The holiday season is (almost) here! You might think, “it’s too early!” “It’s barely fall!” “We have months to go!” But in digital advertising, it’s never too early to start planning your holiday marketing campaigns.
Take me straight to the strategies:
What to Expect for the 2025 Retail Holiday Season
Despite concerns over economic conditions, eMarketer still predicts a 1.2% increase in holiday spending from 2024, estimating $1.36 trillion spent this season.
This is a huge deal for brands and advertisers. It signals an opportunity to capture consumer spending with strategic placements during the peak shopping season.
November and December will account for 18.1% of total US retail sales, and ecommerce will account for 22.2% of full-year sales.
With nearly one-fifth of annual retail sales occurring in just two months, it’s essential to have a well-planned strategy to capture consumer attention and spend during this competitive period.
When Should I Start Holiday Marketing?
We know, we know; not every consumer wants to see holiday products and promotions in August—but October? That’s fair game.
Brands that start early and establish a strong presence can build momentum, attract early shoppers, and ensure they’re top-of-mind as buying decisions are made.
That means your holiday campaign planning should likely start in summer.
This’ll give you ample time to refine your strategy, choose your placements, and create compelling content that’ll captivate your target audience.
In other words, don’t wait until December to start advertising; 65% of shoppers plan to start their holiday shopping before Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Developing Your Holiday Marketing Ideas
So how do you start planning your holiday marketing strategy? Where do you place your ads to be sure potential customers are seeing them? How do you make your products or services stand out against competitors?
Keep reading for twelve strategies Division-D recommends to effectively reach holiday shoppers throughout their buying journey.
Holiday Marketing Is Difficult, Make it Easier with Our Media Solutions!
Holiday Marketing Campaign Ideas to Start Your Planning
As you begin brainstorming your holiday marketing campaigns, consider breaking down your ideas into these key areas:
Product-Focused Campaigns: Highlight bestsellers, seasonal favorites, or new releases. Create gift guides or bundle options to showcase products as the perfect holiday gift for different audiences.
Line-Specific Promotions: Promote entire product lines, such as a winter apparel collection or holiday-themed home décor, to encourage shoppers to explore a broader range of offerings.
Limited-Time Offers: Use flash sales, BOGO deals, or exclusive holiday discounts to drive urgency and capitalize on the holiday shopping mindset.
Event-Based Campaigns: Plan campaigns around major shopping days like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or even lesser-known shopping days like Green Monday, to create excitement and attract shoppers during peak times.
Holiday-Themed Content: Share festive tips, styling ideas, holiday gift guides, or DIY inspiration that aligns with your brand, helping to drive engagement while subtly showcasing your products.
Holiday Marketing Strategies to Leverage in 2025
The holiday season is busy; competition won’t be light. But don’t let that deter you from leveraging such an important time to connect with your audience and drive sales. Keep that holiday spirit!
To break through the noise of holiday marketing, you’ll need to explore an omnichannel approach.
Utilizing a variety of strategies to reach target audiences at different touchpoints throughout their buying journey is an absolute must.
Consider the below when planning your holiday marketing for 2025!
Connected TV
CTV ads allow brands to connect with audiences through streaming platforms and smart TVs, capturing attention in a more engaging format.
With options like targeted video ads on popular streaming services, brands can reach viewers who have shifted away from traditional cable but still engage with long-form content.
This format is ideal for delivering strong visual storytelling and reaching families and households during the holiday season, when streaming consumption is at its peak.
Digital Out-of-Home
Digital Out-of-Home includes highway billboards, airport TVs, screens on gas pumps, or digital billboards in malls.
All of these locations provide great options for reaching holiday shoppers and travelers as they head to the mall or fly to meet family for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.
We even have access to inventory in Times Square, so ask your customer service rep about that if you’re interested.
DOOH ads may serve multiple people at once, but with device ID location data, we can keep track of users that saw your holiday ad and retarget them on their personal devices.
This enables users to interact with the ad once they’re on their personal device.
Amazon DSP
With Division-D’s access to the Amazon DSP, we can run ads on Amazon-owned and operated properties, utilizing their arsenal of first-party data.
Amazon in-market data targets people likely to purchase certain types of products based on their previous shopping activities.
This is a great option to place your brand in front of audiences who are already searching for a similar product.
Amazon’s ASIN retargeting works similarly, allowing you to target people who have previously viewed, searched for, or purchased specific products. This is a great way to use popular products to your advantage.
Finding the most-viewed products that are most similar to your own and targeting them with ASIN retargeting helps target users more likely to purchase.
Google Shopping
Google Shopping is a placement that shows your product in the Google Shopping tab. This works similarly to Google Search text ads, where ads are displayed at the top of the results based on keywords that were searched for.
The user can then see the product name, image, and price without having to first click through to the advertiser’s site.
This ad format helps to increase conversion rates since those who interact with the ad are likely already interested.
The ad is only shown to those who search for specified keywords, and they can see the product image before clicking on the ad, guaranteeing those who click through are doing so because they are interested in the product.
Shoppable Ads
Similar to Google Shopping, shoppable ads show a product and its details within the ad.
However, these ads also have an “add to cart” button, allowing consumers to streamline the shopping process within the ad.
Shoppable ads can also be placed anywhere there is ad space, unlike Google Shopping which only appears on Google or other Google Search partner websites.
These ads are great for incentivizing users to complete the purchase process since adding products to their cart is hassle-free.
This ad format integrates with over 35 retailers, giving brands multiple options for their campaign.
Retail Media Networks
Retail media networks offer a way for brands to reach consumers directly within the digital ecosystems of major retailers.
By leveraging first-party data from retailers like Walmart, Target, Amazon, and more, brands can target shoppers at various stages of the purchasing journey—from browsing to point-of-sale.
This strategy allows for high-intent targeting, making it a powerful tool for influencing purchase decisions during the holiday rush.
Reddit has become a unique and valuable platform for reaching highly engaged niche communities.
The platform offers interest-based targeting and ad placements that blend seamlessly into the feed, allowing brands to connect with consumers based on shared passions.
This is especially effective for brands looking to build awareness or position themselves as part of a specific community’s conversation during the holidays.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is one of the most popular ways to advertise products to Millennials and Gen Z.
This age group is very active on social media, often forming connections with people they have never met face-to-face.
Influencer marketing allows you to piggyback off the relationship a creator has already fostered with their audience.
Influencers spend a lot of time building a persona that others can relate to and trust, and it’s difficult for brands to create the same relationship with their consumers.
Getting an honest review from someone who knows the social media and influencer ropes can greatly benefit your campaign.
Users tend to turn to Pinterest when planning holidays to find inspiration for décor, recipes, and gifts. It’s a great place to reach holiday planners ready to try new things.
Pinterest ads blend into the rest of the content, combatting banner blindness by encouraging users to interact with them as if they are just another pin.
Pinterest also allows you to upload a catalog so users can shop for your product directly in the app.
Pinners can browse a curated list of products recommended to them based on past searches and pins and view similar items to ones they’ve already looked at.
When they decide they want to buy, they are sent to your website to purchase.
Meta
Instagram and Facebook offer a highly targeted way to reach consumers based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
With a diverse mix of formats and placements like stories, reels, in-feed ads, carousel ads, and more, brands can create immersive holiday campaigns that engage users where they spend more than fifteen hours a month.
TikTok
TikTok is dominating the social media space, even amidst its ongoing battle with the U.S.
Its fast-paced and viral nature has younger generations hooked, leading as their preferred platform.
The app’s unique algorithm ensures personalized content delivery, keeping users engaged for hours.
Beyond entertainment, TikTok has evolved into a powerful marketing tool, offering brands the opportunity to create authentic, relatable content that resonates with its diverse, global audience.
Leveraging TikTok’s native ad formats like in-feed video, branded hashtags, and interactive content can help brands tap into organic discovery and become part of the conversation during peak holiday shopping moments.
Social Search
Social search is quickly gaining traction as a way for users to discover new products and services directly through platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
About two-thirds of consumers use social search, with Gen Z and millennials most likely to use it over traditional search engines like Google.
With users turning to these platforms to find reviews, recommendations, and direct shopping links, incorporating social search tactics into your holiday marketing campaigns can drive discovery, engagement, and conversions with audiences actively looking for gift ideas or holiday deals.
Ready to Start Planning Your Holiday Marketing Campaigns?
Thinking about how to market your brand during the holiday season can be overwhelming.
Division-D is here to help take some of that burden off your shoulders and be your guide to successful holiday marketing campaigns.
If you’re interested in running any of the above placements during the holiday shopping season or want more information, let’s talk!
Be sure to check out our resources for more information on our recommended strategies!
