Now that Halloween is behind us, it’s time to focus on everyone’s favorite time of year. Ok, maybe not everyone… as a surfer, the water temp drops and the mornings are so chilly I don’t want to head down to the beach. Other than that, the malls are full of Holiday cheer, Starbucks is serving pumpkin spice lattes, the morning air is cool & crisp, and it’s a time for families to come together and truly appreciate each other.
Yahoo! Advertising recently released their 13 tips for effective ad copy during the holiday season. As you’ll see, many of these tips are fundamentally effective year-round. Cheers!
Best practices for marketing holiday gifts
- Personalization: Be sure to promote any monogramming/name engraving or other personalization offers that are available, whether the gift is for children or adults.
- Uniqueness: Many people like to know that a gift for their loved one will be rare or “one-of-a-kind,” and not simply something that is available in every store.
- Have a Holly Jolly Holiday: Holiday gifts for both kids and adults are for fun, so be sure your ad copy emphasizes the fun factor appropriately.
- Family Occasion: Emphasize family togetherness for holiday offers like recipes, food, candy, board games, etc.
- ’Tis Better to Give than to Receive: Ads that contain copy about giving gifts tend to perform better than copy talking about receiving them.
- Holiday and Seasonal References: Tailor copy that is appropriate to the festive season with special holiday language and references.
- Big Selection: An emphasis on a large selection from which to find exactly the right gift is important when bidding on general holiday shopping keywords.
- Shiny and New: People like to know that their gift will be hip, trendy and the latest fashionable thing.
- Gift Wrapping: If a gift wrapping option is offered, be sure to mention it.
- Free Content: Spotlight anything about the offer that is free.
- Shipping – Fast and Free: People prefer free shipping when it is offered at all times. During the holidays, fast/same day or overnight shipping verbiage is equally important, since the user must be sure that the item will arrive in time.
- Famous Brands and Trademarks: Appropriate use of trademark symbols with official brand names can increase user confidence and click-through rates.
- Deadlines and Calls-to-Action: Subtle language encouraging a click today can perform well. Sales with a specific end date, or an upcoming holiday deadline to prepare for, encourage the user to click and get the deal before it’s too late. (But be sure that your copy does not promote a date or season that has already passed!)
— Michael Won