Do you watch Hallmark Christmas movies? They’re wildly popular because they always have a happy ending. The stories are often about people who have gotten off track and lost some sort of meaning in their lives. Most of us can identify with that, at least at some point. There’s no heavy lifting in this kind of movie but there is something you can count on–you come away from it feeling good about life. Plus there’s a lesson for anyone who participates in Small Business Season.
At the end of every movie the main character joyfully rediscovers something they should’ve/could’ve known all along. You can use this same Christmas move “magic” to improve your Small Business Season marketing.
These 6 ideas are the perfect way to help your community remember something wonderful that was right under their noses – their local and small businesses!
So grab yourself a warm beverage, put on your coziest jammies, and forget the craziness of the holiday for a moment. Let’s brainstorm some lessons you can learn from those delightful Hallmark Christmas movies and how they can help your town celebrate Small Business Season.
6 Things You Can Learn from a Hallmark Christmas Movie to Improve Small Business Season
Whether you are a huge fan of feel-good holiday movies, you’ve never seen one or even if you hate them, one thing is for sure, they are designed to make you fall in love with a setting and in the end, help the main character reconnect with it.
Small Business Season is an excellent time to take your community through this same journey. Here are the key elements of every Hallmark Christmas move and how you can leverage these same tropes:
It Snows
Okay, we can’t all make it snow in our town (although my town does a great job using soap flakes and a giant fan). But the magic is not in the actual frozen precipitation. Snow is a solid part of these story lines because it transforms a town and makes everything look beautiful and magical.
What your chamber can do to replicate this holiday magic:
Cozy décor, festive lights, whimsical signs, and a decked out Main Street can do a lot to invite people to spend time among your small businesses. Create photo ops through murals, sets, or light extravaganzas. Encourage people to share their images with a designated hashtag. You are creating an experience that shoppers just can’t get online.
There’s Always a Character with an Enviable Job
In every holiday movie, there’s a character with a romantic job–like Christmas tree grower, candy cane maker, or bed & breakfast owner. Sometimes the character inherits an enviable business from a distant aunt and has to figure out how to make it work. Regardless of details, there’s always one job where viewers find themselves wondering if there are any similar openings nearby. In reality we all know that no job is without its negatives. But for a couple of hours, it’s nice to dream.
What your chamber can do to replicate this holiday magic:
Every job can be enviable when the owner loves what they do. Tell your members’ stories. One of the reasons we fall in love with these small business owners is because they are following their dreams. When you choose to highlight the stories behind the dreams you have winning combination that gets attention and wins over hearts.
Someone Always Bumps into Another Person
Bumping into one another is also a common trope in Hallmark Christmas movies. Sometimes it is a literal bump and often involves lots of packages that then requires the hero and heroine to get on all fours. While other times they figuratively run into someone because of an unavoidable situation such as the heroine inheriting a crumbling old mansion when there’s only one carpenter in town who happens to be the guy she left at the altar ten years ago.
What your chamber can do to replicate this holiday magic:
Help people “bump” into your members in a serendipitous way that (instead of a romance) leads to a sale. You can’t make a shopper fall in love with a business but you sure can arrange a meeting and do your best not to make it as awkward as one of those movies. A holiday expo, makers market, ribbon cutting, tree decorating contest or other chamber fun-filled event can help shoppers meet their perfect business match over the holidays.
Someone Recognizes the Beauty of a Small Town
How many times do these movies show a big-time successful character coming back to where they grew up (a town they couldn’t leave fast enough) only to figure out at the end that they want to stay forever? The hero returning to their roots and appreciating what’s important in life (spoiler: it isn’t material trappings) make for a good story. Otherwise, they wouldn’t keep using it.
What your chamber can do to replicate this holiday magic:
No one is asking you to sell small town life over that of a big town. But you certainly can increase the romance factor for the small businesses in your town. Small business is the backbone of our local economies and provides about 75% of the jobs in our country. And for every dollar that’s spent at a local business, $.68 stays in the local economy. There are just as many reasons to fall in love with a small business in your town as there are a large one. So get the word out this holiday season that small businesses need support.
There’s a Single Parent with a Precious Child
It is quite possible that in the complete history of this genre that there has never been a bratty child. And why would there be? The point is the child needs to bring levity and the inevitable “awww” moment. If the story doesn’t call for a child, you can always substitute an adorable dog who misbehaves at exactly the right moment.
What your chamber can do to replicate this holiday magic:
While you may or may not have the ability to cast a precocious and endearing child in a role that helps the chamber recruit more members, you can increase the “aww” factor easily. Share cute images. Ask viewers to post pictures of their adorable dog, funny cat or cute kids. Encourage people to share what’s important to them. Tell them to post the most beautiful or festive holiday décor.
Share cute things from member businesses. Create visual intrigue/eye candy and provide a break on social media for all the stressed out adults who aren’t quite sure how they’re going to make it through the holiday season.
Which brings us to the grand finale…
A Little Well-Meaning Meddling Never Hurt Anyone
There’s always someone in these movies nudging the hero and heroine together and ultimately succeeding in the end. The characters almost always owe their end happiness to a wise grandpa, fortune teller, Santa Claus, precocious child, long-deceased relative or well-meaning chamber of commerce staffer? Let’s face it, sometimes people just don’t know what they really need and they could use just a little help figuring it out!
What your chamber can do to replicate this holiday magic:
Ditto goes for the holiday shopper. Sometimes they need a little help noticing the small business or seeing the value behind supporting small or local. There’s noting wrong (and a whole lot right) with reminding your community of the value and reasons small business is so important.
But for as many times as you can tell people how great shopping small is, it’s the businesses themselves that will have to ultimately be the ones to come through. Help get the word out to your audience. When you do, shoppers likely won’t be able to resist the charm of a small business any more than our Hallmark heroine can avoid being with her hometown lumberjack hero.
