The holiday season is quickly approaching, but there is one question that looms large: is your advertising strategy ready for a holiday season unlike any other?
We all remember what it was like to live through the treacherous and uncertain times of COVID-19. When the virus made its way to the U.S. in early 2020, the lives of Americans changed forever. We all began shifting the way we do things. Whether it was work, school, or even holidays, everything changed at the hands of the unpredictable virus, and some of those changes can still be felt today.
Over the course of the past two years, people have been forced to reevaluate the way they celebrate the holiday season. With a highly contagious virus looming over our heads, people went back to the drawing board and began figuring out ways to continue to connect with the ones they love most, while continuing to stay safe. This gave way to what marketers are calling ‘mini moments’.
People wanted to celebrate as much as they could with who they could, so they continued breaking down their celebrations. These ‘mini moments’ may have seemed like a fleeting trend, but after two years of implementation, many are saying this has become a tradition for most, and they want to see it stick around; therefore, helping to make the 2022 holiday season one for the record books.
With COVID-19 being (seemingly) under control, holiday shoppers are looking to hit it big and celebrate as much as possible this year. They want to throw large Halloween parties, lavish Thanksgiving feasts, and Christmas’ seen only on Hallmark. These wishes, however, are met head on with reality, and people are reminded of how much they adapted during the pandemic. Rather than hosting the soiree of the century, during the pandemic, people were happy to host more intimate gatherings such as holiday movie nights, game nights, and even gift-wrapping parties. These smaller gatherings allowed for closer bonds to be formed, and that’s something that people aren’t willing to let go of quite yet.
According to Pinterest Business (Pinterest Business), the 2022 holiday season will blend the likes of mini moments and big celebrations together, making it a holiday season unlike any other. In fact, 80% of holiday shoppers said they expect to have even more mini moments this year than last. That doesn’t mean they don’t want the grand celebrations, however. Shoppers are itching for a reason to buy, buy, buy, and with more parties and more places to go, your brand could reap the benefits of this very intriguing consumer shift.
For advertisers and business owners, this shift can mean big things. For starters, having the knowledge that people are looking to buy and celebrate is huge. This gives you power in a way. Power to create something special for your business. Power to reach an audience far beyond your imagination. And the power to deliver a truly magical holiday season to the ones who are searching for something special.
As you go to create your holiday marketing plan, keep one thing at the top of your mind: more moments means more ways to win. What does this mean? Don’t save all your holiday advertising for December. The research proves that people are looking to celebrate in any way they can, so take advantage of that. “In 2021, Pinterest advertisers who activated against multiple holiday moments saw a 4x higher increase in conversion rates than those who only activated for Christmas” (Pinterest Business). Hitting your consumers early is a simple way to take advantage of both the mini moments and the large, more traditional moments that we all know and love.
Some advertisers and business owners may be thinking how early is too early to advertise, and that’s a valid question. When it comes to the holiday season, you have to strike early in order to beat out all the noise that inevitably comes around during the final months of the year. Check out our chart below for the full breakdown of when the best times to begin and continue advertising for specific holidays.
Halloween
July – October
Thanksgiving
August – November
Black Friday/Cyber Week
October – November
Hanukkah
August – December
Christmas
July – December
New Year’s Eve
November – December
With this year’s holiday season shaping up to be unlike any other, it’s important for businesses to begin thinking about where they want to be and how they want to position themselves. It’s also important to stop putting all our focus on the big moments like Thanksgiving Dinner, Christmas Eve, and Halloween bashes, and start putting our focus on all the little things in between. Consumers certainly are, and that should be all the encouragement your business needs to start focusing on the mini moments, too.
Whatever the moment, big or small, make sure that your business is prepared. This holiday season is destined to be different, so make sure your advertising plan is, too.
Rethink out of the Box 