How Do Holidays Affect Digital Advertising? 

Christmas is approaching, and we’ve entered the most wonderful time of the year. And because it cannot be perfect without the right presents, we, the marketing people, work the hardest to ensure everyone finds all the presents they want and get the best suggestions for their loved ones and themselves. 

While we may arguably say that marketing became a new kind of “math” during the holidays, things change. We still build advertising campaigns to increase sales, but consumer behavior changes, asking for the strategy to do the same. 

And this does not happen only during Christmas; you may also see changes in digital advertising during Black Friday. Thus, how does advertising change during holidays, what are the main reasons, and how does consumer behavior shift?    

How Does Digital Advertising Change During Holidays? 

It is essential to note that not all companies can benefit from the holiday season. Let’s look at B2B and B2C companies. While B2C companies can significantly increase their sales during holidays, it may be difficult for B2B companies to apply similar strategies.    

However, companies that can increase their sales during Christmas, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday should strategize specifically for these periods.  

For a relatively long time, Black Friday has marked the beginning of holiday sales, as consumers always look forward to the discounts offered on the first Friday after Thanksgiving. As they start spending on Black Friday, year to year, it was reported that many people enter a shopping spree that would only end after New Year’s Eve.  

With that in mind, let’s see the most significant changes in digital advertising during holidays.   

Consumer Behavior 

Some say customers are always right. It might not always be like this, but they are right during holidays. And if you are wondering why, it is because they enter a “buying frenzy” phase.   

Christmas and gifts go together like peanut butter and jelly. Black Friday and shopping sprees work together just like fries and ketchup do. During such periods, consumers will buy many things, sometimes more than they and retailers could have ever imagined. The wish to buy many presents changes consumer behavior.   

For instance, when Black Friday approaches, everyone starts looking for products they want to buy, and when they learn that certain products are on sale, they will probably buy them.

However, if those products were on sale during a different period, people might be less interested in purchasing them. This is the magic of holidays, and companies try to make the best of it, as such times can increase their sales significantly.   

While consumers will look for products from various categories during Black Friday, Christmas is slightly different, for example. This happens because on Black Friday, they may want to buy a fridge on sale, but offering it as a Christmas present may not lead them to the place they were thinking in the first place.    

Increased Competition 

These days, many companies manufacture the same products. Take phones, for example. You have Apple, Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus, Sony, and many more. Indeed, they work differently, have different components, and develop their products to have various features that may differ from one company to another.    

However, the fact that there are so many brands on the market increases competition between them. Each brand wants to increase its sales, the number of customers, and its overall popularity among consumers. To do that, every company will (or at least should) choose one of the most potent weapons: digital advertising.    

As we mentioned, many things change during holidays, such as sales, digital advertising budgets, or the number of customers. And competition could not be left behind. During times such as Christmas, every company wants to be the one that customers choose the most; to do that, we run more campaigns, promote products that are on sale, or even use email marketing to offer customers a discount code.  

And while there are many ways of acquiring new customers, digital advertising remains one of the most effective. However, to be relevant in the online space, especially during holidays, you must come up with something new or engaging. The fact that everyone tries to do that will always increase the competition significantly. Furthermore, advertising budgets contribute significantly to the competition in digital advertising.  

Nonetheless, competition has always been a great opportunity for us, as it can help us increase our brand awareness and widen our marketing knowledge even more. So, we would like to consider competing with one of our close friends. 

Increased Ad Costs 

The digital advertising spending for the US retail sector in Q4 of 2021 was $1.8 billion, while the global ad spending for the retail sector in 2021 reached $88 billion. This means that the US spent over 2% of the global retail ad spending only during Q4, and this is neither surprising nor concerning. We usually increase our advertising budgets during holidays to increase sales, which will come with a higher ROI for our companies.  

However, one more thing increases during holidays: ad costs. As you probably know, advertising platforms such as Facebook or Google show your ad to users based on certain factors, including your budget, your competitor’s budget, the quality of your ad, or your website’s relevancy. The process is quite similar to an auction; the brands with bigger budgets and running higher-quality ads will see greater results. 

During holidays, significantly more brands will always decide to run digital advertising campaigns. Having more brands promote themselves online leads to intense competition and, therefore, increased ad costs. 

Things to Consider During Holidays  

Digital advertising is harder to conduct now but has surprising results. Holidays are great opportunities to increase sales and acquire new customers, and you will benefit from this long after the holidays.   

Thus, here are some digital advertising tips to follow during holidays. 

Define Your Strategy 

We have already discussed how much competition increases during Christmas or Black Friday. This is why defining your digital marketing strategy in advance is extremely important. This will significantly increase your chance of acquiring new customers. We marketers enjoy planning things with our team. If you combine this with the Christmas magic, you will get a perfect match.  

Maintain Relevancy 

Anyone can run an ad on Facebook, but not as well as marketers do. Your campaign’s success strongly depends on how you build it. Stay relevant and find the best recipe that suits you and your goal. Consider the importance of good visuals and carefully chosen CTAs so you can spend your digital advertising budget most effectively.   

Optimize Your Website’s Performance 

It is vital to have a website that works well. So, check your website’s performance and ensure it provides a decent speed and a positive UX.   

In that regard, you may want to check out our guide to speeding up your WordPress website.   

Keep an Eye on the Customer Service Experience 

Your ads are great, and your website performs well. Do you have to ensure your customers have a positive experience while in your store? Customer service experience is critical to your brand’s overall success, especially when stores are extremely crowded, and consumers want to purchase multiple things quickly.   

Final Thoughts 

The holidays are great. We all know that, and we all agree to that. While we are all impatiently waiting for Christmas, our reasons for that may differ. Everyone awaits Christmas to feel its magic. Consumers aim to buy as many presents as possible, and we, as marketers, cannot wait to build new strategies to help our company.   

During holidays, it is important to consider factors such as consumer behavior, strong competition, and increased ad costs. This will help us build efficient digital advertising campaigns that will have a great reach, bring more sales, and acquire new customers.   

Some things to consider when advertising during holidays include maintaining relevancy, planning your campaigns, improving your website’s performance, and providing a good customer service experience.   

Thanks to well-built ads, it is now time to bake those cookies and pack those presents you just bought. Merry Christmas, you hard-working marketers! And a Happy New Year!