Christmas Creep (or “early Holiday advertising”) is a real thing. It even has its own Wikipedia page. Every year it seems that Holiday advertising starts earlier and earlier. This year, an extra shopping week coupled with rising consumer confidence is fueling heavy pre-Thanksgiving media spending for everything from apparel and jewelry to consumer packaged goods, autos and telecommunications.
Early holiday shopping means more sales.
In 2017, holiday sales are expected to pass $1 trillion. Most of this increase will be fueled by growth in online ecommerce which last year saw the biggest online shopping day occur on “Cyber Monday”, which this year takes place on November 27.
With Black Friday approaching, and the biggest Holiday advertising push yet to occur, here are some tips to help ensure your brand is not lost in the “Christmas Creep” this season.
Learn the do’s and don’ts of holiday advertising.
Do: Produce and execute unique creative content. Consumers can be captivated at this time of year with memorable ads. See John Lewis’ annual ode to Christmas #MoztheMonster.
Do: Consider alternate channels based on consumer behavior. Cinema, gaming consoles, over-the-top devices, podcasting and place-based digital advertising are all great alternatives to capture busy people on the go.
Do: Consider increasing your mobile presence. Over 67% of people will use a mobile device to research a holiday gift, while 59% will actually make a purchase on the same device.
Do: Take a closer look at your programmatic inventory sources. As online ecommerce shopping grows, work with your supply side partners to ensure your media appears in the right environments.
Don’t: Take your customers for granted. In the new distributed commerce world, consumers should be able to buy a product anytime, anywhere in the way the consumer wants to buy.
Don’t: Forget about the younger generations. According to Nielsen Consumer Research, both Millennials and Gen Z have stated that they intend to spend more for Holiday 2017.
Don’t: Forget about one-to-one customer relationship marketing. Personalized emails at this time of year are a great way to say thanks to your customers for their support in 2017.