5 Questions to Ask for Effective Holiday Marketing Planning

5 Questions to Ask for Effective Holiday Marketing Planning

The holiday season is a crucial time for businesses, and it’s essential to plan your holiday marketing strategy well in advance. To ensure the success of your campaigns, there are five questions you should ask of your marketing team and media agency:

1. What were the key learnings from last year’s holiday campaigns?

Analyzing data collected from past campaigns is a gift that keeps on giving *and* an essential starting point for your holiday marketing plan. 

As you study past campaign metrics, consider: 

  • Did certain channels or platforms perform better than others? 
  • Which messaging resonated most with your target audience? 
  • Which targeting tactics were most effective and most efficient in reaching your consumers?
5 Questions to Ask for Effective Holiday Marketing Planning

Looking ahead, remember that a data strategy is essential for high-performing paid media campaigns, particularly as tracking methodologies evolve. 

In fact, 49% of consumers report finding the perfect product by seeing a targeted ad. Past campaign data, especially zero- and first-party data, is a great way to target consumers with products relevant to their holiday shopping needs. Using data can help build on successful tactics all while enhancing the brand experience for your target audiences.

2. How can we maximize consumer attention?

When it comes to maximizing your brand’s share of consumer attention: paying attention to attention metrics is critical. 

Working with your paid media vendor, you can help ensure consumer engagement is active by incorporating attention metric tracking into your holiday marketing strategy. 

In one recent study, measuring and leveraging attention metrics resulted in 55% higher purchase intent. 

3. What key performance indicators (KPIs) are most relevant to our objectives?

Identify KPIs that align with *your* specific holiday marketing objectives. 

These could include metrics such as:

  • website traffic
  • conversion rates
  • average order value
  • social media engagement
  • new customers acquired
  • customer acquisition cost
  • total sales
  • reach
  • and so much more!

Prioritize your KPIs based on the specific, measurable business challenges you aim to solve this holiday season and regularly monitor these metrics throughout your campaigns. Your media agency should gauge progress and help make data-driven adjustments as needed.

4. How can we create a sense of excitement in our holiday campaigns?

The holiday season is characterized by a sense of urgency and excitement among consumers. Capturing this energy in your marketing efforts can drive higher engagement levels and prompt immediate action from potential customers. 

Looking for a way to maximize the festive mood? Meta reports that 1.6X more consumers want content that is authentic and real, instead of overproduced and overly polished. 

Find ad formats that allow your brand to embrace authenticity while fostering meaningful engagement and consideration with consumers. 

5. How will you engage your audience beyond the holiday season?

While capturing attention during the holiday marketing campaign is key, so is considering how you can maintain engagement with customers beyond the holidays.

What strategies do you have in place for retaining customers and nurturing ongoing relationships? Does your media plan include strategic retargeting and understanding of what makes a customer return? 

Some examples for your marketing plan can include: 

  • personalized email marketing campaigns
  • loyalty program promos
  • exclusive offers targeting post-holiday shopping 

By fostering long-term connections with your audience, you can ensure continued success even after the holiday season ends. And a longer return on your advertising investment.

That’s A Wrap

By asking these essential questions, you can create a well-rounded approach to your campaign goals and media strategy. Your campaigns will be more likely to leverage paid media effectively, achieve and exceed clear KPIs, and engage your audience both during and beyond the holiday season. 

Looking to get ahead this holiday season? Let’s talk! 

The holiday season is a crucial time for businesses, and it’s essential to plan your holiday marketing strategy well in advance. To ensure the success of your campaigns, there are five questions you should ask of your marketing team and media agency:

1. What were the key learnings from last year’s holiday campaigns?

Analyzing data collected from past campaigns is a gift that keeps on giving *and* an essential starting point for your holiday marketing plan. 

As you study past campaign metrics, consider: 

  • Did certain channels or platforms perform better than others? 
  • Which messaging resonated most with your target audience? 
  • Which targeting tactics were most effective and most efficient in reaching your consumers?

Looking ahead, remember that a data strategy is essential for high-performing paid media campaigns, particularly as tracking methodologies evolve. 

In fact, 49% of consumers report finding the perfect product by seeing a targeted ad. Past campaign data, especially zero- and first-party data, is a great way to target consumers with products relevant to their holiday shopping needs. Using data can help build on successful tactics all while enhancing the brand experience for your target audiences.

2. How can we maximize consumer attention?

When it comes to maximizing your brand’s share of consumer attention: paying attention to attention metrics is critical. 

Working with your paid media vendor, you can help ensure consumer engagement is active by incorporating attention metric tracking into your holiday marketing strategy. 

In one recent study, measuring and leveraging attention metrics resulted in 55% higher purchase intent. 

3. What key performance indicators (KPIs) are most relevant to our objectives?

Identify KPIs that align with *your* specific holiday marketing objectives. 

These could include metrics such as:

  • website traffic
  • conversion rates
  • average order value
  • social media engagement
  • new customers acquired
  • customer acquisition cost
  • total sales
  • reach
  • and so much more!

Prioritize your KPIs based on the specific, measurable business challenges you aim to solve this holiday season and regularly monitor these metrics throughout your campaigns. Your media agency should gauge progress and help make data-driven adjustments as needed.

4. How can we create a sense of excitement in our holiday campaigns?

The holiday season is characterized by a sense of urgency and excitement among consumers. Capturing this energy in your marketing efforts can drive higher engagement levels and prompt immediate action from potential customers. 

Looking for a way to maximize the festive mood? Meta reports that 1.6X more consumers want content that is authentic and real, instead of overproduced and overly polished. 

Find ad formats that allow your brand to embrace authenticity while fostering meaningful engagement and consideration with consumers. 

5. How will you engage your audience beyond the holiday season?

While capturing attention during the holiday marketing campaign is key, so is considering how you can maintain engagement with customers beyond the holidays.

What strategies do you have in place for retaining customers and nurturing ongoing relationships? Does your media plan include strategic retargeting and understanding of what makes a customer return? 

Some examples for your marketing plan can include: 

  • personalized email marketing campaigns
  • loyalty program promos
  • exclusive offers targeting post-holiday shopping 

By fostering long-term connections with your audience, you can ensure continued success even after the holiday season ends. And a longer return on your advertising investment.

That’s A Wrap

By asking these essential questions, you can create a well-rounded approach to your campaign goals and media strategy. Your campaigns will be more likely to leverage paid media effectively, achieve and exceed clear KPIs, and engage your audience both during and beyond the holiday season. 

Looking to get ahead this holiday season? Let’s talk! 

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