<b>The Christmas story we pitched in September</b>

<b>The Christmas story we pitched in September</b>

The brief was seasonal: a retail client wanting Christmas-spending coverage. Every competitor would pitch the same data in December, drowning together. We went in September.

The logic was about how features get made, not consumer behaviour. The big seasonal pieces — the ones with real reach — are planned and assigned weeks ahead. By December the slots are filled. Pitch in the season and you're too late for the good coverage; you're left fighting for scraps.

We took the client's early-bird shopping data and pitched it as a forward-planning gift: "You'll be commissioning your Christmas features soon. Here's the data and the exclusive, ready before your competitors even think about it."

The timing was the entire advantage. A consumer editor replied: "Genuinely useful — I'm building the December calendar this week and you've just filled a slot." Being early meant being chosen, not chasing.

When December came, the piece ran in a prime planned feature rather than a rushed round-up, naming and linking the client as the data source.

Result: one premium feature placement plus 11 syndicated pickups — from a pitch sent when nobody else was thinking about Christmas.

<b>Lesson:</b> Seasonal coverage is decided months before the season. Pitch when the calendar is being built, not when the holiday arrives. Early isn't just safe — it's the only time the good slots are open.