With the holidays right around the corner, advertisers are busy preparing for the biggest shopping season of the year. Retail holiday sales are projected to increase by 5.7% this year—the biggest jump in sales since 2011.
The next few months presents a huge opportunity for advertisers to capture new customers and increase their brand awareness amongst existing customers. According to Inc.com, nearly 80 percent of shoppers engage with brands and retailers through digital channels before setting foot inside a store, which means that digital advertising will be essential for advertisers to generate sales and to stay ahead of the competition.
Incorporating holiday-related themes, keywords, and imagery in your advertiser’s display campaigns will make their busiest retail season both successful and jolly.
To help your advertisers maximize the festive shopping season, here are three easy ways to add a holiday twist to digital display ads.
Motivate Action With Holiday Messaging
Messaging that references the festive season is essential for holiday-themed ads. For example, mention the holiday event directly, such as “Black Friday Sale,” or “Holiday Weekend Deals.” Or, use words that reference the season, such as “joyful,” “spirits,” “cheer,” “merry,” or “holiday.” These phrases will help catch a consumer’s eye as they are holiday shopping.
Strengthen the messaging by combining these phrases with a call to action to create a sense of urgency and motivate consumers to take action. Especially for shoppers that are constantly on the move, a good practice is to keep the text simple and actionable.
Examples of holiday messaging:
- Black Friday Sale, One Day Only.
- The Biggest Holiday Sale. Ends Monday.
- 3 Days Left To Give. Get 15% Off Today.
- Need A Last Minute Gift? Shop Our Collection.
- Have a Merry (Cyber) Monday. Shop Now.
- Share The Joy. Click For Our Holiday Guide.
- Make Your Spirits Bright With These Gifts.
- Cheers To The Holidays. Sign Up Today.
- Warm Up The Holidays With These Deals.
Connect With Shoppers Through Festive Images
Photos both enhance the call to action and grab a consumer’s attention. Bright and colorful imagery, including images of holiday decorations, snowflakes, or evergreen wreaths, emanates cheerful vibes that will connect with potential customers in the holiday spirit.
When possible, include a human face in the images. Studies show that ads with faces are more likely to be seen, draws more attention, and as a result, improves ad performance.
For spec ads built in PaperG, search through the stock image gallery for holiday-themed images. During your sales meeting, let the advertiser know the images are fully-licensed and free to use in their final ads.
Use Vibrant Colors To Stand Out
Because consumers typically notice colors before the text and images, selecting the right color for an ad is essential. Colors such as red, green, and gold are traditionally associated with the holidays.
Red, in particular, represents energy and excitement. Accents of red on an ad, either for the call to action or the background color, can be highly effective in capturing a user’s eye.
For this season, bright and contrasting colors will help convey the cheerful holiday spirit. A good rule of thumb is to stick to three colors or less to not distract users from your message.
Building and sharing holiday-themed spec ads will enable you to stay top of mind and ahead of the competition this season. Engage new advertisers and warm up any prospects that have gone cold by leveraging customized spec ads as your holiday prospecting strategy.