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Why you shouldn’t take a break from advertising over the holidays

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Why you shouldn’t take a break from advertising over the holidays

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Sheridan Devereux lists five reasons why the holidays are a great time to be speaking with your audience.  

There’s a common perception that summer isn’t a good time to advertise as everyone has switched off from work mode and shut up shop. A lot of us flee the cities for quieter holiday destinations and many of the popular free-to-air TV shows take a hiatus – cue McLeod’s Daughters reruns. But is the opposite in fact true? Is summer the best time to be advertising?

Here’s five reasons why the holidays are a great time to be speaking with your audience.  

1. Weather affects mood and mood effects the way people shop

A study in 2010 revealed that exposure to sunlight dramatically increases levels of consumption as well as the amount spent per item. Studies show that consumers would willingly pay 37% more for green tea and 56% more for gym memberships after being exposed to sunlight. We know well that retailers already capitalise on this phenomenon by installing bright halogen lighting in their stores, which mimics the effect of sunlight. You could be doing the same by advertising during the warmer months.

2. New Year’s Resolutions

We’re all guilty of wanting to make changes to our lives during this time of year – get healthier, save money, find a new job, be more organised, quit smoking, renovate the house, the list goes on. The holidays are the perfect time to be talking to consumers about these types of products and services – think gym memberships, vitamins, savings accounts, workout gear, nicotine patches, white goods, stationery, storage solutions and DIY home improvement products.

3. Spending increases

Consumers are on holidays and a carefree attitude to spending often ensues. This is also the time of year when people finally have time to purchase those big-ticket items they’ve been holding off on such as white goods, furniture and home renovation products. Post-Christmas sales guarantee another shopping peak after consumers have completed their Christmas shopping, which combined with liquidated holiday merchandise and the countless number of gift cards given out ensure there are plenty out there keen to spend.

4. The opportunity to disrupt

There’s a unique opportunity to deliver engaging, disruptive, creative TV ads which cut through the boring re-runs and screeching sales ads that tend to dominate the airwaves over summer. Sporting events like the Boxing Day Test and Australian Open draw huge viewing numbers that sit glued to the TV for hours at a time. We can all remember iconic ads that we first saw during summer sport – make your ads one of those that consumers can’t get out of their heads.

5. Web traffic volume increases

This is the time of year when people have nothing but time to search for things on the Internet. They’re on holidays with welcome spare time, a lot of which is spent trawling on social media and the web while lying poolside and during those long car trips. Even on Christmas Day, after an excessive lunch we’re all lounging on the couch and comparing everyone else’s roast ham on Instagram. Internet is everywhere – while it used to be true that when people left home over summer they couldn’t shop online, but this is increasingly rare, with even the most remote beach towns being internet accessible.

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Sheridan Devereux is account director at HBT.

[Image: dolgachov / 123RF Stock Photo]

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