How Soon Is Too Soon to Think About Holiday Marketing?

Every year, it feels like the holiday season creeps up just a liiiittle bit earlier. You’ve hardly taken your first sip of a pumpkin spice latte when — bam! — the twinkly lights hit the shelves and that Mariah Carey classic starts blasting again…everywhere.

It’s not just your imagination: More people are choosing to get a head start on the merriest time of the year. According to the National Retail Federation, two out of every five holiday shoppers start buying before November.

So what does that mean for your holiday marketing, and how soon is too soon to start planning?

Let’s break it down.

When should you start planning your holiday marketing?

Honestly, there’s no magic date to circle on the calendar. But the sooner you can start, the better, especially if your business relies on the holiday rush to drive sales.

Retail businesses banking on the Black Friday frenzy, for example, may want to start planning over the summer (pro tip: there’s no day like today!).

However, we’ll add this caveat: There’s really no such thing as too late. At Mud Mile, we’ve put together successful national holiday promotions in as little as two weeks. We don’t necessarily advocate for this approach, but it can be done!

4 ways to start your holiday marketing now

If you want to save yourself some time (and stress) once the holidays arrive, ease yourself into planning with these steps:

1. Review last year’s data. Look over your marketing ROI and engagement metrics to see what went well and where you can improve this year.
2. Set a goal. Know what you want to achieve before jumping headfirst into the holidays. When you have a goal in mind, you can work backwards to develop a thoughtful, well-coordinated campaign.
3. Know the key dates. If you want to run a Black Friday promotion or push a Small Business Saturday sale, mark those dates now. (Keep in mind that Thanksgiving falls late this year, so you may want to kick things off even earlier.)
4. Brainstorm content needs. Think about the content you’ll need for your holiday campaign, like email, social ads, or video. Loop in the team so everyone’s aware of what they need to do and when.

The holidays might feel far away, but they’ll be here before you know it. If that thought has you feeling more like Scrooge than Buddy the Elf, reach out to learn how we can partner with you on your holiday marketing.

We’re like Santa’s elves, working behind the scenes so you can shine on the big day!