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Don’t finalize your holiday media plans without these five tips

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October 28, 2022 by Mick Suh — SVP of Media, Volta

Provided by Volta.

The holidays are synonymous with traditions, which are predictable by definition. But for marketers, these past few holiday seasons have been as challenging as finding the ideal gift for that person on your list who seems to have everything. As you finalize this year's holiday media mix, here are five data-backed tips to keep in mind.

1. Play the promotional hand you've been dealt

If your brand is a category captain and has secured prime displays during the holiday season, make sure you're doing everything you can to surround that in-store promotion with additional media that primes shoppers to consider your brand. And if your brand got bumped from the end caps this year, get creative and use media screens that surround stores as your way of standing out. Regardless of which hand your brand was dealt, place-based digital out-of-home media can help you make the most of it.

DOOH offers 100% viewability, brand safety and high contextual relevance, given the close proximity to the point of purchase (which we'll get more into later). Place-based advertising can be thought of in two categories: in-store and at-store. Advertisers often think of in-store advertisements, commonly located on fridge units or at the check-out line, as the best way to impact consumers — after all, they're actively shopping. But consider not only how distracted shoppers are when they are in a store (especially during the holiday season) but also the noise, chaos and fragmentation of being inundated by advertisements while browsing the shelves. On the flip side, at-store media located just outside of a retailer's location can offer brands an effective way to reach audiences in a clean and uncluttered media environment. Picture the last store you were in compared to the parking lot you walked through to get inside — where do you feel less distracted and overwhelmed?

Incorporating at-store media into your mix can help your brand amplify, or replace, in-store promotional displays this holiday season.

2. Reframe the Value

According to Salesforce research, half of all shoppers will switch brands this holiday due to inflation-induced price hikes and the need to stretch their budget further. Once a consumer has shifted down to private label, the ability to bring them back up the market is significantly harder.

To combat this, marketers must "value reframe" to show shoppers that paying a higher price yields greater benefits. A name-brand laundry detergent may be twice as expensive as a private label, but the quality of the wash could be ten times more effective — that is the claim premium advertisers should be focused on this holiday season. Thoughtful, effective creative will bring these value claims to life. And to ensure your creative messaging shines extra bright this holiday season, it's important to choose your advertising placement wisely — which brings me to my next point.

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3. Interrupt the shopping list

Completing your holiday shopping is a balance between careful planning and spontaneity. Your customers know they need to get grandma a gift, but they may not be sure what that gift will be until the perfect idea catches their eye. But, as a brand, how can you catch their eye at exactly the right moment to drive purchases incrementally or impulsively?

DOOH media located around the stores where your products are sold provides an ideal medium to tout your "value reframing" and reach the consumer as they are in the shopping mindset.

If you think DOOH is digital in name only, think again. Thanks to numerous programmatic buying options, dynamic creative capabilities and a full-funnel of measurement options (including all-important sales metrics), DOOH can deliver it all. You can encourage those impulse buys and measure your success.

4. Brick-and-mortar plus eCommerce equals a win-win

Advertisers know that brick-and-mortar locations remain a critical part of Americans' shopping habits. In the first five months of 2022, retailers have opened more than 4,200 stores, putting 2022 on track to be the first year of net-positive store openings since 2016, according to Cushman & Wakefield. But many advertisers still don't fully appreciate that eCommerce isn't the enemy of in-store shopping. When they work together, the only winner is your brand — take increasingly popular buying online and picking up in-store (BOPIS) as a perfect example.

Speaking of BOPIS, don't count these shoppers as done when they submit their online cart — there is an important opportunity to drive additional sales when they arrive in person to retrieve their order. With the right advertising creative, at-store marketing campaigns can be used to support and influence additional shopping behaviors — both in-store or online on mobile devices. For example, reaching a BOPIS shopper stopping in to pick up their order with a message like "Don't forget wrapping paper" might prompt them to do some in-store shopping while saving them a trip back.

5. Sustainability: the final piece of the puzzle

In addition to being better for our planet, sustainability is an effective way to boost your brand's perception. According to Salesforce research, 83% of shoppers will seek out sustainable brands and products during the 2022 holidays, with your company's overall environmental practices ranking as the number one factor influencing buying decisions.

As you finalize your holiday campaigns, think of sustainability as another way to drive your brand forward. Communicating your product's environmental friendliness in a sustainable way is another way to differentiate yourself in an increasingly crowded holiday market.

Planning for the holidays amidst constantly changing market conditions is stressful for marketers (not to mention for your customers as well!). Keeping some of the latest and greatest holiday trends in mind will help you tie the final, shiny bow around your holiday marketing plans.

About Mick Suh

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