Holiday Advertising

By Jillian Anderson and Coree Foster | October 5, 2009

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Are you ready for the holidays?   Well, it is now October – Rapid City’s first snow has fallen.  Yes, it is long-due time to start thinking about the holidays – and holiday advertising (see tips below).

With a well crafted message, promotion and placement, holiday advertising can be incredibly effective.  Whether your business is retail or service oriented and regardless of your product’s gifting nature, the holidays are an opportune time to connect with people.

Reasons for holiday advertising:

• People are in the buying/giving spirit and feeling nostalgic.
• Your competition is surely advertising.  If they’re not, you have a huge advantage!
• TOMA (top of mind awareness). During the holidays, people have a number of things on their minds.  Even if you’re not selling gifts, you don’t want them to forget about you.
• People are looking for deals and gift ideas – paying attention to ads.
• Increased sales numbers. We’ve seen clients experience a 50% sales increase (or more) from a holiday ad campaign!
• There are plenty more.  What are your reasons for advertising, or not, during the holidays?
  

Ok, but why so soon?

Honestly, the sooner the better – many companies even start planning in the summer. Locally, it is best to have your holiday campaigns planned and placed (or at least started) by mid-October!

Whether the plan is to run television ads, newspaper inserts or radio ads, the media companies have a limited ad space inventory. The time of day, shows and networks bought can have a dramatic affect on your advertising results.  Reserving  spots now will ensure you reach the right people with the right messages and at the right time to get the most out of your marketing budget.

Tips for Effective Holiday Advertising

1. Direct Mail can be great for holiday promotions.  Just remember that it has to stand out.  Especially during the holidays when everyone is trying to get people’s attention, your direct mail pieces have to be unique in size, fold, shape, colors and overall design. You’ll also need an offer (buy one, get one; dollar or percentage off; FREE; bonus; etc.) and call to action significant enough for people to care.  It needs to immediately capture attention. And remember that if it looks like junk, it will probably end up in the trash (or compost bin in my case).
   
2. Television is a common favorite for holiday advertising.  Since people are generally more emotional during the holiday season, television with its visuals, music and creative concepts, is able to successfully appeal to people’s emotions.
   
3. Radio can reach people when they’re already in the car, out and about shopping or traveling.  This can be especially good for retailers and restaurants.  Restaurants, for instance, can appeal to people busy with holiday shopping, parties, and planning when cooking is often the last thing they want to deal with.
   
4. Newspaper advertising, having similar benefits and challenges as direct mail, has to be unique enough for people to notice in the slew of ads and inserts.  This can be highly effective, though, especially for retail businesses that are offering a sale.  Many people scour sales ads in the newspaper before setting out to do their holiday shopping. Again, the offers have to be significant enough for people to care.
   
5. Web marketing before/during the holidays can greatly benefit retailers.  A lot of people do their holiday shopping online these days.  Using social media, a website, or online ads can help draw shoppers back to your physical retail store.  Offering special insentives and sales exclusively for  your online followers can get them through your front door. And as always – make sure that your offline advertising reaches your online audience by making all of your messages available online to those searching for more info.

All-in-all, if your business does not currently advertise during the holidays, it is definitely something to look into and it’s not too late.  If you do advertise during the holidays and haven’t started planning, production or placement – get on it!

Are you ready?  Have you already started your planning?  Have you already started your holiday shopping?  Do you pay attention to ads during the holidays?

Tagged with Advertising, business strategy, direct mail, holiday advertising, holiday commercials, holiday promotions, newspaper advertising, online ads, radio advertising, Rapid City, south dakota, strategy, television, traditional advertising

Filed under Advertising, Marketing, Tips

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About the author
Jillian gets emotional over food, prefers baths to showers and still uses personal checks despite the Visa commercials. She is fascinated by the intricate elements of organic gardening, loves Truth, and says nice things only when she really means it. Find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.