S5 · E13
Christmas in April with Pete Markey & Leanne Tomasevic powered by Electric Twin
27 Apr 2026 · 37 min
About this episode
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
🎯 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
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chapters
- 00:00The reality of planning Christmas in April
- 01:10What Electric Twin actually does (synthetic audiences explained)
- 03:00Why speed matters in modern marketing decision-making
- 05:30Live demo: Understanding the mood of the nation at Christmas
- 08:30What consumers really want this year (family, realism, restraint)
- 12:00Gifting trends: practicality vs meaningful connection
- 14:30The balance between storytelling and selling
- 16:00What people want from Christmas ads now
- 18:00Should brands use celebrities? (and when it works)
- 21:00The role of consistency (Kevin the Carrot, John Lewis, Coca-Cola)
- 24:00Realism vs escapism in Christmas creative
- 27:00How agencies can use this to build stronger briefs
- 29:00The most memorable Christmas ads and why they last
- 32:00Should brands reuse ads instead of making new ones?
- 33:00Why music is critical to Christmas advertising effectiveness
- 35:30Final thoughts: faster insight, better decisions