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In the run-up to the festive season, international brands and local retailers significantly increase their advertising spend. According to reports from Within Marketing Pulse and Sovran Benchmarks, this leads to a rapid rise in the cost of paid traffic on social media. The average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) for targeted advertising increases by a factor of 2–3.
Standard settings are often insufficient: at the peak of the season, it is more important not simply to increase the budget, but to allocate it correctly between audience warming, sales and retargeting. The budget size must correspond to profit margins, the sales cycle and business objectives.
For services with long decision cycles — such as construction, interior design and event organisation — launching a campaign directly at a ‘cold’ audience rarely yields quick sales. In the run-up to the festive season, it is more effective to focus on lead generation, lead magnets, case studies and subsequent remarketing.
To compete successfully with large corporations, protect your investment and attract solvent customers, a clear strategy is essential. This includes bid management, phased budget allocation and capturing traffic in January.
Timeline and budget allocation
The optimal formula for allocating an advertising budget in the European market from late November to mid-January is: 70 per cent before Christmas (gift shopping), 30 per cent after Christmas (the sales season and ‘self-gifting’ – buying presents for oneself).
Share of budget: 70%
In Poland, Spain, the UK, Germany and France, consumers are buying gifts en masse for family, friends and colleagues (Secret Santa). The main trigger for the second half of December is the dispatch deadline. Around 16–19 December, panic begins to set in amongst shoppers: will the courier manage to deliver the parcel in time for Christmas?
During this period, prospective shoppers juggle online searches with in-store purchases to ensure they meet the deadlines.
Consumers search for gift ideas, compare prices and check stock availability on their smartphones, but for the sake of security and speed, they head to a physical shop to make their purchase.
The BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In Store) scenario
Towards the middle of December, users are increasingly opting for options with a guaranteed delivery time. In adverts, it is important to clearly state the last day for ordering, the time by which the order will be ready, and the collection points.
The Click & Collect option (order online – collect from the shop within 1–2 hours) comes to the fore. Ad creatives highlight the benefit: ‘Collect from the shop today’.
Mobile shopping on the go
Whilst in a shopping centre in Warsaw or Madrid, users receive push notifications or see geo-targeted adverts offering discounts on products they have recently viewed on the website.
The use of radius-based retargeting (geofencing) around major shopping streets and shopping centres delivers excellent conversion rates.
Synchronisation with targeted supply chain advertising
Advertising budgets are automatically reallocated based on logistical capabilities.
Create a ‘region – latest delivery date – available offer’ matrix. When the delivery deadline for a region expires, switch campaigns to collection, e-vouchers or locally stocked products. To do this, prepare separate ad groups, landing pages and automation rules in advance.
Budget allocation: minimum (campaign maintenance)
It’s time for family gatherings — Heiligabend in Germany, Wigilia in Poland and Nochebuena in Spain. Demand falls across many categories: users make fewer purchases, and some retailers pause their promotional activities. This is no reason to switch off adverts completely: you can maintain reach, build video audiences and lay the groundwork for January campaigns.
Budget allocation: 30%
In the UK, the famous Boxing Day is in full swing; in Spain, preparations begin for Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings’ Day, celebrated on 6 January, when gifts are also given); and in Germany and Poland, the winter sales get underway. Shoppers are switching to ‘self-gifting’ mode – they’re spending the money and gift vouchers they’ve been given on themselves.
The first stage of an advertising campaign could be a large-scale ‘warm-up’ of a ‘cold’ audience on TikTok. Its main aim is to grab people’s attention, generate initial interest in the product and fill the sales funnel with as many potential customers as possible.
During this period, a campaign is launched in the advertising dashboard with a focus on driving traffic or conversions. The system optimises ad impressions to attract users who are likely to visit the website, explore the content or add a product to their basket. Standard video adverts are used, which blend seamlessly into users’ feeds.
The adverts are shown to a wide audience, but with a subtle targeting based on pre-holiday interests. The adverts will be seen by those who enjoy festive shopping, are interested in Christmas, are choosing decorations or are updating their wardrobe.
The video is created in the most natural, ‘lively’ style possible. It is a simple video filmed on a standard smartphone without the use of complex or expensive editing. The product itself is shown in the frame, held in the person’s hands, whilst key messages are conveyed via a concise text overlay on top of the video.
The most important technical detail at this stage is tracking. A link with a mandatory unique source tag is attached to each advert. This is necessary to track all users who click through, build a high-quality database and pass it on to the next step – targeted retargeting on Instagram.
The festive season itself
When Christmas itself arrives and commercial activity in Europe drops to zero, all sales-focused campaigns from the first phase are set to ‘Pause’. In their place, reach campaigns with minimal budgets are launched to maintain attention and gather low-cost analytical data.
On TikTok, you can run a campaign optimised for Video Views, whilst on Meta, you can run a campaign focused on reach or engagement. The aim of this stage is not to generate sales, but to build cost-effective video audiences for subsequent retargeting.
A looping, cosy video (for example, a crackling fire, a Christmas tree, and your product in festive packaging) with a calm, festive message is ideal.
Create audiences based on video engagement: for example, users who watched 75 per cent or 100 per cent of the video. Additionally, collect website visitors who added a product to their basket and users who interacted with your profile. Given the festive drop in the cost per impression, this audience is the cheapest to acquire and forms the basis for the next stage.
After Christmas and New Year
The winter sales period (from 26 December to 15 January) is the time for using gift vouchers and treating oneself to purchases. This is the peak period for impulse demand, when you need to utilise the capabilities of both Meta and TikTok simultaneously.
An automated sales campaign is created with the ‘Sales’ objective.
A campaign is launched with the objective of ‘Conversions on the website’ for the ‘Purchase’ event.
The Meta and TikTok cross-channel integration helps you avoid relying on a single channel: TikTok boosts reach and engagement, whilst Meta and retargeting drive users towards a purchase. However, consistent results depend on the quality of analytics, creative content, the product catalogue and regular optimisation.
You are not at the mercy of influencers’ whims or their content deadlines. The true power of this integration lies in the ad buying algorithms.
The strength of this combination lies in its ad-buying algorithms, strict mathematical deadlines and the automatic exchange of audiences between TikTok and Instagram. You have complete control over the process: from the first cold impression in the general feed right through to the automatic follow-up.
Want to get Meta and TikTok ready for the winter season without a chaotic budget increase? Submit a request – we’ll help you draw up a campaign plan, prepare audiences and creatives, set up analytics and scale up effective ad combinations
