Holiday Marketing Guide: Top Strategies, Tips & Trends for 2024

• How early should I plan my holiday marketing campaign? The sooner, the better! Aim to start planning in the summer, and have your holiday marketing strategy finalized by September at the latest.
• Which channels should I include in my holiday marketing strategy? Email, social media, and native advertising are all must-haves for an effective and comprehensive seasonal marketing plan.
• How do I create a compelling holiday marketing offer? While there are many options available to you, investing in strong creative and performance marketing is a surefire way to stretch your budget and reach.

There’s no way to overestimate the importance of holiday marketing. The holidays are the busiest time of year for most retail and consumer brands—which means companies are clambering to get their share of shopping dollars.

No wonder the holiday season is always on marketers’ minds. Year after year, holiday sales reach historic new heights, growing steadily since 2019. The U.S. Census Bureau shows that core retail sales during the 2023 holiday season grew 3.8% over 2022, topping $964.4 billion, and experts are predicting another big year for 2024.

Record sales bring valuable opportunities for businesses looking to boost revenue, but the tough competition means you have to start early. Over the past five years, holiday sales in November and December have accounted for approximately 19% of total annual retail sales, so planning a strategy to boost your visibility and relevance with plenty of time to spare can set you up for success.

You’ve got a lot of advertising options at your disposal, but as you plan your festive season marketing strategy, keep performance marketing like native advertising top of mind. Since online performance marketing is designed to maximize your ad budget and generate tangible results, it can give your brand a competitive edge during the holidays and beyond.

6 Tips for Creating a Holiday Marketing Campaign

Effective holiday marketing strategies all have several things in common: Thoughtful planning, research, and the right marketing mix. The following holiday marketing ideas will help you maximize your profits this year.

1. Get to know the major shopping holidays

Before you start planning your holiday advertising, it’s a good idea to refresh your memory of the major shopping holidays. Over the years, newer “holidays” like Cyber Monday and Super Saturday have emerged as major retail events, so consider these alongside the more traditional holidays and determine which make the most sense for your brand.

Setting a budget

Once you decide which holidays you’ll be focusing on, it’s time to focus on setting your budget and pacing your investment. While the holiday shopping season can mean a dramatic revenue boost, the profits you make will depend on the nature of your business. For example, research shows that hobby, toy, and game stores make nearly 35% of their total annual sales during the last quarter. If that’s not your experience, though, make sure to develop a budget that accounts for the ad dollars you’ll need the rest of the year while still meeting your holiday brand awareness objectives.

It’s also smart to stay flexible when it comes to how you’re allocating those ad dollars. If an ad is doing well, investing more of your budget in that placement can help you capitalize on its success.

2. Understand your customers’ behavior

Today’s consumers start shopping early, and approach each holiday differently. What does this mean for your brand? Knowing your customers’ shopping behavior can help you reach them at the right moment and create a campaign that resonates.

Researching previous sales to identify your most active audience is a good place to start, but to effectively connect with consumers, you need to know how they engage online throughout the holiday season. By studying monthly shopping trends, you can understand when, where, and how they’ll be spending their money, and what type of ad message is most likely to convert.

In other words, optimize your marketing not just for the holiday itself, but for specific consumer-facing moments.

Monthly trends and tentpole events

October: This is when most consumers start to think about buying gifts, and conduct their initial research. Thirty-two percent of shoppers make plans 3+ months in advance of a purchase. Our Skimlinks data shows that in 2023, shoppers converted on content related to costumes, movies, and decorations, while content featuring themed food and treats generated significant site traffic.

November: By November, the consideration process is more advanced. This month, shoppers are actively planning their buys; 45% of consumers make plans 1 to 2 months in advance of a purchase.

Cyber Five (the five day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday): With so much holiday shopping now happening online, and cyber deals galore in the days following Thanksgiving, these dates are critical for your holiday marketing campaign since 30% of shoppers plan to spend more on online holiday shopping in 2024 than the previous year.

December: December is when last-minute shoppers make a dash to the online stores—Gen Z in particular. This demographic will likely continue their spending discipline and invest more time in seeking the best prices.

Don’t forget generational marketing

As you plan your campaign, it’s important to consider Targeted Generational Marketing as well. This strategy is all about adjusting your promotional calendars according to generational shopping patterns.

Just as Gen Z may be more likely to respond to last-minute promotions, older consumers tend to start their holiday shopping even earlier than most customers. Tailoring your promotions to these behavioral trends—for example, by using social media to target younger consumers and newsletters to reach Gen X and Boomers—can improve your campaign results.

3. Consider your vertical 

Shopping behavior isn’t the only thing that can vary from one month to the next. The types of products that consumers consider and purchase changes too—so one of our top holiday marketing tips is tracking consumer interest from one month to the next.

Target by product and topic

According to Taboola data on readership trends, consumers gravitate toward specific products at different times of the year.

October: Pets, cars, beauty products, PC games, and parenting tips.

Cyber Five: Football, smart watches, local businesses, home improvement, and food.

December: Investing, real estate, nature, cooking, and basketball.

New Year (January): Health, lifestyle, family, video games, and the weather.

Use vertical trends to boost interest

Taboola’s viewable click-through rates (VCTRs) data shows that certain verticals get more engagement during particular months as well. This kind of data can really help you make the most of your holiday advertising.

Personal Finance & Healthy Living: October & November

Medical Health: September & December

Home and Garden: September & December

Automotive: September & October

Healthy Living: October & November

Technology: September & October

4. Choose a campaign theme and leverage content trends

Advertising is crucial for expanding your reach around the holiday season, but it’s important not to overlook the importance of quality content—starting with your ad creative. Capitalizing on creative trends, plus aligning your creative to match consumer state of mind and behavior, can go a long way toward building a strong connection with your target customers.

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Draw in customers with a relevant theme

You’ll want to choose a theme and message that makes sense for your brand, its vision, and its values. Products and verticals aside, there are certain content subjects that consumers will be devoting more thought to this holiday season.

Based on an analysis of Taboola’s marketing insights, we predict a focus on sustainable, personalized, and value-oriented shopping in Q4 2024.

Sustainability: Sustainable business practices are increasingly important to consumers, and can even have an impact on their decision making process. To capitalize on this trend, highlight:

• Commitment to sustainability
• Eco-friendly products
• Highlight certifications & materials

Personalized Ads: Personalized content is inherently more relevant to consumers, and therefore often more likely to generate a sale. To personalize your holiday ad experience:

• Leverage audience interests
• Reach customers where they’re already engaged
• Customize your products

Value: Consumers love a good deal—especially around the holidays, when spending really peaks. To tap into this interest and attract your audience’s attention, focus your ad messaging on:

• Deals & promotions
• Bundle sales
• Early shopping

Improve performance with ads that engage, intrigue, and resolve

No matter what theme you choose for your campaign, your content should Engage, Intrigue, and Resolve your customers’ shopping challenges. Incorporating the following components and strategies into your ads can boost performance.

• Question-Based Engagement: Engages readers by posing thought-provoking questions.
• Human element: Visuals of products being held or used.
• Problem-Solution: Directly addresses consumer problems with clear solutions.
• Time Sensitivity: Creates urgency with limited-time offers and deadlines.

Creative tips for your vertical and product

Creative is another area where considering your vertical can count for a lot. In fact, The Taboola Creative Shop Experts have found that following vertical-specific creative best practices can boost engagement and key performance indicators (KPIs) to the max.

This is also the time to think about leveraging Generative AI. Taboola’s Gen AI AdMaker can help you continuously produce high-quality content targeted to specific audiences through the power of tools like Chat GPT and Stable Diffusion. This technology makes it easier for advertisers of all kinds to follow Taboola’s best practives and develop creatively diverse campaigns.

Check out these additional tips for producing effective creative specifically for your vertical and products.

Beauty: Beauty consumers are increasingly drawn to eco-friendly materials and sustainable practices. Highlight natural ingredients, recycling old products and special discounts to catch their eye. Feature closeups of a person applying the product, hands holding the product, or its effectiveness with before-and-after transformation pictures.

Technology: Tech products enhance daily life. Highlight practical uses, share hacks, and secrets, or emphasize new and state-of-the-art features. Include discounts and promotions to entice shoppers. Use closeups of the product or hands holding the device to create a sense of intimacy and authenticity. Featuring real people using the product adds a convincing touch of relatability.

Fashion, Style & Shopping: Headlines should focus on product personalization features, brand sustainability, and who endorses it—whether it’s a celebrity or teen-approved. Point out who the product is perfect for and its cool factor.  Showcase the product on a clean, simple background or from unique points of view to make it stand out.

Healthy Living: Health and wellness look different for each person, so talk about personalized plans, the product’s health benefits, or how it addresses specific health concerns. Use images displaying holding hands or using the product or featuring authentic people representing your potential audience.

Travel: Headlines should point out urgent sales and booking opportunities, personalized holiday bookings (think families or singles), and planning ahead for summer. Use images showing people enjoying beach or resort destinations, capturing the essence of vacation milestones and creating a sense of wanderlust.

Home & Garden: Home and garden enthusiasts love practical tips, so write headlines that reveal useful hacks, use numbered lists for trends and gifts, and communicate promos and discounts clearly. Show closeups of products in appropriate indoor or outdoor settings or hands demonstrating the product to create a sense of practicality and usefulness.

Automotive: Eco-friendly features are a big draw nowadays, so emphasize them. Be direct about promotional offers, trading or selling opportunities, or new 2025 models. Use eye-catching colors or show cars charging, driving on open roads, or in holiday or winter environments to create a sense of excitement and adventure.

Finance: For finance-related ads, leading with value and expertise is crucial. Craft headlines that feature expert predictions, name assets or institutions, or call out audiences by life events. Select visuals that show types of assets or currency, people using devices to organize their finances, or headshots of experts to create a sense of trust and reliability.

5. Create a content strategy

Behind most every effective holiday campaign, there’s a great content marketing strategy. Using tried-and-true techniques like native advertising, affiliate marketing, influencer marketing, and gamification, you can inform and entertain potential customers while also generating results.

There are many content marketing options available to marketers, but these particular strategies are known for driving results.

Native advertising

Around 18,000 advertisers use Taboola native advertising to reach nearly 600 million daily active users in a brand-safe environment. With this form of content advertising, you can reach your target audience when they’re most receptive to new messages, products, and services—including those designed to drive holiday sales.

Native advertising can take various forms, from sponsored articles and promoted social media posts to in-feed ads and videos for your brand. All are made to engage users by providing relevant and valuable content, while also delivering relevant marketing messages in a non-disruptive manner.

Choose your native tools:

These tools are designed to support your holiday marketing ideas and drive results that you can use to create high-performing campaigns.

• Taboola Pixel. Use Taboola Pixel for tracking and measurement, audience targeting, and segmentation by interest. This tool also helps you discover valuable insights about your audience and the effectiveness of your creative.
• GenAI Ad Maker. To make sure you’re cutting through holiday clutter to get your audience’s attention, use Taboola’s GenAI Ad Maker. It’s designed to appear in moments of attention and help you leverage the power of native experiences.
• Maximize Conversions. With Maximize Conversions, a bidding strategy that uses Taboola’s SmartBid algorithm and is powered by Taboola’s AI, brands can optimize bidding while keeping their campaigns cost-effective.

Below, you can find three holiday-focused native advertising case studies.

Bombas

When comfort-focused apparel brand Bombas needed to reach new customers and drive holiday sales for its revamped and expanded line of slippers, it turned to Taboola native ads. Using Attentive Audiences and site retargeting to reach potential customers across the open web, Bombas achieved a 50% increase in Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), above-average CTR, and 1.26X increase in ROAS with Attentive Audiences.

Ferrero Group & Publicis

International packaged food company The Ferrero Group and leading media agency Publicis Media came to Taboola to increase awareness of Ferrero Rocher in Israel before the holiday season. With a custom creative media campaign across the open web, and by targeting audiences with interactive, sponsored content, Taboola and Publicis Media were able to increase Ferrero’s vCTR by 125% above Taboola’s food vertical benchmark, generating a 36% engagement rate.

BlazePod

For BlazePod, a smart reaction training platform powered by an interactive app and innovative light-up pods that encourage physical and cognitive growth, boosting “Add to cart” conversions was key. The goal was to do so by diversifying beyond Google, Facebook, and other social platforms. With Taboola native ads, retargeting, and creative recommendations to generate conversions and holiday sales, BlazePod saw a 131% ROAS, 3X more “Add to cart” conversions, and a 79% lower CPA than competitive social platforms.

What to avoid: Don’t wait until the last minute to launch your native campaign! Leave yourself plenty of time to work with your native ad partner and create compelling content that converts.

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing involves collaborating with social media influencers and industry leaders to help expand your company’s reach online. It’s an excellent way to increase brand awareness, generate product buzz, and increase website traffic.

Working with uber-creative influencers opens the door to lots of clever strategies, especially around the holidays. Try these techniques to spread the word about your promotions and boost holiday sales.

• Count down to the holidays with timely and relevant content
• Work with influencers to create a gift guide that will showcase your products
• Invite influencers to offer sneak peeks at your products or upcoming deals

What to avoid: To be truly effective, influencer marketing needs to appear genuine. Be wary of sharing a message that feels inauthentic to your customers, and stick with content that’s a natural fit for your brand.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is another great content strategy for the holiday season, as it allows companies to partner with affiliates and receive a commission for each site visit, signup, or sale they generate for your brand. Working with an intermediary like Skimlinks (a Taboola company) can help you streamline communications between commerce content publishers, optimize your campaign with Premium Coupon and Deals Partners, and gain access to high-intent shoppers who are actively seeking deals.

What to avoid: Low-quality content. Make sure your affiliate marketing content is valuable to consumers by including coupons, deals, and wishlists that provide a satisfying e-commerce experience.

Gamification

Let’s not forget about the perks of gamifying your content! Online games are known for their ability to engage customers and build brand loyalty, so creating branded gamified content for the holidays can give your promotions added amplification.

• Create a countdown clock or advent calendar offering a daily product suggestion or deal
• Build a daily quiz related to the holiday while offering a trial or product sample to demonstrate product quality
• Use virtual scratch cards, roulette, or quizzes to keep customers engaged

What to avoid: Minimal branding. To ensure your gamified content is effective, include visible company and product branding and make your games shareable to boost your brand exposure.

6. Launch your campaign and start optimizing

With the exception of the Saturday after Thanksgiving, online sales consistently outpace in-store sales. All the more reason to develop a powerful digital holiday marketing strategy and keep it running at peak performance.

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Analyze, optimize, repeat

Launching your campaign is just the beginning; next, it’s time to track results. To optimize campaigns successfully and improve campaign performance, you need to constantly analyze your holiday advertising results and look for opportunities to make improvements.

• Optimize your ads using Taboola’s Generative AI. This tool allows marketers to diversify campaign ads by creating image variations designed to drive performance. Automatically generates Taboola’s best practices including optimized headlines, descriptions, and images, enabling brands to create more efficient and effective ads at scale.
• Leverage audience reporting. Taboola’s Audience Exploration Report can help you gauge audience performance and identify the most high-performing audiences to include in your targeting strategy.
• Maximize Conversions to get the most out of your budget. Max Conversions enters the most promising auctions and adjusts your bids for the best ad opportunities—all with an eye toward boosting campaign conversions. Since this tool learns as it goes using both Taboola AI and historical data, it can help you find the audience that’s most likely to convert.
• Retarget and re-engage users that have spent a significant amount of time on your site but haven’t converted yet. Our data shows that re-engaged users are 70% more likely to convert than first time website visitors. With the help of Taboola’s Attentive Audiences, which collects, aggregates, and filters audience data, advertisers have successfully reduced their median CPAs by 34% and increased median CVRs by 87%.
• Use Custom Rules to minimize ad waste by automating optimizations. Custom Rules lets you tweak your ad delivery and protect ad spending by allowing you to create automated rules that are specific to your campaign and custom conditions.

Conclusion

With a suite of content marketing strategies at your disposal, and actionable customer insights on hand, you can create an effective and competitive holiday marketing strategy that generates sales even during this competitive time of year.

Let this guide be your go-to source for creative festive season marketing tips and tricks, and partner with Taboola Ads this holiday season.