Preparing Retailers for Holiday Season, 2009
To ensure this year's holiday season will be merry and bright for retail advertisers, planning should begin now in order to maximize Q4 performance and round out the year on the best note possible. Time is of the essence, particularly given the sluggish state of affairs seen in the first two quarters of the year.
The Ghost of Christmas Past
Evaluate holiday performance from years past to use as a guide for Holiday 2009 budgets and likely performance. Holiday 2007 may be a better indicator for this year, as Holiday 2008 was an anomaly for most advertisers. When setting or optimizing bids, use technology that incorporates both longer term historical data and recent data with the option to apply weighting to each depending on seasonal trends, marketplace dynamics or business needs.
Fatten the Goose
Consider month-to-month marginal cost per transaction when planning budgets for the holiday season. If your marketing budget allows you to flow dollars between months, monitor performance closely as we inch towards prime holiday spending. As ROI begins to increase, leave yourself in a position to chase revenue instead of being bound by limited budgets.
'Tis the Season
Identify keywords that are sensitive to seasonal peaks and valleys. Current keyword performance should be compared to previous holidays/sales and more aggressively bid up to forego waiting for modeling to catch up. Remember to do the same thing when leaving the season - pulling bids back down when you know conversions will slow.
Make a List and Check it Twice
Consult your buyers to identify which products are likely to be "hot" and "cold" during the upcoming holiday season. Prepare your list of new keywords and ads well ahead of time so that your technology can learn and build adequate models in time for peak shopping. Try constraining these keywords in the beginning to ensure they will remain in the auction given they will have zero to little historical data. Finally, cull your keyword list and pause terms relating to products no longer carried or in stock.
It's Been Said, Many Times Many Ways
Decide whether it will be more profitable to push items pre or post sale when determining when to incorporate holiday messaging in copy. Any changes to ad copy can affect your quality score and lead to higher CPCs in the short term, so only push these out where the returns will outweigh the costs.
Deck the Halls
Consider running more Content and Display campaigns over the holidays - CPCs are generally lower than Search so take advantage of the volume opportunities. And if you're able to boast percentage off, free shipping, or any kind of sale messaging for the holidays, definitely revisit Content. Clear value proposition is a strong call to action, especially for retailers, enticing browsers away from the publisher's page and leading to conversions on yours.
There is much to consider when planning for the holiday season, but doing this work up front will save you valuable time and money and most importantly, you'll get what you wished for and avoid lumps of coal.
Angela Overhoff
Director, Account Development
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