The holidays are almost upon us. Which also means the annual blitz for your customers' attention is about to get real crazy in the coming days and weeks.
So to help make sure your holiday marketing stands out from all of that promotional noise, we pulled together a 'nice-list' of our 6 top tips for creating a sound holiday ad strategy. Follow along as we share the latest in trends, tools, and topics to help you win the season with audio.
1. Shopping has gone mobile, sleigh the competition with music ads
"Around nine-in-ten Americans ages 18 to 49 (91%) say they buy with a smartphone...with roughly half (49%) of those ages 30 to 49 say they make purchases online at least weekly using a smartphone."
- Pew Research Center, November 2022
The holidays aren't what they used to be anymore. Sure the family, friends, traditions, and egg nog part of it hasn't changed a bit. But it's the way consumers are buying these days that's anything but the same. Because like so much of everything else in our lives, the modern shopping experience is also moving online and onto our phones.
And with the average American already listening to over 4 hours of audio content per day (mostly on their phones too, mind you) - audio advertising is proving itself to be one of the best ways for brands and businesses to reach their target audiences. Especially this time of the year.
Jingle Bells. Bing Crosby. Rudolph. Mariah Carey.
Nothing says it's the holiday season more than holiday music. In fact, a couple of recent SXM Media and Pandora Soundboard Studies looked at the importance of audio during the holidays and found:
77% of listeners say they tuned in to holiday music during the 2022 season, underlining the strong connection between holidays and music.
76% of consumers affirm that audio improves their mood, providing a powerful tool for advertisers to create a positive emotional connection.70% of individuals credit audio with relieving stress and anxiety, which probably also explains the popularity of music during the holiday madness.
The fact is, music is everywhere this time of year. And your business can be everywhere too with a good music ad. You'll just want to make sure, though, to get an early jump on your marketing and just a reminder AudioGO can help with things like creating your audio ad for you.
2. Transform your timeline, shopping windows are widening
Any business would be wise to ensure their holiday ads cover the entire customer journey. But introducing your brand early, and often, in the season with audio promos can create a lasting advantage.
Because like a good song, a good audio ad can linger on the mind for a very long time, contributing to recall, awareness, and attentiveness that surpasses even video ads.
Not to mention, folks are getting an earlier jump on their holiday shopping too, with 50% last year starting as early as October.1 Reason enough to get going on your advertising as soon as possible.
1. Socal News Group, Holiday Statistics For Marketers, November 2022
3. Consider podcast advertising
Podcast listeners are some of the fastest growing audiences in all of media entertainment. What's more is that podcast advertising works extremely well too, with 65% of people saying that they'd be more likely to purchase a product after hearing it on a podcast ad.
Interestingly, podcasts are even taking center stage at a lot of our holiday get-togethers, as well.
1 in 4 listeners actively use podcasts to introduce fresh conversation topics during holiday gatherings.
- SXM Media Soundboard Holiday Study, October 2022
And if all of those stats weren't already compelling enough, now that we've welcomed the SiriusXM Podcast Network to AudioGO, over 1 in 2 listeners can be reached today with one of our podcast ad campaigns.
4. Bundles of bashes, bunches of ad opportunities
With the pandemic seemingly behind us, today’s consumers are hosting and attending more gatherings than ever before – creating a need for more holiday related purchases in the process.
One segment that has done particularly well as a result of all this partying are consumer staples.
In November and December of last year food and beverage sales saw 25.7% year-over-year growth due to more holiday gatherings.
- eMarketer US Holiday Report 2023 Forecast
So, clearly, people are celebrating (and spending) more on the holidays. While in the same breath, there's a lot to celebrate on the Fall and Winter calendars.
The festivities aren't just limited to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas. There's Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Diwali, Lunar New Year, Friendsgiving and all sorts of other gatherings - and multicultural ad opportunities - for brands to consider.
Holidays are indeed a key part to every culture, and we all have our own ways of celebrating them. Advertisers would be wise to remember that and speak to their customers in inclusive tones.
Because not only is this type of messaging effective at endearing your brand with large swathes of your base, but it's just another great opportunity to create connections with your community. Something that goes a long way in this ad game.
5. Offer discounts, message your markdowns
Let's be real, inflation has not gone away. Now, it's not to say people will be spending less because of it, but the expectation is that folks will be doing more bargain shopping this year than last.
51% of listeners plan to do holiday shopping during sales events.
78% say they want to hear about discounts from brands because of economic uncertainties.
- Source SXM Media Soundboard, Gas Prices & Inflation Poll, A18+ (N=2,300), August 2022. Base: Total A18+.
So the lesson here is to focus on value and try to offer, and emphasize, any special deals or discounts in your audio ad campaigns. Folks are going to try to be smart with their spending this season. Do be sure to keep that in mind, and accommodate them if you can. It'll work.
6. Know your customers, and who's buying for them
Normally you'd create ad campaigns for your target audience. But this is the season of giving that we're talking about here, so you'll also want to think about who else is doing the buying.
Be it parents, or spouses, or work friends, it's important to create messaging that inspires these types of personas to buy from you too. And the good thing with AudioGO, is that we'll give you over 500 different segments to build that perfect listener profile.
From interests like 'Nascar', to statuses like 'high income earners', to even personas like 'holiday online shopper,' whatever the case may be for your business, there's definitely a targeting option for it. Come see for yourself.
