Strategy Labs

Think the holiday rush ends December 26? You’re missing out on Q5. Most people think the year ends with Q4, but there’s a hidden “quarter” between Christmas and New Year’s that marketers often ignore. It’s called Q5, and it’s one of the best opportunities to connect with consumers in a unique way. ?? Less competition + more visibility. Most brands go quiet after Christmas, leaving the stage open for those who stay active. This is your chance to grab attention while others are taking a break. ?? Lower ad costs mean better ROI. Facebook CPMs drop 26%, and Instagram CPMs drop 33% on average after December 26th.* In Q5, you can reach more people for less and stretch your budget further. ??? Shoppers are still spending. After Christmas, many people start returning and exchanging gifts, redeeming store credit, and taking advantage of post-holiday sales. With time off and the holiday rush over, they’re also indulging in some “me time.” ?? "New year, new me" creates demand. Consumers shift to self-improvement and fresh starts. Wellness, organization, and personal growth trends dominate. Tailoring campaigns to these themes will keep your brand relevant. Don’t let Q5 slip through your fingers! Lower costs, engaged audiences, and a unique shopping mindset make it the perfect window to build momentum for the year ahead.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and here at Strategy Labs, we’re taking a moment to share what we’re most grateful for this year. ??? Our amazing clients: They are motivated, collaborative partners who push us to consistently raise the bar. They remind us every day why we’re passionate about driving impactful strategies. ????? Our rockstar team: They bring great ideas and the best attitudes to work every single day. Together, we’ve turned challenges into success stories. ??? The laughs & the wins: From celebrating wins in weekly shoutouts to debating the eternal question — tater tots or french fries? (it’s french fries, by the way) — it’s the little things that make our team stronger. ??? Work-life balance: Whether it’s using unlimited PTO to recharge or tackling quarterly OKR challenges, we’re grateful for the chance to work hard and relax harder. Looking ahead, we’re excited for everything the next year will bring and grateful to have such incredible partners along the way. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Strategy Labs! ?? #adagency #marketing #mediabuying #Thanksgiving #grateful #unlimitedPTO #tatertots

Every holiday marketing season is a little different, and this year is no exception??? While Q4 comes with some challenges, we've identified a lot of opportunities for e-commerce brands to reach ambitious sales goals. Check out (and share!) our 2024 Holiday Playbook. https://lnkd.in/eQkqiErt

Promoting niche brands is a bit different than running a campaign for mainstream e-comm items like clothing or household goods. Finding and converting the small but passionate group interested in your product requires careful, strategic planning. We’ve done this for aftermarket auto parts brands for years now. Last Black Friday, we helped increase sales by 48% YoY for one auto parts client.? Need to promote a product with a small but mighty fan base? Try these tips. ?? Grow audiences while remaining targeted: Early in the season, focus on gaining a larger share of the niche product’s audience. Broaden your reach but ensure creative is hyper-focused on your target audience. Then, optimize campaigns for actions that clearly demonstrate interest, like email signups, adds to cart, or page views. As Black Friday nears, you can retarget your now-larger base of brand followers. ?? Partner with creators in the niche communities: Engage shoppers with unique interests in a genuine way by working directly with those in their community. For example, if you’re selling musical equipment for guitarists, send your product to home musicians who do 1-minute product reviews on TikTok. Your creator partners don’t have to “influence” millions of followers, just the few hundred that can turn into solid leads for your business. ?? Embrace brand loyalists: The most expensive customer is a new customer, and in your niche, it’s even harder to find those new shoppers. Invest in the folks who already love your brand, and get long-term sales in return. We recommend giving past purchasers an exclusive promo code during the holidays to easily win them back. ?? Boost the budget strategically: Black Friday is noisy, and your unique product needs to cut through the excess of promotions to reach the right shoppers. We secure extra budget to keep the niche brands’ ads front and center when competition peaks. In a niche industry and not sure where to start? Throw us a line. Or, let us know how you approach Black Friday in the comments!?

Big news! TikTok just launched the Search Ads Toggle. TikTok isn’t just about viral dances or lip-syncing anymore. People are now turning to TikTok to search for everything from product reviews and style tips to how-to videos, some even choosing it over Google! In fact, 58% of users discover new brands on TikTok, and the platform’s latest feature lets brands take full advantage of this shift. ? What it does: The Search Ads Toggle lets your current In-Feed Ads show up right in TikTok search results as “Sponsored” content, seamlessly fitting in with what users are exploring. ?? Why use it: TikTok’s research shows that ad groups using the Search Ads Toggle perform 70% better. This feature lets you reach users who are already searching with intent, making conversions smoother and more effective. ?? Getting started: The Search Ads Toggle is automatically set to “on” for new In-Feed Ad campaigns, so you can easily start showing up in relevant search results without extra setup. The Search Ads Toggle is a big move in the ad space, helping brands reach younger audiences and engage users ready to discover products in a more authentic way. We’re already planning how to make the most of it to drive even better results for our clients.?

Recent surveys show that one-third of shoppers begin their holiday shopping before Halloween.* Which means Santa’s coming way earlier than Jason Voorhees. Why the big rush? It all starts with Amazon. Their October Prime Days have become the unofficial start to holiday shopping. Retailers that don't offer early promotions risk losing a share of the market before November even begins, since shoppers now prefer to spread out their spending to budget more effectively. As a result, early holiday deals and pre-Black Friday promotions have become essential for capturing sales. Here’s how your brand can capitalize on this trend: ? Start early & extend your sales: Launch deals mid-October and keep them running through November and December to capture both early planners and last-minute shoppers. ?? Personalize offers: Use customer data to segment your audience and send targeted promotions like exclusive bundles or limited-time discounts. ?? Optimize your website: Make sure it’s mobile-friendly and ready to handle an influx of traffic. Over 50% of 2023 Black Friday sales were made via smartphones.** How are you adapting to this shift? Share your thoughts in the comments! ?? *Source: Forbes - Forbes.com **Source: Einpresswire - Einpresswire.com

Black Friday is getting earlier and earlier each year. If you’re an e-comm brand, now is the time to deploy your winning Q4 strategy. At the COLAB Portland lifestyle brand summit, Strategy Labs President Ramsey Pruchnic recently shared five must-know tactics to crush this quarter: 1. ?? Start building demand early. October is the time to build retargeting pools while CPMs are still low before the holidays. This is your chance to cast a wider net with platforms like Meta and TikTok, focusing on actions that grow your audience, such as email signups or adds to cart. 2.??? Use Google’s Power Pair: PMAX + Search. By blending Google Performance Max and Search ads, you can cover your bases with broad targeting and capture intent with precision, driving up to 27% more conversions than using either type of campaign alone. 3. ?? Partner with creators to drive engagement. Want to reach new audiences without breaking the bank? Creators are the key. Collaborating with the right influencers gives you credibility and extends your reach. If you haven’t found the perfect match yet, Meta’s Creator Marketplace can help you get started. 4. ?? Leverage Shopify cohort data for custom audiences. Shopify’s cohort data is a goldmine for creating laser-focused custom audiences. Start building them now to take full advantage when November sales hit. Early prep means smarter targeting and higher conversions when the holidays are in full swing. 5. ?? Launch exclusive, 1:1 promotions for existing customers. This approach increases sales by targeting your most loyal customers with tailored promotions that make them feel valued and appreciated, encouraging repeat purchases and long-term loyalty. With these strategies in hand, you’ll be ready to make this Q4 your strongest yet.

Labor Day wasn’t just about BBQs and beach days, it gave brands a key opportunity to drive sales and get ready for Q4. This year, it also showed us the importance of flexibility and making smarter, real-time decisions. Here’s what we saw in our clients’ performance data: ??? On Shopify, we saw a drop in daily first-time orders, but thanks to loyal, returning customers, we kept daily revenue up and increased Average Order Value (AOV) by 24.3%. ?? On Meta, our ads became more efficient with an 8.6% drop in CPM. This gave us the chance to get more value out of every dollar spent and maximize reach. ?? On Google, CPC fell 40.7%. This drop gave us a clear opportunity to boost clients’ visibility and get more from their investments. Having a solid LDW plan was essential, but knowing when to adjust based on performance proved even more important so you can make strategic adjustments to maximize returns.

Some of the best things in life come in pairs, like peanut butter and jelly. And the same goes for your Google Ads strategy. When you combine the right tools, you’ll maximize your results. Enter Google’s Power Pair. What’s that? Put simply, it’s the combination of PMax and Search campaigns. When these two work together, they give you the perfect mix of reach and precision, covering all your bases to help you get better results. ?? PMax reaches users even when they aren't actively looking. It’s perfect for getting in front of new audiences across Google’s different platforms. Plus, it’s highly scalable, giving you access to a wide range of placements. ?? Search focuses on users who know what they want. It shows your ads to people who are googling with intent, and are therefore more likely to convert. Search also gives you more granular control and the ability to personalize ads. Together, they make your strategy more effective, ensuring you connect with new audiences as well as users who are ready to convert, covering every stage of the customer journey. At Strategy Labs, we’ve seen firsthand how the Power Pair can enhance a campaign’s effectiveness. If you’ve used PMax and Search together, we’d love to hear about your experience. Let’s swap insights in the comments! ??

We’ve all Googled something and clicked on that top ad, but have you ever wondered what’s behind those search results that seem to know exactly what you need? It’s not only Google’s deft algorithm, but often the skillful work of a performance marketing team. And if you’ve clicked on one of our clients' ads, you can thank our lead media buyers,? Pace Lombardi and Ben Doggett, who are the powerhouse behind successful SEM campaigns at Strategy Labs. How do they craft ads that drive clicks and deliver results? Here are their top tips: ?? Put the right content in front of the right people. It’s all about targeting with precision. We fine-tune ad copy, add relevant assets (formerly extensions), and bring in diverse images and videos in campaigns to make sure ad content resonates with our specific audience. ?? Simplify your strategy. When building a strategy on Google, you need to remember how valuable machine learning is for success. A simplified structure means each ads collect more data, helping Google’s algorithm understand what works best based on your goals and budget. And that brings us to our next point... ?? Optimize bidding strategies. We’re always monitoring performance and adjusting our bidding strategies based on what we see. From the start of a new campaign to managing it over time, strategies may change based on the campaign's performance to ensure it performs well and meets client goals as new data comes in. At the end of the day, it’s about creating campaigns that adapt to our clients’ goals and are powered by proactive strategies and collaboration. When it comes to SEM at Strategy Labs, we don’t just manage ads — we drive long-term success by staying ahead with data-driven insights and a partnership mindset. Curious about how data can drive your SEM success? Let’s chat in the comments or drop us a message! ?? ??