Commentary: 5 Ways to Ensure Your Marketing Plan Is Holiday-Ready

 

Commentary

5 Ways to Ensure Your Marketing Plan Is Holiday-Ready

• by Jared Smith , October 14, 2024

This year, the holiday rush isn’t just about sales; it’s about navigating the fine line between algorithm-driven advertising and meaningful brand-building in a crowded marketplace. Now more than ever, brands must adapt quickly to stay ahead.

Following are five key strategies to ensure your marketing plan is primed and ready for the holiday season.

Maximize AI ad solutions. AI capabilities have transformed our approach to paid media, especially during the holiday season. AI campaigns like Google’s Performance Max or Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns are purchase-driving tactics that make up a significant portion of paid media revenue.

To maximize their performance, it's crucial to set these campaigns up for success with a large variety of creative assets to prevent oversaturation. Meta has reported that 56% of performance is determined by creative. Opt into AI-driven campaigns this holiday season, keeping consistent with creative refreshes, to keep campaigns optimized and performing at their best.

Prepare strong creative -- and a lot of it. To stand out in a crowded market, you need a diverse mix of assets and formats, from static text-overlay images to shoppable content. Video remains a top-performing format across all platforms, so invest in both high-quality branded and influencer videos to add third-party validation. Static images are effective during key promotional days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday for delivering clear and concise sale messaging.

Plan for before, during and after key moments. The holiday season is short this year, as we are losing five days of this promotional period due to a late Thanksgiving, making advanced planning more crucial than ever. You should already be ramping up your prospecting efforts to build awareness before November when the focus shifts to converting interested consumers.

Consider increasing your budget for key promotional days and transitioning to buy online, picking up in-store options afterward. Also, ensure your ads are trafficked early, as ad platforms often slow down or experience issues closer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Have a contingency plan. Even the best-laid plans can go awry, so having a contingency plan is crucial. Ensure open communication with your media reps, especially during high-spend periods, and check on your credit lines so you can remain agile and capitalize on strong performance. If you are a marketer, having your CFO on speed dial might not be a bad idea! Prepare for pixel or catalog issues, identifying alternate platforms or products you can drive traffic to.

Monitor the market. Be aware of what's happening in the market, both with consumer sentiment and competitor activity. Keep track of when your competitors are launching promotions, what discounts they're offering, and how aggressive they are in their strategies. This will help you decide if you need to adjust your own tactics to remain competitive. Make sure you're meeting your customers where they are, understanding which channels they're using, and being present when their intent to purchase is highest.

Preparing for the holiday season requires careful planning, adaptability, and a solid understanding of the market dynamics. With these five strategies, you'll be ready to navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities of the holiday promotional period.