12/04/2024
If you work in Digital Marketing, or any kind of marketing, you know this time of year is crazy. Your inbox is flooded with sales, deals from everything from tax software to specialty glue sticks. Marketing departments feel pressure to put huge efforts into these seasonal campaigns, but for the vast majority of verticals it just doesn’t make sense. Loading a large percentage of your digital and social marketing spend to Q4 is a trained response for internal marketing teams and media planners at this point. But unless you are an ecommerce company, I ask why?
*Higher CPMs. Every impression is more expensive. Remember, the person interested in your product is also being targeted by tax software, leggings and glue sticks. The competition is fierce and for companies like amazon, they can bid whatever they want, because the intent and CVR is there to sustain ROI.
*Most verticals see decreased CVR during this time. Intent for apps, intent for software subscriptions is lower. If CVR decreases, your ROI evaporates.
*Pressure on internal and external teams. If it’s not going to make you money, why drive your team insane during an insane time of year.
What should you do instead?
1. Load that money into Q1. With a few exceptions, fitness being one, competition is low in Jan-March. In addition, the winter months have the highest possible impressions. People are inside, people are bored, no summer vacations, no holidays, just waiting to click on your ad. CPMS are low, I have yet to find a vertical in the digital space where Q1 isn’t the lowest cpa’s. Even in the fitness space where the cpm’s might be their most competitive, the CVR increases combat the spike and the ROI is still the best months.
2. It’s not a horrible time to engage in win backs, organic pushes that are relevant or even some retargeting campaigns with deals. It’s a good time to engage with your “sure bet” audience. However, especially for email you need a strategy that combats the huge influx of emails that people get from everyone that they have ever given their email to.
3. Enjoy the holiday and let the retail ecommerce people pull their hair out.
