5 Tips for Advertising During the Holidays

by Jenna Movsowitz

As business owners, it can be easy to get wrapped up in the holidays (pun intended). ‘Tis the season for sales, and we all want to get in on it. But it’s also the most expensive time of year to whip up an ad, let alone get eyes on it. So, we asked Heart Creative (a women-owned, full-service marketing agency) for their top tips on communicating with consumers during the holidays -- that will get you the most bang for your buck.

CREATE RECIPE CONTENT… EARLY.

While any time of year is a good time to develop recipes utilizing your products, the holiday season in particular sees a spike in recipe searches as consumers prepare for large gatherings. Brands who thoughtfully create recipes with seasonally relevant keywords, head notes, tags and metadata will ride the wave of increased search trends and drive new consumers to their sites.

Whether you’re hiring an agency like Heart Creative (who has recipe developers within the agency) or developing recipes in-house, the key is to start early. Megan Scott, Culinary Director at Heart Creative, suggests that you have your recipes go live by early November for the eager holiday planners, and promote them through your email newsletters and socials as it gets closer to the holidays.

LEVERAGE ANY AND ALL USER-GENERATED CONTENT.

Paid ads during the holidays are, put simply, not cheap. When every brand is trying to speak to customers, be the brand that lets customers speak to customers. Now is the time to leverage the user-generated content you’ve been keeping in the bank, whether it be recreations of your recipe content or stellar consumer testimonials that have been sitting on your site. Instead of putting spend towards creating new ads, utilize your best asset: your community.

DON’T JUST ADD TO THE NOISE.

Instead of going all in on marketing simply because shoppers are spending more during the holidays, think strategically about why your brand should be speaking to consumers at this time in particular. Heart Creative cites an experience with a plant-based burger client as an example: “We know from consumer research that 90% of the people who buy alternative meats are people who eat meat, but just want to eat less. We also know that many of these consumers reduce their meat intake for health reasons,” says Rebekah Hubbard, Managing Director at Heart Creative. This insight, paired with insights about typical holiday dishes, helped the team come up with a holiday strategy for the client: “Vegan burgers aren’t holiday food. But what we knew we could message effectively was that these burgers are an easy way to sneak healthy meals in during the meat-heavy holidays.” This is an example of how strategy can inform a thoughtful campaign during the holidays that doesn’t just add to the noise, but provides genuine value to consumers.

SOMETIMES, THE BEST STRATEGY IS TO WAIT.

While some brands can find valuable ways to appeal to their target audience during the holidays, others may find it more challenging. Ad dollars go further during the rest of the year than they do during the holidays -- so if you’re working extra hard to stretch your strategy to fit holiday messaging, you’re better off just waiting. The new year may be a great time to communicate your better-foryou brand, and will likely gain more reach than you would in December.

2021 IS THE YEAR OF WARM, INCLUSIVE MESSAGING.

“The past year and a half has been difficult for gatherings. As we head into this season with a little more hope, there is still lingering uncertainty and anxieties that brands should be sensitive to in their messaging,” says Megan. She suggests avoiding negative holiday tropes, like guilt around food, and instead focusing on copy that is warm, inclusive and positive.