We've officially launched into Holiday Season 2021! Some of us aren't quite celebrating. Instead, we're grappling gripping over how and when we will connect with family and what requirements we may or may require and enforce. Don't let it tear apart your family and don't let shopping and shipping delays wear you down. Instead, let's "See over Stress."
One of the definitions of holiday is "a period of exemption or relief". We generally think of this as relief from work, from routine, from structure. Celebrating is the main undercurrent, but what if instead we really leaned into the concept of suspending stress, opting out of drama, and exempting ourselves from non-civil interpersonal engagements - a true period of relief. Now that would be worth celebrating.
If this doesn't sound like a proper marketing blog yet, bear with us as we shift the context a bit in the spirit of the upcoming holiday season.
Here at Marketing Outpost we are in the business of marketing - which in many regards boils down to presentation. We strategize about how we present our business, products and services; what our branding looks like and if our logo works. How our business responds in a crisis and how the public perceives and interprets the subsequent moves we make. COVID certainly drove that home, and we saw that those businesses who could pivot and shift and take the temperature of their audience - and respond accordingly and with grace - are the ones who survived.
Imagine if we put that kind of attention and consideration into how we present ourselves, as human beings, to our own personal public: our family and friends. The truth is that most of us are little haphazard on this front, especially when it comes to family gatherings around the holidays. During this time some of our inner circle do indeed get our best - others may get our worst. You certainly wouldn't run your business that way. Yet all of us are prone to some inconsistent messaging when it comes to how we present ourselves to certain relatives and extended family members.
When the holidays become a period of stress and strain, this promised "exemption or relief" are nowhere to be found. Wouldn't it be nice to just have a motto, and let that guide you in making decisions an