Experience12, the pop culture marketing agency, are celebrating their love of film, TV and video games with an interactive Christmas challenge.

Hidden in the interactive illustration are 14 TV shows, 14 video games and 25 movie references from the past year – some more obvious than others but a true pop culture aficionado will spot them all.

Designed by architectural illustrator and concept artist, Doug John Miller, this is the sixth consecutive year the agency has created a pop-culture Christmas challenge.

Previous calendar artists include Jason Chester (2021), Laurie Greasley (2020), Jeff Carlisle (2019), Paul Shipper (2018) and Ollie Hoff (2017)

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Almost half of employees don’t expect to receive a Christmas gift from their employer, according to research from Blackhawk Network

• 88% of employees would like to receive a gift from their employer this year, but almost half (46%) believe this is unlikely
• Half of employees would feel disappointed, demotivated, upset or angry if they didn’t receive a gift from  their employer this festive season
• When it comes to gifting this Christmas, almost 2 in 5 (28%) employees would prefer to receive a gift card from their employer

With the festive season upon us, 88% of employees state they would like to receive a gift from their employer as we finish up for the holidays. And, after another tough year defined by the pandemic, employees no longer see gifting as just a ‘nice to have’. In fact, 45% of employees state that it is important for employers to provide gifts and rewards this festive period. These findings come from research conducted by Blackhawk Network looking at seasonal gifting trends.

Almost two fifths (39%) of employees view gifts as recognition for their hard work and the same amount say that Christmas rewards make them feel valued by their employer. Another 32% state that gifts show that employers care and 22% say that seasonal gifts help to keep them motivated. However, staff do not trust that employers understand the need to show their appreciation. Almost half (46%) of employees believe it’s unlikely that they will receive a gift from their employer this Christmas.

Chris Ronald, VP, EMEA Incentives, Blackhawk Network, said: “The Great Resignation combined with economic bounce-back, has resulted in staff shortages at an all-time high.  Adding to this, the competition for talent is driving up salary expectations. This year’s festive challenge is for employers to gift smart. Providing rewards as a ‘thank you’ plays an important role in ensuring that staff feel appreciated. Even small gestures can go a long way in building loyalty and bringing some festive cheer to hard working teams.

The UK is in the midst of a supply chain crisis which is threatening to derail the festive season. Physical gifts, drinks and even rumours that the Christmas turkey may well be in short supply. However, the good news for employers is that gift cards are the preferred choice for almost two-fifths of employees. Delivering these early could help staff get ahead of the rush on family gifts and festive groceries, providing a genuinely useful reward that will leave staff feeling valued and appreciated.”

The business impact of failing to gift or reward

By failing to gift this Christmas, employers risk more than just disgruntled employees; staff morale and satisfaction will be impacted. In fact, half of employees would feel disappointed, demotivated, upset or angry if they didn’t receive a gift or reward from their employer this December.

This is a particular issue for younger generations; 77% of Gen Z and 82% of Millennials would have negative feelings about not receiving a seasonal gift. This is a dangerous state of affairs given that staff turnover is at an all time high amidst the Great Resignation. Gifting should be front of mind as gratitude and appreciation are critical to retaining staff and creating a positive workplace culture.

Gift Smart with rewards that resonate

The traditional Secret Santa is a mainstay of UK office culture but often falls flat. 42% of employees have negative feelings about Secret Santa, with many thinking it’s a waste of money and a waste of time. While Secret Santa can be a fun team building initiative, employers need to gift smart with rewards that are useful and meaningful to employees.

Providing physical gifts could be challenging this year in the midst of a supply chain crisis, shipping delays, a fuel crisis, and shortages of HGV drivers. Blackhawk Network’s recently global holiday gifting research found that consumers are worried about shipping delays and out-of-stocks. A third (34%) of UK consumers surveyed worry that the pandemic will impact their ability to shop and over a quarter (28%) say they will shop earlier this year due to concerns. Employers would do well to turn their attention to gift cards, which are the preferred gift choice for almost  2 in 5 (28%) employees. When it comes to gift cards, the following are most in-demand from staff:

• Multi retailer cards – 25%
• Restaurant or takeaway – 21%
• A food retailer to help with the Christmas dinner shop – 18%
• Entertainment experiences – 15%

However, the best gift is that of choice, with a fifth of employees preferring a gift card that would give them flexibility over all of the above.

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Featuring the best of TV, video games and film from the past year

We have finally made it to the end of the year, and if there is something we can all agree on – it’s that we have had some amazing entertainment to help us get through it. 

As is tradition, the team at Experience12 are back at it again with their pop culture Christmas challenge, and this year it’s bigger and better than before.

As the world opened up following the pandemic, 2021 proved itself to be a bumper year for entertainment. October alone saw 16.4 million cinema admissions – the biggest October since 2012. Consumers are watching nearly 4 hours of TV a day, which although down on 2020 during lockdown, is still 50% more than 2019. And 93% of 16-24 year-olds are playing video games which is up from 73% in 2020.

To celebrate their love of pop culture, Experience12 have created their largest pop culture Christmas challenge yet. Hidden in their IP isometric illustration is a total of 47 references across film, TV and video games – some more overt than others, but a true pop culture aficionado will spot them all.

We’ve included a taste of the full image, but head to www.experience12.com/xmas for the full experience.

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Experiential marketing experts N2O helped bring Christmas cheer to Tesco shoppers. At a time when the country was under the severest conditions of lockdown this campaign delivered on two fronts, providing some heart warming entertainment for shoppers as they queued to get into store whilst providing employment opportunity for the cultural industry, which was perhaps the hardest hit sector after frontline workers.

This innovative campaign was based on providing a live Panto experience in short, 3 minute sketches ending with a song (repeated every 20 minutes) and at other times the cast would interact casually with customers. In addition, every 3 hours there was a 30 minute carol and song service.

[vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/541575711″ width=”500″ height=”300″]

The cast of 775 were professionally sourced, rehearsed and costume fitted. The scripts were specifically written for three old Panto favourites; Aladdin, Cinderella, and Peter Pan. These entertainers performed at 125 stores over two days and brought much needed cheer to well over 1m customers queuing to get into store because of restricted access. This campaign was a winner on so many levels.

Judges’ quote

“N2O’s campaign for Tesco was full of festive spirit. Creating panto magic to put a smile on shoppers’ faces without demanding anything in return, creates goodwill with customers well beyond the pandemic. To also provide work to nearly 800 actors when theatres were closed, showed how a campaign can benefit everyone involved – Oh yes, it did!”

N2O; Nigel Clifton, Head of Creative

Tesco; Will Baker, Head of In-Store Customer Communications

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3 November 2020, London: With the start of the festive season just around the corner, Coca-Cola has announced the return of favourite limited-edition flavour, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Cinnamon.

A firm favourite over the last couple of years and back by popular demand, the festive addition to the Coca-Cola family is fast becoming another icon of the holiday season, evoking times spent with family and friends, roaring fires – a tasty reminder of Christmas.

Available in 500ml and 1.25L bottles, Coca-Cola lovers will be able to get their hands on the limited-edition zero sugar Cinnamon flavour in stores nationwide from this week. But all good things come to an end, so if you’re a fan, make sure to get your hands on the product as it’ll only be around until the end of the year.

Amber Topalcik, Senior Brand Manager at Coca-Cola Great Britain said, “Back by popular demand, we’re really pleased that fan favourite Coca-Cola zero sugar Cinnamon is back in time for Christmas this year. For fans of the brand or those looking to try an exciting new drink, it’s full of festive flavour and no sugar – perfect for the lead up to Christmas.”

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Award-winning experiential marketing agency N2O is once again delivering festive cheer for Tesco customers with its Bavarian-style Christmas markets.

Back for 2019, the pop-up markets will visit 70 stores across the UK in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Building on the success from previous years, the markets are featuring a Santa’s Grotto, snow machine, music, a massive 4-metre bauble light installation and extensive sampling of both supplier and key Tesco Christmas lines.

Clare James, Chief Operating Officer at N2O, said: “I absolutely love seeing Tesco customers in the Christmas Markets having such a positive experience! Working closely with the Tesco marketing team and using insight of the Tesco customer mindset, we were able to ensure we’re delighting customers this festive season.”

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This Christmas, Haygarth has teamed up with Vodafone to present The VeryMe Tree – a fully interactive digital Christmas tree which combines the spectacle of a public tree with the joy of  surprises underneath it to promote Vodafone’s new rewards platform: VeryMe. The tiered experience provides a heart-warming, communal Christmas experience for all shoppers, regardless of their network, while dramatising the amazing offers exclusively available to Vodafone users through the VeryMe platform – encouraging existing customers to download the MyVodafone app.

Shoppers will be encouraged to interact with the tree by sending personalised messages to be displayed live on the digital ribbon, making for an engaging, insta-worthy festive moment. Visitors will then have the option to share their message to social media through a special e-card. In the spirit of the season, before leaving the tree Vodafone customers will receive an extra special gift for taking part, along with a free gift-wrapping service to make present buying a little bit easier and give shoppers a lasting reminder of the VeryMe experience.

“Christmas is a huge time of year for Vodafone and our customers, and this year we’re really excited to be doing something that will bring the joy of Christmas to life in a distinctively Vodafone way. Our VeryMe tree provides a great opportunity to introduce shoppers to our VeryMe Rewards, while reminding existing customers how much we value and reward them for choosing Vodafone. In keeping with our latest brand direction, Haygarth have brought to life an engaging and digitally-led brand experience – we are particularly delighted with the personalised e-card animations our customers will be able to share with their loved ones.” – Holly Riddle, Channel Marketing Brand Manager, Vodafone UK.

In the lead up to Christmas, our tree will visit three cities: beginning in Manchester Arndale between the 5^th and 9^th of December, then on to Westfield White City in London between the 11^th and 15^th December, and finally finishing up in Bristol’s Cabot Circus from the 19^th to the 22^nd December.

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On 4 and 5 December, Tesco will host a Christmas dinner like no other, taking guests on an immersive culinary journey through the past 100 years of festive celebrations.

Starting in 1919, the year Tesco founder, Jack Cohen, set up his Hackney market stall, diners will travel through time, getting a taste of Christmases past, present and future through dishes all made using the festive food selection available at Tesco this Christmas. Diners will be served up a century’s worth of Christmas food and drink in one decadent, decade-hopping menu – through the Art Deco era, the swinging sixties, to the present day and beyond.

Held in partnership with renowned ‘dining adventurers’, Flavourology, diners will enjoy an 11-course tasting menu that celebrates key moments in time and iconic Christmas dishes of past decades. The feasting menu was conceptualised by food historian, Tasha Marks, and reimagined for present day diners by Tesco and Flavourology chefs.

Guests will enter the venue, a former 1900s police station in Covent Garden, and receive a welcome drink inspired by the era to sip on as they journey back in time at the ‘Tesco Feast of the Century.’ Once seated, diners will then travel through each decade – just like Joel, the delivery driver in this year’s Tesco Christmas advert – via a heady mix of swirling projections, music and light, guided by time-travelling hosts. Each new course will signify the passing of time, and as each one is served, the environment the diners are in will change, giving guests a truly immersive experience.

The first 10 courses will reimagine what people of each decade from the past 100 years would have enjoyed around the Christmas dinner table; from a 1930s festive ham terrine, to a 70s prawn cocktail with a modern twist and an update on the 80s drunken cheese fondue.

The final course, the 11th, will celebrate the dish of Christmas future. Invented by – and informed by the insights of – the Tesco Product Development Chefs. This dish also takes inspiration from Marks’ analysis of trends over the past 100 years, to predict what Christmas dinners of the future could look like.

Fittingly, the feast costs £19.19 – taking inspiration from the year Tesco was founded – and all proceeds will go to charity.

Tasha Marks, food historian, said: “Food has always been central to our Christmas celebrations, so it was fascinating to take a deep dive into the trends that have influenced our festive feasts over the past 100 years. From beef, to turkey, Port to Prosecco – some of our tastes may have changed, but decadence, delicious food and a touch of luxury have always been at the heart of our Christmas menus. Based on this fact alone, you can be sure that the Tesco Feast of the Century will deliver a festive night to remember!”

Martyn Lee, Executive Chef, Product Development, for Tesco said: “Tesco has been delivering Christmas for 100 years, so we felt that putting on a feast of this kind was a fitting way to celebrate and the perfect way to showcase our fantastic festive foods this year. We follow trends and changing tastes closely to ensure we deliver the perfect Christmas for all the nation and we’ve worked hard with Tasha and Flavourology to craft a truly unforgettable experience. The Tesco Feast of the Century will be a celebration of festive food and its important role in the nation’s celebrations at Christmastime.”

The ‘Tesco Feast of the Century’ will take place on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 December between 6.30pm and 11pm, at 5 Great Newport St, Covent Garden, London WC2H 7JB.

Tickets are available via Design My Night

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Beano has continued its rubber chicken Christmas tradition with a brand new window display, unveiled today at their Fleet Street office.

This morning passers-by were surprised with a unique insight into the rubber chicken’s home  over the Beano HQ window to gather for a Christmas meal.

Inspired by the immense popularity of rubber chicken content on Beano.com, the window design follows the success of 2018’s display which saw a choir of rubber chickens brought to life by members of the public at the pressing a button which performed a special poultry cover of Jingle Bells.

Rubber chickens including Macaulay Clukin, Fi Lyn Clucky and Nin Hendo will be taking over content creation on Beano.com during the holiday season with festively fowl quizzes games and jokes.

Throughout December Beano.com is hosting a digital advent calendar full of fun surprises. Opening the first door will give kids the chance to design their very own rubber chicken by taking Beano’s Ultimate Christmas Quiz. One lucky winner will have their design featured in the picture frame above the fireplace in the Fleet Street window display and take home a bundle of Beano goodies.

Mike Stirling, Editorial Director at Beano, said: “Someone must have left Gnasher’s dog flap open at Beano HQ as the rubber chickens have come home to roost for the holidays in our window and on Beano.com! From quizzes to videos, our festive season is about being turned up to elev-hen. So save your turkey for the dinner table… because these birds mean business. (Funny business, that is).”

The window will be on display until 3^rd January after which all rubber chickens will be donated to Battersea Dogs & Cats home to be gifted as toys to dogs staying at the shelter.

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Experience12, the pop-culture marketing agency is looking forward to a merry little Christmas as it announces the launch of its 2019 pop-culture Christmas party advent calendar. The calendar embodies film, TV and gaming highlights who have ‘sleighed’ pop-culture in the past year, welcoming a range of top characters from the likes of Stranger Things, Good Omens, Frozen II and The Joker, to help celebrate Christmas festivities.

‘Tis the season for the agency’s annual labour of love. This year the festive image plays host to the team’s personal highlights from the pop-culture year. However, the guests of honour – Fat Thor, John Wick and the Joker – were chosen by fans at MCM London Comic Con 2019 as a part of Experience12’s ongoing research into fan trends.

This is the third consecutive year that the agency has created a pop-culture advent calendar. 2019’s was designed by US artist, Jeff Carlisle, who follows the footsteps of Olly Hoff (2017) and Paul Shipper (2018) who both helped bring previous calendars to life. This year It includes 38 pop-culture references, made up by 97 characters and Easter eggs hidden within the image.

You can access the image here, to check whether you know all the characters at the party!

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