Since Rudolph is busy, The Taboola Creative Shop is here to light the way and guide you to success with the Q4 2023 Holiday Creative Playbook. The team analyzed the highest-converting Q4 Taboola campaigns from 2019 to 2022 with either “online purchases” or “leads” KPIs. From this analysis, they unwrapped data-backed insights you can use to create click-worthy headlines that resonate with consumers and images that can’t be ignored.
Come hop on our sleigh, and let’s dash through some of their best industry-specific creative tips (but download the full playbook for more creative insights, predictions and a strategy-packed holiday funnel that will take you through Q5).
Download Taboola's Q4 2023 Holiday Creative Playbook
Jingle Your Way to Clicks with These Creative Trends and Tips
Every vertical is unique, so let’s look at some of the most important trends for the highest-performing ones.
Beauty: Give your campaigns a holiday glow-up with a show-and-tell approach. Use your titles to emphasize expert opinions and grand claims, explain how products solve beauty concerns, and infuse a sense of availability urgency. Help people visualize themselves using the product with close-up images of someone applying it or showing the results with before and after comparison pics.
Technology: Electrify your performance campaigns and spark excitement by crafting titles that call out the device name, point out innovative features or mention hacks and secrets that help people understand how the product will improve their day-to-day experiences. Keep audiences’ attention on the product with close-up colorful product images on clean backgrounds or show it cradled in someone’s hands.
Fashion & Style: Dress up creative titles using quotation marks and amp up the cool factor by name-dropping people who use it or spotlight who would love the item, like a dad, girlfriend or grandma. Showcase the product on a simple background or styled on someone but crop the photo at the model’s knees.
Healthy Living: While many consumers indulge in holidays, in the back of their minds, they’re thinking about how to prepare for a healthy year ahead. Leverage those thoughts using titles focusing on how the product benefits their health by addressing specific issues or concerns. Help people see the potential results with images that show the product in use or how the technology works.
Travel: While Santa’s sleigh circles the globe, consumers focus more on planning specific travel experiences. Boost campaign performance with titles that promote urgent sales for winter deals and dreamy summer getaways. Use corresponding images that show destinations decked out with holiday decor or sunny beaches and resorts.
Home & Garden: While everyone loves to be ‘home for the holidays,’ hosts are often under stress to create the perfect environment for guests. Use your campaign titles to reveal how-to hacks and tips and explain how products easily solve problems. Go for close-up images that show items in use or hands demonstrating how the product works.
Automotive: Big ticket items need big, bold campaigns so drive consumers to action with catchy ads they can’t zoom past. With titles, be direct about promotions, trade-in offers and innovative vehicle features. Balance that with monochromatic visuals in which the car color matches the background color or spark a gift idea with a holiday-themed environment.
Food & Beverages: No holiday season is complete without some culinary comforts, festive flavors, and yuletide yumminess. Advertisers in this tasty category should create campaign titles that call out name brands, celebrity ambassadors, health benefits, and cost-saving deals. Nothing makes mouths water (or consumers click) more than close-up pictures of delicious ingredients being cooked to perfection or colorful ready-to-enjoy foods and drinks.
These are just some of the tips you should follow for campaign creatives. Download the playbook to discover even more insights about these verticals, plus creative strategies for advertisers in the financial category.
Navigating the Holiday Marketing Maze
The holidays are a crazy but exciting time, but we’re here to help you through it. Check out two other holiday-specific articles to get a general idea of what lies ahead: Holiday Creative Trends and Predictions for 2023 and The Holiday Advertising Funnel: Reaching Your Audience with Seasonal Magic.
However, advertisers, if you’re ready to conquer the holiday season with strategies as fresh as fallen snow, download Taboola’s Q4 2023 Holiday Creative Playbook – it will be your North Star!
The playbook is full of data-backed gift-wrapped presents, including:
- Q4 creative trends and predictions
- A month-by-month holiday funnel with creative campaign strategies that align campaigns with changing consumer shopping behaviors
- A holiday creative timeline with creative strategies designed for Taboola campaign success
With a focus on strategic alignment and data-driven decision-making, you’ll be well-prepared to launch campaigns that shine even brighter than the holiday lights.
Advertisers, it’s time to gear up and get ready for the winter holidays – your golden opportunity to seize the hearts and wallets of consumers. Every campaign element must be thoughtfully and meticulously selected to engage and convert audiences while keeping your ROI high.