Holiday Marketing 6-Step Guide for Optimal Results​

Running optimized holiday marketing campaigns is crucial for capturing the business opportunity of the holiday season. With this in mind, this Collage Group guide demonstrates how you can optimize your brand’s marketing campaigns this holiday season using six simple steps.

These steps will lead you through the consumer research process, demonstrating how you can leverage consumer insight data to:

• Identify the target audience with the most business potential.
• Understand the brand sentiment of this target audience today, including brand awareness, momentum, favorability, and purchase intent.
• Utilize consumer research data and insights to design an optimized holiday marketing campaign.

Consumers Are Spending More During the Holiday Season

During the 2022 holiday shopping season, consumers across America collectively spent a staggering $936.3 billion on gifts, decorations, and other festive items, as reported by the National Retail Federation. This data underscores the substantial economic impact of the holiday season, as people embrace the spirit of giving.

It’s important to note that data collection was concentrated within the months of November and December. However, despite this limited time frame, it is evident that consumer spending during the holidays is on the rise. For instance, in 2002, holiday spending stood at $416.4 billion.

To capitalize on this opportunity, brands invest a significant amount of money in their holiday advertising efforts. For example, in 2022, $57 billion was allocated to digital ads, and $2.53 billion was earmarked for digital retail in the same year.

The Extended Holiday Season Provides Marketers With a Unique Opportunity

Four out of ten shoppers initiated their holiday purchases before the end of October, signaling a clear desire to get a head start on the festivities.

In comparison, only one out of ten shoppers planned to commence their holiday shopping in December. This further underscores the fact that people are increasingly seeking to avoid last-minute rushes and plan their purchases in advance.

This extended shopping period offers marketers a unique opportunity. Marketers can fine-tune their advertising strategies, to optimize them continuously and incrementally, and enhance the return on investment throughout the entire holiday season.

Address the Challenge: How to Craft Successful Holiday Marketing Campaigns

The high-stakes nature of holiday campaigns can place enormous stress and pressure on you as a marketer. The holiday season is often regarded as a marketer’s Super Bowl, and to pursue success,  you must identify and address the root causes of the challenges that impede your efforts.

You must work diligently to overcome these challenges and ensure your holiday campaigns attain the desired results. In an ever-evolving landscape of holiday spending and advertising, adaptability, and innovative strategies are crucial for success.

The 6-step guide included in this article is designed to help you maintain this adaptability, utilizing consumer research data to innovate, experiment with, and test new marketing ideas and campaigns. Before delving into the guide, let’s review the challenges that marketing during the holiday season presents. With this understanding, you can tailor your marketing efforts to overcome these challenges.

Challenge #1: Marketing Strategies Are Growing Increasingly Complex

One of the primary challenges you’ll encounter during the holiday season is the necessity to employ more complex, high-effort engagement tactics to maintain relevance. However, you may feel uncertain about the effectiveness of the engagement methods you use.

As marketing becomes more intricate, there’s a risk that these efforts backfire, potentially leading to a loss of consumer interest and the inadvertent erosion of consumer brand trust.

Challenge #2: Consumer Behavior Is Constantly Changing, a Trend That’s Amplified During the Holiday Season

Consumer behaviors are continually changing, which further complicates the task of devising the right marketing strategy. This challenge is amplified during the holiday season due to the myriad of factors influencing consumer purchasing decisions. Examples include emotional triggers, gift-giving trends, and product availability. As consumers’ preferences continue to evolve, staying ahead of the curve becomes a formidable endeavor.

Challenge #3: Data and Information Overload

Adding to the complexity is the data landscape itself. As a marketer, you may feel overwhelmed by a deluge of data from various sources. In some cases, the data may even conflict, creating a labyrinth of information that hinders the development of an effective marketing strategy.

How Can Brands Ensure They Remain Relevant During the Holiday Season?

To maintain relevance during the holiday season, brands must create exceptional experiences for their audience. Relevance is the key, and it involves understanding the right audiences and channels and crafting messages that resonate with them. Failure to do so not only risks eroding trust but can also result in the loss of consumer attention and interest. Additionally, misguided marketing efforts deplete resources and prompt consumers to seek alternatives for products and services.

As a marketer, you must gain an intimate understanding of consumer behavior and market dynamics, necessitating a deep reliance on data. Understanding what influences consumer decisions and how to navigate the ever-changing market landscape is only possible through the insights derived from this data. It’s also important to obtain this data from a designated single source of truth.