Christmas is a huge interiors moment but 2020 made it quite difficult to execute a Christmas in July activity given the constraints of the pandemic. We needed to find a way to still make it a memorable media moment…
Zoom fatigue. So much zoom fatigue. How could we create a must-attend virtual event that press would generally want to attend alongside a myriad of other virtual appointments?
We hit on the insight that after the challenges of 2020, we all needed a bit of Christmas cheer more than ever. We wanted to recreate the homeliness, the magic and the beauty of an at-home Christmas to remind everyone of the glimmer of hope on the horizon.
We created ‘It’s Virtually Christmas’ – Dunelm’s first virtual press event. Hiring a blank gallery space in Soho, we worked with interior designers to transform the space into a cosy Christmas living room and a dining room fit for a feast using two of Dunelm’s most breath-taking Christmas collections.
Media and influencers were welcomed to step inside our Christmas home and were treated to a panel discussion with interiors experts, Secret Styling Club, crafting expert Momtaz Behum-Hossain and Laura Boddice, a designer at Dunelm to talk about their favourite products and their Christmas plans.
Attendees were also treated to a tablescaping trends workshop to help expertly dress their dinner table and taught how to upcycle napkins and candles for gifts with Momtaz Begum-Hossain.
We had over 60 journalists attend the sessions, loving the products and tips from the event. We managed to exceed our Christmas coverage KPIs by 50%, growing the level of editorial presence and awareness about the brand in a year when the doors to the physical stores had been shut for many months.
