Advertisers are aware of the opportunity to place their products in TV spots. TV advertising still has the highest effectiveness and viewers pay the highest attention to TV (compared to other advertising channels). And although this is true all year round, during seasonal events, the effect of TV advertising tends to be multiplied. If you haven’t yet considered seasonal targeting, here are some specific examples that may help you in your decision-making.
Seasonal opportunities
Brands that can find the right approach to seasonal campaigns win not only the hearts of the audience but also their wallets. Calendar or trade events that happen every year bring unique marketing opportunities and it would be a sin not to take advantage of them. Which events are among the most exciting opportunities for marketers globally each year?
- New Year
- Super Bowl
- Valentine’s Day
- Carnival in Rio
- Easter
- Black Friday
- Christmas
An additional number eight in the annual lottery of marketing opportunities are ad-hoc events, such as World Championships, Olympic Games, etc. They can be the ace up the sleeve of your marketing plan.
New Year
The Christmas madness is over, people have had a few days to calm down. It is high time for brands to build on their pre-Christmas activities, launch their New Year campaigns, and take advantage of the post-Christmas shopping rush. Consumers have recovered from the holidays and are keen to spend again. Most are determined to redeem the gift cards they found under the Christmas tree as soon as possible after the holidays. This is partly supported by discounts and promotion, which work particularly well in the Czech Republic where people are generally very receptive to all kinds of discounts and sales.
The New Year is a time of new beginnings. Brands too can jump on the bandwagon and introduce new products and services and bring a breath of fresh air to their relationship with consumers.
In addition to discounts and new products, a relatively certain way to succeed is by focusing campaigns on various New Year’s resolutions. However, the resolutions usually only last at the beginning of the new year, so procrastination is definitely out of place. According to Forbes.com, the most popular New Year’s resolutions include mental health (45%), improving fitness (39%), losing weight (37%), improving diet (33%) and improving finances (30%). Lower down the list, but equally important for physical and mental health, are the following items: 14% want to quit smoking, 12% want to learn a new skill and 11% want to make more time for their hobbies.
And it doesn’t hurt to incorporate a little humour into your New Year’s TV spot as Volkswagen did with its advert, which reminded consumers of the recent exuberant celebrations:
Video: Volkswagen - Hangover? Have a quiet New Year’s Day!
Super Bowl
Super Bowl commercials are something as commonplace as breathing. Just as one cannot imagine Liberty Island without the Statue of Liberty, one cannot imagine the Super Bowl without commercials. TV spots have a truly massive impact and are the third most popular aspect of watching the big game. It is one of the few occasions where consumers don’t skip the commercials. So if advertisers can combine a great idea, perfect casting, and perfect execution, a huge result is guaranteed. But the cost is equally huge: the average cost of a 30-second spot was a breathtaking USD 7 million in both 2023 and 2024. Compared to the USD 37,000 that advertisers paid to advertise in the first Super Bowl in 1960, this is a truly exorbitant sum.
However, for brands that can afford to advertise at the Super Bowl, the investment is well worth it. The average ROI on such advertising is USD 4.60 per dollar spent, with many brands seeing double-digit ROI. It is essentially the only opportunity to reach more than 115 million Americans at once, and in an environment where they are willing to actively watch ads. For example, this year’s final game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers on 11 February was watched by an average of 123.4 million people. That is the highest number of viewers in the history of television broadcasting.
And just as brands are racing to come up with the best Super Bowl spot, celebrities are racing to star in them. Like the famous Arnold, who can’t pronounce the State Farm commercial’s tagline without an Austrian accent. Thank God his movie buddy Danny DeVito is around:
Video: State Farm - Like a Good Neighbaaa
Valentine’s Day
In Europe, time seems to have stood still after the New Year sales. But the ubiquitous stagnation is only temporary. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner!
In the Czech Republic, Valentine’s Day, a tradition adopted from the United States, has not found its proper response for quite a long time. Until a decade ago, the Czechs’ attitude to it was very lukewarm. Today it is celebrated by about a quarter of the Czech population. However, the expenses related to Valentine’s Day are growing faster than the number of its supporters. Over the past ten years, Czechs have increased their spending on Valentine’s Day by around 550% (in contrast to the rest of the world, where the increase was only 180%). And that is certainly worth some marketing effort.
And although the most purchased Valentine’s Day goods and services include chocolates, valentines, flowers, restaurant dinners, and jewellery, anything can be sold on Valentine’s Day with a bit of imagination. For example, Ryanair has come up with an original advertisement for singles who suffer through Valentine’s Day:
Video: Ryanair - Escape the Nonsense
Easter
According to NetScale’s survey, European consumers’ Easter spending is seeing steady growth, presenting a great opportunity for advertisers to boost sales and revenue in the first quarter of the year. The Czech Republic has also shown growth this year, albeit modest. According to an online survey by Košík.cz, Czechs spent CZK 850 million more on Easter treats this year than last year.
However, unlike Valentine’s Day, which is an artificial holiday and as such just ‘skims the surface’, it is not easy with Easter ads. Easter has a deeper meaning. And not nearly as much is spent on gifts as on food, candy, flowers, and decorations.
Brands are in a difficult position because they have to differentiate themselves from the flood of similar, often boring and corny ads with bunnies and eggs. However, it is worth flexing your creative muscles and trying to make the most of Easter.
Cadbury’s 2012 “Humpty” Easter spot is proof that Easter advertising can be something other than a simple parade of sweets or a stream of Easter bunnies and eggs:
Video: Cadbury - Humpty
Carnival in Rio
The US has the Super Bowl, Brazil has Carnival. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is always transformed into a giant dance floor at the end of February. As many as half a million people flock to the Rio Carnival, and millions more watch it on television. It is no wonder that the carnival season and the carnival itself are among the favourite topics with Brazilian and global advertisers. Global brands are also betting on the carnival theme, as evidenced by Apple’s ad promoting the iPhone in Brazil (2018):
Video: Apple - iPhone X
Black Friday
The days of waiting in line for hours for an amazing Black Friday offer are long gone. Black Friday sales have expanded to a sometimes month-long celebration of bargains. There are speculations as to why a global marketing event focused on deep discounts, online sales, warehouse clearance, exclusive offers, extended return policies and other forms of discounting is called Black Friday. One theory is the significant fall in the price of gold on the American stock exchange in 1869, the other is the chaos in Philadelphia’s stores and traffic due to an onslaught of shoppers on the Friday after Thanksgiving in the 1850s. Unlike in the US, there is no big drama in the shops in the Czech Republic and shopping is more likely to take place online. Instead of one discount day, many brands start campaigns days before Black Friday and discounts typically stretch for a week, sometimes even a month.
Black Friday is something of a sales tsunami that can boost sales tremendously, not just in the US. Also, the Czech population responds well to discounts, so brands have an opportunity that they should not miss in November. Moreover, thanks to the new legislation, Czech consumers have greater confidence that the discounts offered are genuine.
Of course, this is an amazing opportunity for TV advertising and brands know this and are really making sure they have original advertising that allows them to stand out in the flood of other brands. For example, the star of Amazon’s campaign is a lonely Yeti who longs for company. Thanks to Amazon’s early Black Friday sale, he can save money on a hairdryer and attend a party with his hair styled. The spot captivated viewers because it emphasised a sense of community and connection through the shopping experience:
Video: Amazon - Black Friday 2022
Christmas
Christmas ads are a real phenomenon. The pre-Christmas period is the most lucrative time of the year for most brands. Companies that manage to establish a deep emotional connection with consumers during this highly emotional period can achieve not only high sales but also a long-term increase in brand loyalty.
In the run-up to Christmas, consumers are much more receptive to commercials that interrupt their favourite shows. They feel happier, they are in a festive mood and their brains respond positively to holiday-themed images, as scientific research shows. According to psychologists, nostalgic memories from our childhood play a role in this. That is why it pays for brands to incorporate elements such as story, emotion, children, family, compassion, and belonging into TV ads:
Video: Apple - Fuzzy Feelings
Grab the right opportunity by the scruff of the neck
Seasonal events present a huge opportunity, but brands should properly evaluate which ones to invest in. The choice of a particular seasonal event should be based on the brand, its priorities, the target consumer segment, and the resources available. There is no point investing in an expensive Christmas campaign if Christmas does not match the seasonality of the brand. Similarly, there is no point in promoting a brand at the Super Bowl if the target audience is consumers who don’t watch it.
Companies must carefully evaluate whether the potential benefits, such as reach, engagement, and brand recognition, outweigh the cost and effort associated with these iconic advertising opportunities. If they can select adequate opportunities and deliver advertising in the right way, they can make a huge impression and keep the path to consumers open.
Sources: ecimediamanagement.com, eskimi.com,echo24.cz
