Hire Texas Santa
Hire Texas Santa
Modernizing an age-old tradition
My cousin asked for help in creating a small web presence for his new side gig where he portrays Santa Claus during the holidays. He does parties, photo shoots, corporate events, etc. He looks exactly like Santa Claus, and he's kind, thoughtful, listens and is great with kiddos. In short, he's the perfect Santa Claus.
I agreed, and built him a quick landing page designed to funnel folks looking to hire a Santa Claus in the Houston area directly to him.
There wasn't much to the landing page—it was just some information on him, plus a button that allowed customers to email him directly.
An Opportunity
Even when I'm doing a project for free, or for fun, I always do some digging into the market the project resides in. I can't help myself, and I like to learn, no matter how obscure the subject matter is.
So that's what I did here. I started looking into the cottage Santa Claus impersonator industry.
- There are a lot of people dressing up as Santa Claus during the holidays.
- There is a lot of demand for people to portray Santa at events and parties. A lot.
- The folks who participate in this holiday-only industry are using marketing techniques that are at least 20 years old.
- There's almost no page optimization for SEO.
- Most of the websites look like they were designed using Microsoft Front Page.
- And most importantly, actually booking a Santa requires you to either contact the Santa impersonator directly—usually via Facebook, since that's how most of them seem to operate—or fill out a web form and wait for them to get back to you.
I actually filled out some of these forms, just to see how long it would take for them to get back to me. Of the four forms I filled out, only one got back to me. A week later. The rest? Apparently they just vanished into the ether.
The Logo
Using a 2H pencil and my trusty sketchbook, I started doodling out ideas for an icon/logo. Of the 100 or so sketches I made, I ended up bringing 10-12 into Procreate to work on them in a digital environment. Outside of actual pencils and paper, Procreate is the tool I use the most.
Here are a few of the concepts I finished in Procreate:
I like all of these. But they weren't what I wanted. What I really wanted was something minimalistic and cute. Something that would look good on a website navigation bar, but also printed as a sticker, or embroidered on a beanie.
So I went back to square one with the 2H pencil and sketchbook. I made hundreds of little doodles. None of them made me happy.
Until I stumbled on this.
The First Version
The first version of the icon was almost exactly what I was looking for. It's cute, it prints well and displays great in any situation.
The Final Version
In the final version of the icon, I made the eyes a little bigger. And because Santa's eyes are often described as "twinkling," I added an off-white ellipse in each eye. I also made the nose a little larger, because Santa is also often described as having a red bulbous nose.
The Website
After finalizing the icon, I set about building the site on our host, Squarespace.
Here's the finished homepage.
Booking
The booking system is unlike any other provider in the industry. Instead of filling out a form or negotiation an appearance via Facebook Messenger, our system allows the customer to complete the entire booking process on our site.
After selecting their event type, date and time, the customer is then presented with a custom form that is specific to the event type they selected.
After filling out the form, the customer then has the option of paying a 50% deposit, or paying the entire fee at once. They can use a credit or debit card, Apple Pay, Android Pay and even Venmo to complete their payment.
After the payment is complete, the customer then receives a confirmation email with the details of their event. They also receive a second automated email putting them in touch with the Santa talent. As their event date draws closer, they'll receive two more automated emails. One is a reminder that they need to pay the other 50% of the booking fee. The second email reminds them about their event and gives them specifics on what to expect on the day of the event.
