Is Perception Reality?

Last week I was an emergency replacement as Santa for my brother’s company’s Christmas party.

It was a great event for the kids.  The expressions that they have and the excitement they show when they see Santa are so genuine.  It seems to be pretty much automatic.  But it’s not just kids who love Santa.

This wasn’t my first time as Santa.  Years ago, when we represented Phoenix Transit System, we held an annual “Santa Rides The Bus” promotion.  For a week just before Christmas, Santa (me) would hop on buses during morning rush hour and distribute gift certificates and coupons for free items from businesses across the Valley.  The look on people’s faces when Santa walked down the bus aisle passing out gifts was – to a person – priceless.  Mind you, these were adults who were so thrilled to actually see Santa!

Another interesting phenomenon: as Santa was standing at bus stops waiting to get on the next bus, people in their cars, all by themselves, would honk and wave at Santa.  The same thing happened when Santa would pull up next to them at an intersection.

The universal love goes hand-in-hand with Santa’s untarnished reputation.  While this is the time of year we are reminded of Santa’s standing in the community, it’s a year-long demonstration of reputation management.

It’s the same approach any organization can take advantage of.  If you’d like to talk about it, please reach out.