Want to maximize your holiday sales? You can with the right media plan in place. A strategic plan takes full advantage of one of the most attractive times of the year to market.
According to Entrepreneur Magazine, “ad impressions get a 50 percent boost, CTRs skyrocket 100 percent, direct traffic grows 150 percent, average order values rise 30 percent and conversion rates increase 60 percent” during the holidays.
There’s obviously an enormous increase in spending by consumers during the holiday season and smart marketers take full advantage of that by fishing where the fish are. Whatever media tactics you use to reach your fans and consumers proper planning will reap greater rewards.
By thinking ahead now and securing the right media placements we can avoid the rush and panic of having to take what we can get with less valued placements at the last minute. We know planning ahead isn’t always easy. For example our music and entertainment clients know all too well they’ve an extra challenge with moving releases dates.
The holidays are creeping up on us already. So let’s review the advantages of planning ahead to have a greater impact:
1. You will reach the right audience in the right place. Certain media types require longer lead times and you may not be able to execute them simply because you waited too long. (See our help matrix below with typical lead times).
2. You’ll have ample time to develop a cross-platform strategy that is literally a must in today’s media landscape. Your messaging will appear in the right place, at the right time and on the right device. This approach can often help extend the overall duration of your campaign.
3. You’ll be ready to attack the hard 8 (the 8-week period leading up to Christmas) with strategic placements. There are a number of TV specials, holiday shopping guides, and several days of super retail shopping (i.e. Cyber Monday, Black Friday) to take advantage of with various paid media. We even love December 26 to January 10 to take advantage of super low cost media deals with ad messaging to target the gift card shoppers.
4. Producing custom creative by medium will deliver better ROI. Last minute badly conceived creative causes a campaign to suffer as badly as a lousy placement. Testing multiple creative will improve your campaigns performance too.
5. By planning ahead you will save money and maximize your budget! Inventory (no matter the medium) is in high demand this time of year so waiting can cause some advertisers to pay a premium. And to make matters worse you’d be unlikely to take advantage of any added value opportunities, giveaways or contesting.
So, as summer comes to an end, it’s crucial that you start planning now for this holiday season.
