What to expect from Public Relations during the Holiday Break

The holiday season is a magical time for family, festivities, and reflection, but for public relations professionals, it can also be a perplexing period. With newsrooms running on skeleton crews and journalists taking much-needed time off, PR campaigns often find themselves in a peculiar limbo. Here’s what you need to know about navigating a PR campaign during the Christmas break.

Evergreen Stories Take a Back Seat
One of the first things to understand is that many evergreen stories—those that are not time-sensitive and can be published any time—are tabled until January. News outlets prioritize breaking news or stories that are highly relevant to readers during the holiday period. Unless your story has a strong holiday tie-in or a major news hook, it’s likely to be pushed to the side for more urgent coverage.

Breaking News Dominates
Over the Christmas break, only the most significant breaking news stories capture attention. Journalists are focused on covering topics that resonate deeply with their audience, such as weather emergencies, significant political developments, or cultural events tied to the season. As a result, PR pitches that don’t align with these themes may struggle to gain traction.

Journalists Aren’t Keen on Pitches
Most journalists are not looking to be pitched between Christmas and New Year’s. It’s a time when they’re either taking a breather or handling only the most pressing stories. Flooding their inboxes during this period could risk alienating them rather than capturing their interest.

A Golden Opportunity for Relationship Building
While pitching may not yield immediate results, the holiday break offers an excellent opportunity to strengthen your media relationships. Use this quieter time to:

• Check In: Reach out to journalists with a simple holiday greeting or a brief note of appreciation for their work over the year. This gesture can go a long way in fostering goodwill.
• Plan Ahead: Engage in light, casual discussions about the types of stories they’re interested in covering in the new year. This is a great way to get a head start and plant the seed for future pitches.
• Stand Out: By initiating thoughtful, non-intrusive conversations during a slower period, you’ll be front-of-mind when journalists return to their desks and face a deluge of pitches in January.

Prep for January Success
The Christmas break is also a perfect time to refine your upcoming PR strategies. Use the downtime to:

• Draft and polish pitches for January.
• Research and compile media lists.
• Brainstorm creative story angles that align with your audience’s needs and interests in the new year.

​While the Christmas break might not be the ideal time to launch a major PR campaign, it’s far from a dead zone for public relations. By focusing on relationship building and planning for the year ahead, you can turn this quiet period into a strategic advantage. After all, the groundwork you lay during the holidays can set the stage for a successful PR push once the new year begins.

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