'Tis the Season For Advertising

Written by Claire Thursday, 01 December 2011 14:35

Holiday ads, holiday ads, holiday ads.

They're all you're seeing these days, right? Are you sick of them yet?

(Image borrowed from here.)

I know some online advertisers start their holiday ads in August (for those over-zealous, organized moms who get their shopping done early). I, on the other hand, wait for the season to start advertising. I don't want my users to be tired of my ads before the season even really starts. (And if I'm completely honest, I don't really want to acknowledge it's coming that far in advance).

So this year I decided to release them the day before Thanksgiving. The entire country was buzzing about the upcoming holiday, and the Black Friday build up was in full force. It seemed to me like it was the best time to light an extra little fire under users to get them going.

Well, earlier this week I decided to check and see how my holiday themed ads were doing compared to the none-holiday ones. I must say I was pleased. With CTR's that were more than double the average for our standard ads, and 12% higher than average conversion rates, I can't imagine NOT using seasonal ads.

The part that's really interesting is that I don't run any merchandise or ecommerce-related campaigns. We focus on lead generation, and most of our offers don't seem like they would translate well to holiday-related traffic. But the fact of the matter here is that it's about the mindset of the user. This time of year, it doesn't matter what you're offering them... if it sounds like a good deal and it triggers their "oh-no-it's-almost-here" nerve, you've got them hooked. So no matter what you're selling, I suggest at least testing themed ads to draw in more users.