Optimizing Your Ad Spend for the Final Q4 Holiday Sprint

We get it – Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us, but that doesn’t mean we’ve reached the end of Q4 profitability across the affiliate marketing landscape. If your brand has a small pool of remaining ad budget, it can be challenging to know how to best maximize it for last-minute holiday shoppers. Rather than pushing this spend to the wayside, invest in remaining placements with high-quality awareness and consideration-funnel partnerships to further expand brand recognition and attract consumers in their final gift search.

Gift Guides

Did you know 55% of last-minute shoppers still plan to purchase gifts online even if those items won’t be delivered by Christmas Day? I’m sure all brands are familiar with this type of consumer by now – the ones that procrastinate shopping until the week before, spending their final days researching “holiday gift guides for dad” or “gift guide for her 2022”. 

Gift guide listicles typically include a range of the best products in a particular category or niche, with additional information about the item and why it would be the perfect gift. Holiday gift guides are often organized by price point – under $25, under $50, under $100. In an effort to increase your brand’s inclusion last minute, always mention the pricing category of the items you’re hoping to promote when reaching out to publications. It’s extremely common for such publishers to do a final gift guide roundup of products, searching for those that fit the specific price point, and selecting the brand for placement from there. While it tends to become more difficult for marketers to get their hands on remaining placements around this time of year, it’s definitely worth the push.

Product Reviews

While getting that coveted gift guide placement can be a major brand builder, getting any type of coverage in December can provide a last-minute lift to brands with remaining budget. In an effort to pull out all the stops to make sure brand messaging cuts through the noise and drives those last-minute conversions, marketers in the affiliate space should consider available product review content partners. With awareness to consideration-funnel partnerships such as product review articles, you don’t need to get your brand noticed by every holiday shopper — just noticed by the right ones, and push them to consider your brand.

Product review articles are extremely beneficial for the procrastinator shoppers, who spend their final days of the holiday frantically researching which new bag would be best for their wife, or which bluetooth speaker has the best features available for the price. A great way to entice publishers to include your brand in a last-minute product review is by gifting them your item, and providing an exclusive offer on your most popular product – perhaps 20% off or a free shipping code.

Need help navigating through the last-minute scramble of Q4? Reach out to our team of affiliate management experts today.

Best-of Listicles

Global holiday shopping spend by consumers is anticipated to hit $910 billion this year. When it comes to the most popular type of content for Q4 across the affiliate industry, it’s hands down the “best-of” listicles, as so many consumers rely on these recommendations for their holiday shopping.

For brands looking to harness remaining Q4 ad spend through “best-of” listicles, it’s crucial to remain nimble in pricing and timing in an effort to get your hands on last-minute publisher requests. It’s very common for publication editors to reach out to marketers with last-minute placements if the brand is willing to adjust the product’s price point. For example, a publisher may be looking to fill a last-minute placement for a “Best Gifts for Mom under $50.” Let’s say your brand’s product retails for $52.99, but this publisher offers the placement if you can adjust your price to $49.99. With flexibility and a quick turnaround time, your brand could land a spot on this trending “best-of” listicle last minute, turning that extra ad spend into a huge increase in transactions.

Working with a dedicated affiliate management agency can make all the difference when it comes to making quick, strategic decisions, always with a focus on your brand’s ROAS.

The Final Push

Most consumers have already begun holiday shopping, but don’t get discouraged. There is still a sea of procrastinators who will wait until just days before the major gifting holidays to check off their shopping lists. If you have leftover Q4 budget, why not maximize your brand recognition in a booming period of time?

Navigating the affiliate channel and tackling the final sprint of the holiday season is tough – don’t hesitate to reach out to our affiliate management team today to learn how we can build a custom strategy for your brand ahead of next year’s Q4.