Holiday Bargain Hunters Target Best Gifts Following OTT TV Messaging

BY Rachel Cagle
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Holiday ads need to be placed where consumers can easily interact with them, right? Deciding where that is doesn’t need to be as difficult as looking back through the ad data of the past few years. Just think about holiday traditions. What’s one of the biggest? Watching holiday movies and the holiday episodes of big TV shows. This year, your client should be putting their ad dollars toward OTT TV messaging.

Holiday Bargain Hunters Target Best Gifts Following OTT TV Messaging

The Impact of Holiday Movies/​TV

During the holiday season, your client’s linear and OTT TV ads reach even more people per ad than during the rest of the year. Why? According to research from LG Ad Solutions, almost everyone who is watching holiday content isn’t doing so alone. 97% of consumers watching holiday TV during the holidays are doing so with friends and family.

How Consumers are Watching

While linear TV viewing tends to surpass streaming, the holiday season provides a little magic for OTT TV advertisers. LG says that, “before and after Christmas, streaming beats out linear in amount of TV watched daily.” It’s true; streaming ranks above broadcast, cable and satellite TV AND purchased media during the holiday season:

  • Streaming: 54% of consumers stream holiday TV
  • Broadcast/​Cable/​Satellite: 35%
  • Purchased Media: 12%

It’s still important to include linear TV ads in your client’s holiday campaign to reach as many consumers as possible. However, the power of OTT TV should cause its ads to take priority this time of year.

What Consumers are Watching

Holiday TV/​movie watchers have broad tastes in the content they watch. According to LG, top categories include:

  • Classics: 75% of consumers watch this kind of holiday TV/​movie content
  • Comedy: 60%
  • Kids/​Family: 52%
  • Music Specials: 39%
  • Action: 31%
  • “So Bad It’s Good”: 26%
  • Holiday Horror: 17%

The top holiday movies of the 2022 holiday season include:

  • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
  • Elf
  • Home Alone
  • A Christmas Story
  • It’s a Wonderful Life
  • The Santa Clause 2

You can compare this information with the types of TV/​movie content that your client’s target audience enjoys watching to find out the best places to put their OTT TV ads. To find out which genres of movies/​TV shows your client’s target audience enjoys watching, simply look up their profile on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel.

When They’re Watching

Holiday movie/​TV watching starts spiking on Thanksgiving and continues until Christmas Day. The peak days consumers are watching this content are:

OTT TV Ads Inspire Purchases During the Holidays

OTT TV ads do a great job inspiring consumers to make purchases throughout the year, but the holiday season is when they really hit their stride. According to LG, 39% of consumers say that streaming service (TV) ads are the most helpful ad type when it comes to informing holiday purchases. That’s even more than mobile, which came in at 28%.

Consumers also tend to enjoy the ads they see on free, ad-​supported streaming platforms. LG says that OTT TV ads on these platforms help consumers feel more favorable to the brand being advertised. Even if consumers don’t make purchases as soon as they see the ad, that’s okay. 53% of consumers remember holiday shopping ads they see on streaming TV, says LG.

Creating shoppable ads can also go a long way toward boosting your client’s holiday sales. According to LG, one in five consumers plan to use Smart TV/​HDMI streaming devices to purchase products and/​or services this holiday season. That makes shoppable OTT TV ads the fourth most popular holiday shopping method:

  • Mobile Phone: 73% of consumers plan to make holiday purchases on these devices
  • Laptop/​Desktop: 66%
  • Tablet: 34%
  • Smart TV/​HDMI Streaming Device: 20%
  • Audio Device: 10%

What to Advertise

According to LG, when consumers see holiday shopping ads on TV, they want the ads to feature:

  • Deals
  • Personalized, relevant ads
  • Ads that streamline direct buying

So, if you want your client’s OTT TV ads to really hit home, make sure they focus on cost savings.

Photo by Samira Rahi

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