How Do Holidays Affect Digital Advertising? 

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

And while we may arguably say that marketing turned into 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 shifts?    

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.  

Now, 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. And as they start spending on Black Friday, from year to year, it was reported that many people entered a shopping spree that would only end after the 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. Well, it might not always be like this, but they are definitely 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, in some cases, more than they and retailers could have ever imagined. The wish to buy many presents changes consumer behavior.   

For instance, when Black Friday is close, everyone will start looking for some products they aim to buy, and when they learn that those certain products are on sale, they will most probably buy them. However, if those products were to be on sale during a different period, there is a possibility that they would be less interested in purchasing them. This is the magic of holidays, and companies try to make the best out of it, as such times can increase their sales significantly.   

While during Black Friday, consumers will look for products from various categories, Christmas is slightly different, for example. And 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 to where 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 be different from one company to another.    

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

As we mentioned before, 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 still 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 highly contribute 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 like to consider competition 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. The global ad spending for the retail sector in 2021 reached $88 billion. This means that over 2% of the global retail ad spending was spent by the US only during Q4. And this is neither surprising nor concerning. We usually increase our advertising budgets during holidays, and we do so to increase sales, which will come with a higher ROI for our companies.  

However, there is one more thing that increases during holidays: the 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 whole process is quite similar to an auction; the brands with bigger budgets and running higher-quality ads will see greater results. 

During holidays, there will always be significantly more brands that decide to run digital advertising campaigns. And having more brands promoting themselves online leads to intense competition and, therefore, increased ad costs. 

Things to Consider during Holidays  

Digital advertising is indeed harder to conduct around this time, but it also comes with 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 talked about how much the competition increases during Christmas or Black Friday. This is why it is extremely important to define your digital marketing strategy in advance. This will significantly increase your chance of acquiring new customers. And we, as marketers, enjoy planning things along with our team. Now, 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. Try to stay relevant and find the recipe that suits you and your goal the best. Take into account the importance of good visuals and carefully chosen CTAs, so that you manage to spend your digital advertising budget in the most effective way.   

Optimize Your Website’s Performance 

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

In that regard you may want to check our guide for speeding up your WordPress website to help you improve it.   

Keep an Eye on Customer Service Experience 

Your ads are great. Your website performs well. Now, you have to ensure your customers have a positive experience while in your store?   

Customer service experience plays a critical role in your brand’s overall success, especially during times when stores are extremely crowded, and consumers want to purchase multiple things in a short time.   

Final Thoughts 

The holidays are great. We all know that, and we all agree to that. While all of us are 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 that will help our company.   

During holidays, it is great to pay attention to factors such as consumer behavior, strong competition, and increased ad costs. This will help us build efficient digital advertising campaigns that will not only come with a great reach but also bring more sales and acquire new customers.   

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

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