Christmas — the most wonderful time of the year, according to Andy Williams. But, for marketers, it’s a time that can make or break a brand’s year.
Every year, there is huge pressure on sales but with household budgets taking a beating due to inflation and the rising cost of living, Christmas 2023 is set to be even more challenging. For many marketers, this year will be all about performance and creatively engaging your customers
But, by being clever with your digital spend, you can get sales over the line, engage and inspire your audience and make this a Christmas to remember for everyone.
Reaching conversion-ready customers
Great marketing is all about reaching the right customer, at the right time, with the right product. But there are precious few places — particularly online — where that is possible.
On Pinterest, customers are not only looking to find their next purchase but they’re very likely to be ready to buy soon. In fact, more than 7.4 million unique visitors each month according to Ipsos Iris data, in Australia turn to the platform to help them plan and take action when they’re looking for Christmas gifts and other ideas. Adverts are not an interruption or a nuisance, they’re a valued part of the Pinterest experience.
Now, you might be forgiven for thinking that your brand doesn’t have a role to play in Christmas-themed ads. But you’d be wrong. Search terms around the festive period are going gangbusters on the platform.
Searches for “holiday party outfit,” for example, are up by 40 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, searches for “Christmas mimosas” are up by 70 per cent year-on-year and searches for “romantic gifts” are up 90 per cent year-on-year.
Regardless of whether you’re selling party-ready frocks and shirts, orange juice or sparkling wine, or any other gift — there are millions of buyers ready, waiting and willing to engage with your brand.
What’s more, almost four-fifths of Pinners are ready to spend more this festive season than last. That sort of intent could really make it a Christmas to remember.
Cutting through the Christmas clutter
The Christmas period is the busiest time for buying but, consequently, that makes it the busiest time for advertising on Pinterest and elsewhere.
But we can let you in on a secret — by using a variety of different ad formats your brand receives serious benefits. Conversion lift meta analysis revealed campaigns that used two or more ad formats were five times more likely to see incremental sales, and in Australia, a local analysis showed campaigns that have three ad formats drive three times higher brand awareness than those that use just one.
Fortunately, Pinterest has an almost unparalleled range of ad formats and creative insights to help your content shine and your products cut through the Christmas clutter.
The platform recently announced new ad formats that are set to wow and inspire your potential buyers, here are four ways to cut through:
The Premier Spotlight format is a premium video placement that lets marketers occupy the top spot on the Pinterest app’s home heed and search page for an entire day — in the run-up to Christmas, that kind of exposure would be huge for any company.
Even the likes of Giorgio Armani saw huge results when it took over the placement to launch its new refillable fragrance. The obviously stylish videos saw a 118 per cent higher completion rate compared to regular max-width video formats and a 40 per cent more efficient eCPM than the target.
Showcase Ads allow marketers to really tell their brands’ stories while spruiking a range of products, offers or ideas with a combination of a hero video or static asset with multiple supporting cards, plus clickable features to direct users to your site. Country Road stunned Pinners promoting its spring fashion range with inspo-sparking lifestyle shots leading to five times higher engagement compared to standard Pins.
Quiz Ads might sound simple but given Aussies’ love for trivia, the format can have huge results. Leggo’s “date night” recipe quiz asked users a series of simple questions and achieved a 72 per cent completion rate and a CTR 90 per cent higher than the industry average.
Last, but certainly not least, the Holiday Gift Badge lets users convert insight into action. These badges are available to the top 10 most-searched gift recipients, letting you transform seasonal product hype into inspiring gift ideas.
These tools mean that you can make Christmas the most wonderful time of the year for you and your customers, once again.
