The holiday season represents an essential time for brands to connect with consumers, who shop more in that window between October and December than at any other point in the year. While you may not yet feel that festive spirit, July through September is a crucial time to plan and develop your holiday advertising strategy.
Holiday sales are forecasted to grow by 5% this year compared to last year.1 While much of that growth is expected to come from mobile e-commerce (+14% increase), 80% of sales are still expected to happen in store.1 Many brands will compete for consumer attention during the holiday shopping months, which means that staying top of mind for both new and existing customers is key, especially as they look for gifting guidance, inspiration, and deals.
The 2024 holiday shopping season offers a significant opportunity for brands to reach consumers in meaningful ways
Source: The Trade Desk Intelligence and Appinio, holiday shopping research, USA, March 2024.
Pre-holiday planning is an important first step in setting yourself up for success this season. You’ll need to be able to reach customers wherever they consume media, to be there at every step of their journey — from discovery to consideration to finally making a purchase.
Here are three ways you can start planning a campaign in Kokai to help your brand make the Nice List.
Define the right audiences
You should consider starting your holiday campaign planning by determining which audience segments are the best fit for your brand and overall marketing goals. First, define your most valuable customers, also known as the seed. If you sell products at retailers, then your most valuable customers are most likely those who buy your products from those retailers. Then, our AI will offer up specific audience-segment recommendations. To take full advantage of our data marketplace, be sure to include relevant holiday segments as well. For example:
Determine how you’ll connect your campaigns to outcomes
Kokai offers you choices when it comes to selecting measurement solutions that align with your holiday advertising goals. The right solution will enable you to connect the dots between your digital media investment this season and sales. Based on the KPI you enter into the platform, you’ll receive recommended measurement solutions for the campaign.
Consider an omnichannel approach
A holistic, omnichannel approach to your holiday advertising strategy means you can work towards reaching customers at every step on their paths to purchase. You’ll likely want to make sure your brand message gets to the consumers watching a holiday movie on Connected TV, listening to Mariah Carey on Spotify, and/or checking out popular gift guides online.
With our platform, you can activate an omnichannel campaign to engage with shoppers as they move down the funnel, reaching them with upper-funnel messaging on channels like Connected TV and streaming audio, and retargeting them with lower-funnel messaging on display and mobile. Omnichannel strategies can also be effective for encouraging consumers to shop in-store, helping you maximize those brick-and-mortar activations.
Non-endemic advertiser’s holiday sales double with CTV and Walmart Connect retail data
Learn how you can harness the power of CTV, display, and retail data to help increase holiday sales for your brand.
Ready to start planning your next holiday advertising campaign? Contact us or speak with your account manager at The Trade Desk today!
1EMARKETERem, forecast, February 2024 to April 2024.