UK companies will spend an estimated £5.6bn on marketing in the run-up to Christmas

After Black Friday, it's Cyber Monday, and like you, my inbox is clogged up with numerous invitations to shop and part with my hard-earned money ...once more. It's not unusual to receive extra discounts on top of discounts.

The Advertising Association have forecasted that UK companies will spend an estimated £5.6bn on marketing in the run-up to Christmas which is £300m more than in 2015.

Buster the Boxer in John Lewis 2016 Christmas Ad.

To drive revenue during this festive period, retailers invest a lot of resource, time and money on their lavish marketing campaigns to attract shoppers and raise their presence within the market.  Many brands such as John Lewis, Coca Cola and Burberry are using emotion to develop strong ties with customers.

As the countdown for Christmas begins, retailers opt to create personalised marketing strategies to help drive customer loyalty and retention, as customers develop strong connections and feelings towards a brand.

Customers will choose different channels to engage with brands and now expect a seamless integration across channels as part of their customer journey.