“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” | Top 10 Tips for Q4 in Media

Pack away your flip flops and turn off your OOO as summer is officially over. If Andy Williams worked in media, he might in fact sing about how Christmas (and the lead up to it in Q4) is also the busiest, frantic and ROI driven time of the year for those in the industry. He probably wouldn’t have sold as many singles though.

For the majority of brands and agencies, the three months between October and December are key to driving up sales figures and communicating with your target audience.

Here we have put together some golden rules to apply to your media activity so you can still squeeze a little joy from the most wonderful (but high pressured) time of the year:

1. Plan Ahead

Plan your activity on the lead up to Christmas as far in advance as possible- the most profitable time of the year deserves your attention. The number of advertisers on TV increases exponentially on the lead up to Christmas so it’s a good idea to get ahead of the curve and plan your activity meticulously.

In 2021 the number of advertisers in December increased MoM by 17%

2. Know Important Dates/Landmarks for your Brand

Prime time for sales and consumer interaction will differ brand to brand. Knowing where to funnel budget and effort into will be essential to success. Typically there are obvious dates in Q4 to earmark like the below:

However it’s also important to consider other key dates/holidays that might only be applicable to your brand and your audience like World Vegan Day (1st November) or Small Business Saturday (26th November).

Thinkbox has also recently released a Future Focus Report on Q4, highlighting the best days for TV impacts for certain industries in 2021. This could assist with planning how to delegate media budget to make it most effective in the coming months.

3. Apply Context- No two years are exactly the same!

It’s safe to say that the last 3 years have been anomalies in terms of the current climate affecting consumer behaviour.

Covid had a massive impact on 2020 consumer habits, making it almost impossible to use 2020 in any comparable data YoY. The cost of living crisis is also having a massive impact on consumer priorities in 2022. IPA recently reported that 44% of people in the UK plan to buy all their Christmas presents by before Black Friday. It is thought consumers are likely to be savvier shoppers in 2022 and therefore will look to get a head start on preparing for the holidays.

4.    Don’t let history repeat itself…unless it was a success!

Like Ebeneezer Scrooge, we must learn from our mistakes (and successes!) from Christmases past. Make sure that your activity is collecting the relevant data to use for later years and post campaign analysis. What do you want to see from your results? What works, what hasn’t, how can we adjust this for next year’s activity? It’s too late to set up effective reporting after Q4 is over!

Einstein said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. Apply knowledge from previous years and adjust your strategy where applicable. 

5.    Be Creative!

Christmas is the best time for TV adverts (*cough cough* John Lewis). To stay in the mind of your audience, give them something to talk about! Get them to send it to their friends, colleagues, and Mums- Don’t get lost in the noise of talking carrots and Santa drinking a certain fizzy beverage…

6.    Be Ready for Battle

Despite the number of advertisers increasing in substantially in Q4, the amount of airtime available will stay the same- this explains the rise in cost of TV around the festive period as the demand for airtime is huge. However we aren’t just dealing with typical Q4 ratings as the Men’s world cup will also start in November where Fifa bosses are anticipating 5 billion viewers (that’s 1.5 billion more than the last men’s world cup in 2018).

7.    Fail to prepare, Prepare to Fail

Prepare for any and all eventualities; running out of stock, replacement ads- all must be accounted for to avoid any last minute madness. Contingency plans are a must. Another thing to consider is early station closedowns on days running up to Christmas. You will have less time in the month of December to make changes to your airtime, make sure you know what each station is working towards.  

8.    Market Research, Do your homework!

Remember who you are trying to reach- what does your ad say to them? Where are you going to find them in the multitude of channels and programmes at their disposal? Be aware of what competitors are doing and see how you can learn from them.

9.    Regulations and Rules:

Don’t get caught out by any rogue Christmas regulations for your industry. Make sure to double check any rules surrounding the holidays and know the parameters that you must work in. Advertising is extremely influential, particularly around the holidays, which is why these extra measures are in place.

10. Stay Motivated!

Q4 is extremely full on for all involved and it is so important to keep morale up for you and your team! Organise a secret Santa, go for regular drinks after work, bring in festive treats to nibble on in the office. Communication and team collaboration is essential in creating that festive feel while in the trenches together!

Good luck and Merry September!