ON BRAND. Maybe you’re like “Duh!” but trust us – it’s something we see year after year (after year…)! It’s oh-so tempting to lean toward the festive reds and greens that color EVERYTHING during the month of December, but we promise that won’t do you any favours when it comes to brand recognition!

So, how do you create holiday marketing that’s fun and a bit whimsical but still true to your brand? You can head straight to the Holiday Marketing Bundle in our shop, or if you’re a DIY queen (or king – we got you, too) we’re going to show you how! (Our example uses social media posts, but you can apply these tips to all your holiday marketing.)

1 | Identify your brand colour palette. Then, head to canva.com/colors to translate your brand colours into major holiday vibes (without straying too far into red and green territory). Think winter-inspired cool tones (icy blues! snowy whites!) or rich jewel tones (ruby! emerald!). Select the colour from your brand’s palette that you think best translates into a holiday palette. (Hint: Even if you don’t use the colour often, go for it if you think it will work best.) Then, paste its hex code into Canva’s colour palette generator et voila – you’ve got a relevant yet festive colour palette that relates to your brand’s core palette!

2 | Take advantage of Canva’s free holiday post templates (simply head to Canva’s search bar and type in “holiday Instagram post”) OR head straight to The Holiday Post Pack in our shop! Next, start to incorporate your brand’s holiday palette into your chosen template. Tip: Don’t be afraid to play around with the colour picker’s slide or the transparency to make colours richer and deeper for wintertime!

3 | Now that your holiday post incorporates your brand colours, you may be thinking, “Meh, this could be a tad more festive.” So head over to the “elements” tab and type in something winter or holiday related (think “snowflake” or “holly” – you get the gist!). 

4 | Make sure that any imagery, even if it’s holiday related, stays on brand. Let’s say you’re doing a post about holiday décor tips and your brand style is soft and elegant, use an image that conveys a soft and elegant tone. (Catching your followers off-guard isn’t a very nice holiday gift, now is it?! Return. To Sender.)

5 | Maximize your brand recognition by changing out any fonts that aren’t on brand (adjust spacing as required) and incorporate your logo, wordmark, or brand icon. This will help boost brand recognition if you’re working in a colour palette based around a non-dominant brand colour!Remember: If you’re changing any element to something your audience isn’t used to, it’s crucial to keep everything else as consistent as possible. We can’t stress enough how important brand recognition is (especially in real estate) – no matter the time of year!