There are a ton of brands made famous and talked about during the holidays, but without a doubt, one stands out to chronicle Santa Claus' journey around the world on Christmas Eve.
My favorite holiday brand is NORAD, which celebrated its 70th year last night of providing holiday cheer. Read more from NORAD's website:
"The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a United States and Canada bi-national organization that defends North America through aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning. Headquartered in Colorado, NORAD's mission has evolved over the years to meet changing threats.
The modern tradition of tracking Santa began in 1955 when a young child accidentally dialed the unlisted phone number of the CONAD Operations Center (the predecessor of NORAD) upon seeing a newspaper ad telling kids to call Santa. The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, answered the phone and instructed his staff to check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole.
Thus, a tradition was born, and every year since, NORAD has reported Santa's location on December 24 to millions of children and families across the globe. Every Christmas Eve, more than 1,250 Canadian and American uniformed personnel and civilians volunteer their time to staff telephones and computers to answer calls and emails from children around the world. Live updates are provided through the NORAD Tracks Santa Website (in 9 languages including English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, and Chinese), over telephone lines, and by email to keep curious children and their families informed about Santa's whereabouts.
Each year, the NORAD Tracks Santa Website receives nearly nine million unique visitors from more than 200 countries and territories around the world. Volunteers receive more than 12,000 emails and more than 70,000 calls to the NORAD Tracks Santa hotline. NORAD Tracks Santa has become a magical and global phenomenon, delighting generations of families everywhere and is funded through generous contributions that cover everything from computer servers, website design, video imaging, Santa's tracking map, and telephone services."
For more information about NORAD Tracks Santa, visit www.noradsanta.org – so you’ll be ready to track Santa’s journey next year. The NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center is fully operational beginning at 4 AM MST on December 24th. You can call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to talk directly to a NORAD staff member to relay Santa's exact location. Operators are available until midnight.
Sometimes, there are brands that align perfectly. Check out this interesting twist on the NORAD holiday brand from OnStar by General Motors. According to its website in 2024: "For OnStar, following Santa's journey has been a beloved tradition for 16 years. Collaborating with NORAD, OnStar provides real-time updates throughout Santa’s annual flight. To date, OnStar has located Santa over 100,000 times, bringing joy to families across the US, Canada, and Mexico. In 2024, families pushed the magic blue OnStar button in their Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, or GMC vehicles to follow Santa’s journey on Christmas Eve – and even talked to Santa himself!"
The OnStar website continued, "If Santa’s sleigh were equipped with GM’s built-in infotainment system, he could rely on a perfectly optimized Christmas EVe route, stopping at every chimney right on time. The navigation system could analyze variables like flying style (Dasher’s speed versus Blitzen’s power), weather conditions and more, providing updates to his route in real time for faster, more efficient gift delivery. And it could show him which parts of his route are equipped with Super Cruise1 hands-free driver assistance technology, for a relaxing ride across the US, Canada and China. GM’s native infotainment system has all the tools Santa needs for his round-the-world Christmas Eve journey. With built-in music apps, Santa could even listen to his favorite Christmas tunes and holiday podcasts while spreading joy to children around the world. If he ran into any trouble on his journey, Santa could simply press the blue OnStar button to get immediate help from an OnStar advisor. If the reindeer got lost, OnStar could provide turn-by-turn navigation. Lastly, an EV battery system could power St. Nick’s navigation and sound systems, and provide energy for both heating and headlights when it’s too dark and stormy to rely on Rudolph’s red nose."
Have a good rest, Santa, we'll see you next year!
SHARE THIS: Sometimes, brands align perfectly in their timely messaging – for example, NORAD and OnStar by General Motors. #Santa #HolidayBranding #DebbieLaskeysBlog
Image Credit: ArgusLeader.
Read about Santa's Sleigh – length/width/height without reindeer:
https://www.noradsanta.org/en/sleighinformation
Check out some books about Santa and Holiday Traditions:
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