
S5Ep13: Christmas in April with Pete Markey & Leanne Tomasevic powered by Electric Twin
That's What I Call MarketingShow Notes
How Brands Should Really Be Planning Christmas Campaigns What happens when you start planning Christmas… in April? In this episode of That’s What I Call Marketing, Conor Byrne is joined by Pete Markey (former CMO of Boots, Marketing Week Marketer of the Year) and Leanne Tomasevic (Insights Lead at Electric Twin) to explore how brands should approach Christmas advertising — using real-time synthetic audience insights. Instead of guessing what consumers want, this episode puts Electric Twin’s platform to the test live, revealing how marketers can simulate audience reactions, test ideas, and sharpen creative briefs months before campaigns go live. The result is a grounded, practical look at: What people actually want from Christmas ads in 2026 Why emotional storytelling still matters (but needs reframing) The role of celebrities, music, and consistency How to balance commercial pressure with authenticity And how AI-driven research can speed up better decisions If you’re working on a Christmas campaign, brand strategy, or creative development, this is a genuinely useful watch. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – The reality of planning Christmas in April 01:10 – What Electric Twin actually does (synthetic audiences explained) 03:00 – Why speed matters in modern marketing decision-making 05:30 – Live demo: Understanding the mood of the nation at Christmas 08:30 – What consumers really want this year (family, realism, restraint) 12:00 – Gifting trends: practicality vs meaningful connection 14:30 – The balance between storytelling and selling 16:00 – What people want from Christmas ads now 18:00 – Should brands use celebrities? (and when it works) 21:00 – The role of consistency (Kevin the Carrot, John Lewis, Coca-Cola) 24:00 – Realism vs escapism in Christmas creative 27:00 – How agencies can use this to build stronger briefs 29:00 – The most memorable Christmas ads and why they last 32:00 – Should brands reuse ads instead of making new ones? 33:00 – Why music is critical to Christmas advertising effectiveness 35:30 – Final thoughts: faster insight, better decisions 🎯 Key Takeaways Christmas advertising isn’t about excess — it’s about connection under constraint Consumers want authenticity, not performance Creative effectiveness improves when insight is iterative, not static Consistency often beats novelty in building long-term brand memory AI isn’t replacing research — it’s changing how quickly you can think 🔗 Links & Resources Learn more about Electric Twin: https://electrictwin.com Listen to more episodes: That’s What I Call Marketing Previous episode with Dr. Ben Warner (Synthetic Research deep dive) 🎙️ About the Podcast That’s What I Call Marketing features conversations with leading marketers, CMOs, and industry thinkers — focused on how marketing actually works in practice. If you’re working on Christmas 2026 right now, get in touch with Electric Twin
That’s What I Call Marketing is where marketers come for real conversations about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession. Hosted by Conor Byrne, the show features conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, authors, thinkers and practitioners about what good marketing looks like in practice.
Listen, follow and find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com Connect with Conor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorbyrneirl/ If you enjoy the show, please follow, subscribe and leave a review. It helps more marketers find the conversations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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