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Planning an Office Christmas Party: Throw a

Holiday Party
Here Are Some Ideas for Company Christmas Parties
By Vanessa Raymond
Object 1

Object 2

Object 3

I've seen many a company Christmas party that was planned with the best of intentions but executed
with inadvertent blunders. Here are a few party planning tips to consider before you begin your own
holiday celebration:
1. Good will for everyone. Remember that the company Christmas party is all about generating
good will. Whatever you do, you do not want your good intentions to backfire. For example,
let's say that your company relies on a blend of regular and contract employees. Chances are
that your contract employees may be more appreciative of a Christmas bonus or some paid
holiday days off than a lavish holiday party (or in a perfect world, all of the above). While you
could well be thinking, "Everyone will feel pampered if I buy only top-shelf scotch," they might
really be thinking, "Wow, x number of dollars on booze and not even a bonus for us."
In the old days, when everyone was an employee, companies did not need to tread quite as
carefully as they do now. Consider the point of view of everyone who is a part of the company full-time, part-time, contract and otherwise - as you decide on your plans.
2. Inclusiveness. You won't believe this story, but it's true. I once worked at an establishment
where only select members of a team were invited for Christmas lunch. Worse, the head of the
company would go through the department, and tap those chosen on the shoulder while
everyone else looked at one another out of the corners of their eyes in disbelief. If you're having
a party, make sure that it's a party for everyone, not just the A-team. Keep this point in mind if
your company has satellite offices, as well -the satellite offices deserve celebrations that are on
par with the parent company's event.
3. Company tradition. There's a lot to be said for the camaraderie that develops among
employees. The positive good feelings that come from it can help propel a workplace beyond
the ordinary. How you treat your staff becomes a part of the company's self-definition and
tradition, and the Christmas party is a piece of that. I always think it's a good idea for employers
to err on the side of seeing employees at their best and treating them accordingly. If you think
that you employ stars, they're going to want to live up to your assessment.
People like to be appreciated and acknowledged; find a way to incorporate these values into

your event, whether this involves public accolades or a handwritten note acknowledging an
individual employee's unique contribution (tucked into a gift basket, perhaps?). Remember, too,
that Christmas party details become a part of the office lore and company tradition.
4. Generosity. Since this is an opportunity for the company to show its appreciation, err on the
side of being generous. A few extra dollars spent here and there go a long way toward
generating you some good will. I still think fondly of the bashes that Little, Brown and
Company would put on back in my early days of employment - granted it was an East Coast
publishing company so the standards may be different than say, a recycling facility in Peoria,
but the point is that a good party is noticed and appreciated by employees, and makes them feel
that they are a part of something special.
5. Alcohol. This is always such a dicey topic: Everywhere you look, you are reminded to watch
your Ps and Qs and, in particular, to refrain from drinking too much. Just to play devil's
advocate for a moment, the whole point of a Christmas party is not to see people's usual
buttoned-up selves but to see them with their hair down for a change. What better agent for
achieving this objective than alcohol? When you think of any large, festive celebration over the
course of human history, alcohol (or another intoxicating agent) was almost always involved.
Now, while I'm not saying that you want to encourage employees to tie one on, remember that
alcohol is a social lubricant. Of course, you will need to consider offering taxi service, a
designated driver system or some other way to ensure that if your employees are inebriated,
they will arrive home safe and sound.
I've attended a variety of company parties over the years, some incredibly successful and some not.
Before you get into the specifics of who, what, where and when, consider these general themes to be
sure that your event is a success.

How To Understand Branding

Adding Value to Your Product Without Changing It
By Yardena Sheery
Object 4

Object 5

Object 6

Branding is a critical part of any business' success; if you'd like to pursue a career in business, it's
crucial to understand how branding works.
From a shallow point of view, brand is what's given by a company to its merchandise so the
manufacturer can be identified by consumers. Yet, after an increasing evolution on the production
systems that allows almost any manufacturer to make high quality and satisfactory products, brands
became a way of distinguishing simple commodities and their manufacturers by status, emotional
characteristics and subjective qualities. A well-built brand gives the company or product personality,
and evokes emotional and subliminal characteristics that are not necessarily found in the company or
product themselves.
A brand is built, initially, considering the following main characteristics:
1. The target public -- its preferences, interests and ways by which it might be attracted.
2. The geographic place -- its particularities, culture, population, weather, history, etc.
3. The selling place -- its consumers' habits, other merchandising available for sale and the nearby
selling places.
4. The market -- similar products and eventual gaps or saturations on the distribution,
communication and manufacturing.
5. Communication -- advertisement and other marketing actions, as well as brand building of
similar products.
After a market analysis, the building is started, accomplishing the following steps (not necessarily in
the given order):
1. Creation of a name by the company owner, its
marketing department or an advertisement agency.
2. Creation of a logo, considering its applications and
future uses. It's usually done by an ad agency or a design
company.
3. Creation of a personality that encompasses all the
characteristics the brand is supposed to have. It's done by
the marketing department or an advertisement agency.
4. Elaboration of marketing actions that will publicize
the new brand and its values, in the best way to reach the
desired market and public. The choice of the market
actions depend on the budget available, the market size,
its peculiarities, the public, etc.
After a deep marketing analysis and a study of the best values to be attributed to the product, the brand
is launched as a pool of subjective characteristics that are not materially present in the merchandise. If a
brand becomes too old or old-fashioned, or if it doesn't attracts the market or public it is supposed to,

actions of repositioning can be done. These actions can evoke the brand a new personality or reach new
markets and consumers, and can be done by communication and marketing actions as well as logo and
package changing.
All those studies and hard work, when well done, result in much-valorized brands that have a
trademark value even higher than all properties and stocks of the company itself. The most famous
example of such brands is Coca-Cola. Although you may not reach their level, you can definitely
develop more effective branding for your company by taking some business marketing courses online.
YARDENA SHEERY
yardena@uol.com.br