What is Q5 and why should you care?
Does your media plan include “Q5” advertising?
When holiday shopping is in the rearview mirror, your audience is ready to treat themselves. High on the “new year, new me” mindset with fresh pocket money in tow, they’re clicking on Instagram ads and you’re ringing in the new year with growing ROI.
What is Q5?
To spend or not to spend? Many advertisers believe that it’s wasteful to invest ad spend during Q5–the period between late December and mid-January. Why? They assume that the average consumer is busy with family, traveling, and/or they don’t have any money left to spend.
It’s easy to make these assumptions when reflecting on the craziness of Q4. The cost of marketing spikes during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas as competitors vie for precious ad space across offline and online media. Then, Santa heads back to the North Pole, advertisers pull back, and CPMs start to drop. Hello, opportunity!
Climate Conditions
Before we dive into media buying strategies, here are some 2023 tidbits to consider:
- Holiday 2023 gift spending will increase by a modest 2% over 2022
- Non-gift holiday spending will decrease by an average of 26%
- Buy Now, Pay Later is having a moment with Gen Z
- 49% of shoppers expect to do the same amount of in-store and online holiday shopping this year
- Nearly half of Americans plan to travel during the holidays this year
Why is this context important? Each of these realities affects the offline and online media landscape, and drives successful Q5 media planning and buying.
Q5 Media Buying Strategies
So, what are the driving forces and tactics for advertising in Q5?
1. Take advantage of lower CPMs on digital platforms and higher usage
2. Build momentum for Q1 2024
3. Build off of the success of Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals
4. Implement personalization and optimization
5. Leverage home co-viewing and consumers’ time off
Remember, holiday themes will be exhausted at this point, but New Year’s resolutions will be aflutter. Personalize ad experiences to tap into this psychological shift. A/B test creative assets and optimize daily to maximize campaign performance in early 2024.
Black Friday saw record sales in 2023. Q5 is the perfect time to build off of that success and re-engage users who have high purchase intent and extra cash in hand:
- More than half of consumers across surveyed markets agreed that there are better deals available after the holidays than leading up to them.
- On average, just under half say they are taking advantage of post-holiday sales.
If Black Friday/Cyber Monday revenue was underwhelming, Q5 is your chance to recover. Take advantage of low CPMs, available ad inventory, and access to audiences who have more free time and gifted money.
Family holiday time and school vacation lead to higher media consumption. Co-viewing opportunities rise as families and friends get together and event TV continues. This period is less cluttered and allows advertisers to make a splash for not as much cash!
Ramp Up Revenue with Resident Experts
With decades of experience in media planning and buying, Marketing Doctor understands the nuances of Q5 advertising across industries.
At the core of what we do, research drives strategy. Audience behavior, media consumption habits, and external climate conditions shape Q5 media plans. 2024 forecasting informs the approach as well with AI, tradigital marketing tactics, and the presidential election top of mind for media agencies and brands alike.
Are you ready to ring in the new year with a boost of ROI? Take advantage of Q5!
