Break out the ties and the World’s Best Dad mugs, because Father’s Day 2020 is just around the corner. Last year, total spending for the holiday was estimated to reach $16 billion, with 75.9% of people reporting that they celebrated.
This year, although Father’s Day might look a little different than an annual golf outing or a celebratory brunch out, fathers will still be celebrated, and marketers have an opportunity to get ahead of the rush and reach consumers looking for the perfect gift online.
Ahead of Dad’s big day, we’re looking into the trends that are currently shaping some of the industries that see the most gifting action—fashion, lifestyle, and consumer technology—to help marketers determine how, when, and where to reach Father’s Day shoppers.
Let’s dive in.
Father’s Day Fashion Campaigns
Since the dawn of Father’s Day history, clothing has been a popular option amongst gift shoppers. This year in particular, with e-commerce in focus and loungewear gaining in popularity, it’s likely that shoppers will be heading online to snag dad something comfy to wear now, or something practical to hang up for a later date. In either case, here’s how to target them most effectively.
Launch Ads at 6AM Local Time
Ad spend is highest from 7-9AM, but that’s actually when demand begins to drop off. Fashion shoppers are hunting for purchases in the early hours of the morning before their days begin. Reach them then when demand is not currently being met with supply.
Reach Consumers on Sunday and Wednesday
Although ad spend is highest on Friday and Saturday, consumer demand sees its peaks on Sunday and Wednesday, indicating that those days are a good time to meet consumers with your fashion messaging.
Opt for Photos of People and Food
According to our Taboola Trends data, for the fashion vertical, opting for photos over illustrations yields 57% higher click-through rates (CTRs), and having a person as the subject and including food increase CTRs by 38% and 33% respectively.
Take, for example, this Instagram image from Marine Layer prominently featuring a photo with a person as the very clear subject to promote a Father’s Day item.
Use Keywords Such as ‘Outfit’ and ‘Wear’
When it comes to fashion, stick with what you know. High-engagement keywords such as ‘outfit’ and ‘wear’ can help boost your campaign, while high-competition keywords such as ‘socks’, ‘shop’, and ‘best’ can risk your campaign getting lost in the noise.
There’s also opportunity to reach fashion consumers with keywords such as ‘stretch’ (we’re looking at you, comfy pants!), ‘today’, and ‘top’. These keywords have low spend behind them, but a high potential for CTR impact.
Five Sample Titles in Action
With our Title Analyzer Tool, you can test multiple title options in realtime and see how they shake out against one another. Using some of the keywords above, we put five sample titles to the test:
- These Sweats Stretch, But They Don’t Stretch Out
- Dad’s Stay-At-Home Outfit Isn’t Complete Without This
- The Comfiest Pajama Bottoms He’ll Ever Wear
- Ten Casual Tops For A Working-From-Home Dad
- Eight Loungewear Outfits Sold As A Set
The results are in:
A few key takeaways to glean from the results are to highlight what your fashion product does best. Is it the comfiest, the stretchiest, the softest, etc.? Say that upfront. Also, get specific with numbers. Showing eight outfits? Include a numbered list in the title to yield higher CTRs.
To combine these keyword trends with the aforementioned image trends, we put together a few examples of what campaigns could look like at various stages of the funnel.
Father’s Day Lifestyle Campaigns
For Father’s Day—and especially so for Dads at home—lifestyle items such as personal care items, books, and e-cards/e-gift cards may very well be on kids’ lists. Here’s how to reach consumers looking for these types of products and services.
Launch Ads at 6AM and 7AM Local Time
Much like fashion, spend on lifestyle ads begins to increase around 8am-10am, but opportunities lies in the hours just before. Reach consumers looking to get ahead of the workday and do their gift shopping in the morning.
Reach Consumers on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
Also in the same vein as fashion, ad spend tends to be highest for the lifestyle vertical on Friday and Saturday, despite demand being highest on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Meet that demand to see higher CTRs.
Try Colorful Images With Animals and Without Text
When it comes to lifestyle images, animals are your friends. Our data shows that including them increases CTRs by 56%. Opting for images in color and leaving text off of your images have CTR impacts of 33% and 29% respectively.
This Father’s Day example from lifestyle brand Malin & Goetz hits all the right notes, with color, no text, and—of course—a furry friend.
Notable keywords are ‘Water,’ ‘Store,’ and ‘Tricks’
Lifestyle consumers are often looking for tips, tricks, and hacks to make their lives easier. Use words like ‘tricks’ and ‘tells,’ but avoid keywords with strong competition such as ‘relief,’ ‘revolutionary,’ and ‘device.’
There’s also opportunity in keywords with low ad spend but high CTR potential, like ‘clear,’ ‘realize,’ ‘household,’ and ‘items.’
Five Sample Titles in Action
We’re back to the Title Analyzer to test out how some of the above keywords would perform as titles. The ones we tried out are:
- The Shaving Trick That Doesn’t Require Water
- 12 DIY Gifts You Can Make With Household Items
- What Do Dads Really Want? Six Dads Tell All
- 31 Gifts Your Dad Wants, But Doesn’t Realize Yet
- The Trick Behind A More Restful Night’s Sleep
And now the results:
As suspected, lifestyle consumers respond well to tricks, tips, and hacks. It’s also a good idea here, too, to give a numbered list if you’re going to be sharing multiple products or ideas, so readers can get a good idea of what to expect when they click to learn more.
With these keyword trends in mind, and the image trends we looked at before, we built three example ads for various stages of the funnel.
Father’s Day Consumer Technology Campaigns
When it comes to Dad’s big day, you can’t go wrong with a gadget. This year, especially, as consumers are picking out gifts online, it’s important to stand out and opt for images and keywords that work.
Launch Ads Between 6pm-8pm Local Time
In the technology industry, ad spend is quite high around 9am-10am, but there’s unmet demand from 6pm-8pm. Try reaching consumers during this window to drive engagement.
Reach consumers on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
To reach technology consumers, the beginning of the week is a clear time of opportunity, yet ad spend tends to increase on Friday and Saturday. Focus on these early-in-the-week days to better meet consumer demand.
Go for images that really focus on people
For technology images, the less distractions the better. Leave food and text out of it, and just focus on a person as the subject to really speak to audiences. Leaving off food increases CTRs by 41%, with not including text and having a person as the subject increase CTRs by 35% and 30% respectively.
This example from Bose does it perfectly, with a clear, crisp, image of a person featuring their product without anything additional.
Focus on Keywords Such as ‘Online,’ ‘Gadget,’ and ‘Gift’
Be direct with tech consumers and let them know that they can find and order the latest gadgets for Father’s Day online. Avoid high-competition keywords such as ‘muscles’, and ‘reduce’ in this vertical to avoid getting lost in the shuffle.
There’s also an opportunity with keywords such as ‘rising’, and ‘cutting-edge’.
Five Sample Titles in Action
Last trip to the Title Analyzer to test out:
- 19 Cutting-Edge Gadgets Your Dad Will Love
- Online Only: Father’s Day Tech Gifts
- Upgrade Your Dad’s Wearable Tech With These 11 Gifts
- What’s On Dad’s List This Year? We’ve Got You Covered
- The Cutting-Edge Tech Behind Dad’s New Favorite Gift
And, the results:
Try posing a question you have the answer to, and placing an emphasis on what’s cutting-edge about what you have to offer.
Now, here’s these same tech trends as example ads.
Dad’s Day Done Right
This year, Father’s Day (much like every day) will look a little different, but some familiar elements will remain the same, and we don’t just mean dad jokes.
Fashion, lifestyle, and technology gifts will be sought after online, and finding a way to stand out from the crowd of advertisers across those verticals means rooting decisions in data. We’re always here to help you create engaging images, write headlines that garner clicks, and create successful campaigns overall.
Keep tabs on all of Taboola’s trends on the Taboola Trends site, updating weekly with new data.