By Michael Connors, Contributing Writer

The season is upon us. Holidays and other special occasions provide brands with a license to put aside their typical constraints and innovate. It's also an opportunity to drive incredible sales performance. Icons like Coke and Starbucks have been capitalizing on holiday cheer and holiday spending habits for decades—and you can, too. 

Here are some best practices for staying above the holiday fray and showing consumers a new side of your brand. 

Beer 12-pack

Example: Instead of focusing just on holidays, Widmer Brothers, Redhook and Kona Brewing Co. create brews and packaging that evoke the tone and spirit of the season all winter long.

Ballantines

Example: Ballantine's packaged their product with a unique and festive ice tray.

Pangea

Example: Pangea Organics created an easily wrappable and "easily plantable" holiday gift box for its line of body care products that will grow a spruce tree.

Johnnie Walker

Example: Johnny Walker allows consumers to personally engrave its coveted Blue Label bottles for the holidays. 

M&Ms Dark Christmas

Example: M&M's does a great job of using their quirky candy characters to build seasonal or holiday specific awareness by tying packaging to print and TV ads. 

Marmite Gold

6. Change the product (if possible)
Packaging may come and go, but if you can create a product that will only be available for a limited time, you've immediately jumped into the premium category and created urgency around the purchase.

Example: Marmite Gold added edible gold flakes to its product.

Vaseline Pink Bubbly

Example: Vaseline created engaging in-store experiences around its limited-edition lip therapies, and its latest Pink Bubbly flavor became the fastest-selling product in history at Selfridges department stores.

Starbucks Christmas

Example: Starbucks beautifully balances the holidays into its packaging design and products. Each year it has a slightly new take on the season so brand enthusiasts have something to anticipate.

Pot Noeldle

Example: Pot Noodle became Pot Noeldle, cleverly embracing the hype of the holiday season. And the company took it a step further by adding the tag line "The Gift That Keeps on Giving" to the front of pack, paying homage to the infamous line from the holiday classic Christmas Vacation. 

10. Start early
No one wants to think about the Holidays in July, but to have your ducks in a row for a product or package roll out that doesn't drown in the sea of red and green, you need to start thinking snowmen even while you're still soaking up the summer sun!

Michael Connors is vp of design at Hornall Anderson (www.hornallanderson.com). The company uses a 360-degree design approach to create branded experiences from print to digital and packaged goods, to environments, virtual worlds and beyond.

.