Jingle bells, holiday sales, and…data analysis? You bet! For businesses, the holiday season isn’t just about mistletoe and eggnog; it’s a crucial period that can significantly impact annual sales. But competition is fierce, and attention spans are as short as mini candy canes. So, how can you cut through the festive noise and make sure your ads are heard (and clicked) amidst the chaos?
This is where The Taboola Creative Shop swoops in with a sleigh of data-driven strategies. Our in-house creative experts sifted through thousands of campaigns to unwrap the insights that will help you capture consumer attention and guide them to that coveted ‘Click to Buy’ button. They’ve compiled everything you need to know into the 2024 Q4 Holiday Creative Playbook, which you can use to optimize your native ad campaigns.
The Gift of Knowledge, The Metrics that Matter
Before we prepare for the future, let’s look back at last year’s trends. Knowing what worked and when consumers took action will help inform your campaign planning and adjust campaign goals to align with shoppers’ mindsets.
Q4 2023 Trends for Lead Generation: Early October was the golden period for vCTR, just before the shopping frenzy kicked in. Interestingly, there was a post-Christmas (Q5) spike in CVR, likely due to family discussions around the dinner table and New Year’s resolutions.
Q4 2023 Trends for Purchases: CVR steadily climbed towards November’s shopping peaks and right up to Christmas. User engagement (vCTR) was consistently higher throughout Q4, with a noticeable uptick as we approached Santa’s big day.
‘Tis the Season for Smart (Topic) Targeting: Readership Trends
People gravitate towards specific content before and during the holidays. The key is to find creative ways to tie your product or promotion to these trending topics and maximize your campaign impact.
Here are the top trending topics that engaged consumers during different phases of the season:
October: Spooky season aside, people are interested in content about pets, cars, beauty products, PC games, and parenting tips.
Cyber Five: These powerhouse shopping days ignite searches for football, smart watches, local businesses, home improvement, and food.
December: As the holidays approach, consumer reading habits shift towards investing, real estate, nature, cooking, and basketball.
New Year (January): A fresh start to the year inspires people to consume content about health, lifestyle, family, video games, and the weather.
Your Vertical’s Time to Shine
With the holiday season sprinkled across nearly four months, how should you allocate your ad spend? Different verticals will see the highest interest and engagement at different times. Go big with campaigns at the right time to see sales snowball.
Personal Finance & Healthy Living: Go all in during October and November to boost your bottom line.
Medical Health & Home and Garden: Cozy up to shoppers in September and December to earn healthy returns on your efforts.
Automotive: Hit the gas in September and October, and you’ll speed toward success.
Technology: Consumers are tech-savvy year-round but focus on September and October to grab early interest and sales.
Festive Flow: Sync Creatives with Holiday Shopping Habits
Aligning your campaigns and messaging with the consumer purchasing timeline is the key to catching and converting consumers. Follow this schedule to ‘sleigh’ seasonal sales.
October: Early shopping and research dominate consumer thoughts, with 32% planning their purchases 3+ months in advance. Be there when they’re searching.
November: The consideration phase kicks in. 45% of shoppers plan 1-2 months out. Help them make informed decisions.
Cyber Five: Discounts and deals reign supreme. 30% of shoppers plan to increase their online spending compared to 2023. Make your offers stand out.
December: Last-minute purchases are the name of the game. Appeal to Gen Z’s budget-conscious approach by showcasing competitive prices.
Q5 (Christmas through New Year): Return and refresh is the trend here. 73% of Millennials plan to treat themselves to a gift while shopping for others (hello, two-for-one deals!).
Ready to learn more about the consumer holiday timeline? Watch our video here:
Or, learn more about the holiday marketing timeline here:
Jingle All the Way to Success
By leveraging data-backed strategies and adapting to consumer behaviors, you can ensure your campaigns shine brighter than a Christmas tree, but there’s more to know!
Download Taboola’s 2024 Q4 Holiday Creative Playbook to discover all of our holiday insights. Explore other creative playbooks and best practices here.
Find more holiday and Q4 insights and trends on our blog, including: