With the arrival of the holiday season, it's time for the memorable end-of-the-year advertising campaigns and familiar music to hit the airwaves; our TV's, radios, and computer/tablet/smartphone screens will be bombarded by reminders of the season. Since I've been honored to share several inspiring series on my blog over the last year including my #FallBacktoReadingSeries, #SpringLeadershipSeries, and #OlympicsLeadershipSeries, I've decided to end the year with my #HolidayLeadershipSeries.
I've asked 10 thought leaders to chime in and share some of their holiday thoughts as they pertain to leadership and marketing specifically during the holiday season. Enjoy, and happy holidays!
But first, as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, Chanukah (December 25-January 2), and Kwanzaa (December 26-January 1) this week, let's review the origins of and some interesting facts about these holidays.
According to the History Channel, "Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. December 25th, Christmas Day, has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870."
According to the History Channel, "Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah, Hanukah, Hannukah, or Chanukkah) celebrates the re-dedication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem during the second century B.C., following the triumph of a small group of Jewish rebels, known as the Maccabees, against their oppressors, the Greek-Syrians, who had defiled the temple by erecting an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs within its sacred walls. In order to rededicate the temple, the Maccabees had to light a menorah that would burn within the temple at all times. However, they only had enough pure olive oil to last for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, leaving time to find a fresh supply of oil...The first day of Hanukkah can come as early as November or as late as the end of December, which means occasionally Hanukkah overlaps with Thanksgiving or Christmas. The last time we celebrated Thanksgivukkah was in 2013. Hanukkah and Christmas saw duel celebrations in 2005 and will converge again in 2024."
According to the History Channel, "Maulana Karenga, a Black nationalist who later became a college professor, created Kwanzaa as a way of uniting and empowering the African American community in the aftermath of the deadly Watts Rebellion in Los Angeles. Having modeled his holiday on traditional African harvest festivals, he took the name "Kwanzaa" from the Swahili phrase, "matunda ya kwanza," which means "first fruits." The seven principles of Kwanzaa are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. In order to avoid over-commercialization, gifts handed out to family members on the last day of Kwanzaa are often homemade. Alternatively, some participants buy books, music, art accessories or other culturally-themed products, preferably from a Black-owned business."
And now, for today's post, I'd like to introduce Rebecca Rucker. Rebecca is a psychotherapist based in Houston, Texas. We met via a virtual book club, Leaders Who Fiction led by Melanie Bell. Rebecca belongs to the Leaders Who Fiction book club because she enjoys the quality of the discussions about leadership that transpires among the book club members. When not reading fiction, she meets with a weekly group of eclectic elders who study the works of Shakespeare.
QUESTION: What BRAND or PRODUCT is the most memorable during the holiday season?
REBECCA RUCKER: My first memory of a brand was the Coca-Cola Santa Claus series in the 1960s. Their Santa Claus picture was right out of the Norman Rockwall era. He was pictured as a jolly gentleman in the classic red suit with a white beard drinking Coca-Cola. In one of the commercials, he had a polar bear on his knee. In the 1990's, the polar bear would become another Coca-Cola iconic symbol of the holidays, but the bears were proceeded by "I'd like to teach the world to sing" in a series of commercials in the late 1970's and early 1980's.
QUESTION: What is your favorite holiday ADVERTISEMENT?
REBECCA RUCKER: As much as I loved the original Coca-Cola Santa Claus, when the polar bears came along for the Christmas Coke commercials, I knew it was Christmastime. The simplicity and beauty of those commercials with their message of "sharing a Coke" or "helping a friend and sharing a Coke" are such a powerful message of peace at Christmas. To me, these Coke commercials are as iconic as the Budweiser Clydesdales' commercials with their horses for the Superbowl commercials. There is something quite hopeful from the messages that those animals convey.
QUESTION: What is your favorite piece of music or SONG during the holiday season?
REBECCA RUCKER: As I mentioned in the Coke commercials, the song, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony" is one of my favorite commercial songs during the holiday season. Coke has a series of memorable jingles that create mind worms in the brain like "Coke is It" and "Can't Beat the Feeling" from the 1980's to "Always Coca-Cola" and "Open Happiness" in the 1990's. Their message of positivity in songs and jingles goes well with the videos they produce about hope and prosperity.
QUESTION: Whose PERSONAL BRAND stands out during the holidays? (Think outside the box and do not share any religious choices.)
REBECCA RUCKER: While she is no longer on television everyday, Oprah Winfrey leads personal branding at Christmas as many of us wait to hear what is on her list of Favorite Things. Companies small and large seem to grow with abundance when they make the "Oprah list" each holiday season. While on television, Oprah became known for giving away items ranging from vacations, gifts, books, to even cars. However, it is her influence on the buying public with what she selects on her "Favorite Things" list that exceeds in sales all of the giveaways she did on her show. Only Oprah could transition acts of generosity into acts of buying sprees by the public from her hand-selected list!
QUESTION: And lastly, since this is a leadership series, what is your favorite LEADERSHIP QUOTE, and why?
REBECCA RUCKER: The quote I return to again and again is found in the old Cherokee story, "The Wolf You Feed." It goes like this:
One evening, an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
When I make daily choices, I often find myself asking which wolf I am feeding. To me, a good quote is one that you remember, are able to ponder, and from that reflection, make your best decision.
SHARE THIS: A good quote is one that you remember, are able to ponder, and from that reflection, make your best decision. ~Rebecca Rucker #DebbieLaskeysBlog #HolidayLeadershipSeries
My gratitude to Rebecca for sharing her leadership insights and for being a part of my #HolidayLeadershipSeries.
Image Credit: Coca-Cola.
Listen to "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony"
and read about how the song was written and recorded on a hilltop in 1971:
Note: According to Wikipedia, "Oprah's "Favorite Things" annual segment appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show from the 1990's to 2010, as well as on Rachael Ray in 2017. In the segment, which aired during the Thanksgiving week and was inspired by the holiday song "My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music," Oprah shared products with her audience that she felt were noteworthy or that would make a great gift. In addition, the audience members that attended the episode's taping in studio received items from that year's list for free. After being featured on Oprah's "Favorite Things" segment, businesses experienced a large boost in their website traffic and in visits to their stores. Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode was the most-watched episode each year of The Oprah Winfrey Show."
Read "Oprah's Favorite Things: A blessing and a curse"
https://money.cnn.com/2006/07/26/smbusiness/oprah.favorites/index.htm?postversion=2006112013
Connect with Rebecca at this link:
Website: https://texasinstituteforconsultationandclinicalsupervision.com/about-us/
Check out Rebecca's previous appearance here on my blog:
Let's Celebrate World Book Day and Promote Reading! (April 2024)
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2024/04/lets-celebrate-world-book-day-and.html
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