The holidays are one of the noisiest periods in advertising, even for brands outside the retail world. While e-commerce dominates the season, every industry feels the impact of rising competition, tightening inventory, and audiences overwhelmed by messaging. For those brands that aren’t playing in the e-commerce space, the goal isn’t to out-shout retailers — it’s to stay visible and strategic when the marketplace becomes difficult to navigate.
Be Timely
If you haven’t secured your out-of-home media inventory by July, it’s likely too late. Availability is limited, prices surge, and what remains is rarely strategic. Instead of forcing it, consider reallocating dollars to more agile digital channels to reach your audience more effectively.
Be Consistent
Sticking to your playbook is especially important during the volatile holiday season. During the holidays, rapid shifts in auctions and fluctuating costs across digital and programmatic platforms can tempt brands to restructure campaigns or chase short-term gains. Planning, process, and consistent messaging help anchor your approach. Maintaining your core strategy, creative direction, and audience foundation preserves performance even as the environment becomes more crowded. It also prevents unnecessary volatility during a period when external factors are driving most of the fluctuation.
Be Incremental
If you’re going to make a change, don’t do it all at once. You can adjust budgets, audiences, or messaging — but altering all of them simultaneously makes it nearly impossible to understand what’s working and what isn’t. Not all performance can be judged in days.
Be deliberate in your incremental changes. Smaller businesses may want to test refinements to last year’s messaging. Larger organizations may benefit from structured split testing for clearer learning during the season. You may be experimenting with a new media channel for the first time. Whatever the approach, incremental shifts make it easier to understand what resonates this time of year—and that will make next year’s planning and budget conversations far smoother.
Be Purposeful
Purpose matters even more when attention is fragmented. Speak directly to your audience and their needs. Pay attention to seasonality within your industry and time your messages around the chaos of the season. Using tools like Google Keyword Planner to understand historical search behavior can reveal meaningful shifts in audience intent. Understanding how your audience’s interests change during the holidays is key to investing your marketing dollars efficiently.
Whether it’s aligning offers with year-end budgeting or advocating for social causes when audiences are more willing to donate, purposeful communication stands out amid the retail frenzy. Clarity and intention help brands cut through noise when it matters most—especially when your messaging matches what your audience is actually seeking at that moment.
Be Collaborative
Lean on your media vendors. They are your partners. Everyone is moving fast toward success and sales and sometimes things go sideways. Mistakes and the unexpected happen. What matters is having partners who step up, make it right and help turn challenges into something bigger and better. Be prepared for change, stay flexible and use these moments to adapt—and often improve—the outcome.
Have Fun!
While this time of year can feel intense, it’s also a moment when audiences are more reflective, more generous, and more emotionally open. Embrace that. The holiday season allows brands to show personality, purpose, and kindness in ways that stand out precisely because the environment is so crowded.
When you stay consistent, are purposeful, and make smart incremental decisions, you can show up in the season with confidence.