Key Messages for Santa - Spin for the Holidays
Even a Jolly Old Elf who can travel through time on a sled pulled by flying reindeer needs to keep his image polished.
I spent a couple of hours in September coaching Santa (pictured at left before donning his hat and coat) via Skype on public relations. I can’t reveal all the word-of-mouth marketing and media placement plans we came up with, but I can share a few tidbits.
North Pole Inc. CEO Jessica Claus says it’s okay if I share the key messages we developed. (Oops! I guess I just revealed who wears the pants in that family!)
Here’s the list.
Santa’s Key Messages - 2007 Yuletide Season
- The amount of methane produced by reindeer has been greatly exaggerated by environmental groups. Compared to a corporate jet (ahem, Mr. Gore) my sleigh is very light on emissions. Plus, I buy carbon offsets.
- I’m checking my list twice. I know who’s been naughty and nice.
- My relationship with Michael Jackson is strictly as a helpful mentor. I coach him how to sit for hours with children on your lap without causing an incident. I have never advised him to sneak into children’s homes late at night dressed in a red suit.
- Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas.
- I cannot be held responsible for promises made by unauthorized imposters, even if they said they’re Santa Claus.
- Thank you very much for the cookies and the milk. Unfortunately, I had to swear off dairy due to irritable bowel syndrome.
- Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Most of my time spent with the Clauses involved training for dealing with citizen journalists. Unlike jaded reporters, there are a lot of people ready to post to YouTube, Flickr and blogs everywhere, who don’t know the rules of engagement. I can’t go into detail and the planned tactics, but let’s just say if your cell phone camera gets pissed on by a reindeer, it’s part of an effort to keep the mystery of Santa magic for the young ones.
We all want to forget about last year’s embarrassing video of Santa (not entirely safe for work), and the resulting apology on The David Letterman Show:
If everything goes according to plan, you’ll be seeing the official key messages in the news, instead of some unfortunately worded statements about race, religion, commercialism and parenting.
Photo via iStockPhoto by Legacy One Photography.
Tags: christmas, santa claus, parody, communications, environment, carbon emissions, scandal, michael jackson, aweekofkindness, comedy
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POSTED IN: Apologies, Celebrity PR, Communication Plans, Consulting, Humor, Media Relations, PR, Spin
3 opinions for Key Messages for Santa - Spin for the Holidays
Mary Jo
Dec 22, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Love it!!!!
Kelly
Dec 22, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Hilarious!
Eric Eggertson
Dec 22, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Thanks. I realized that some of my consulting engagements would make good reading. I have a few more planned…
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