This is how advertisers can use holidays and special dates to boost mobile sales

Florencia Vago
Aug 24, 2017 · 6 min read

Special dates are top of mind for users: presents, outings, trips, a lot happens around the holidays… and advertisers need to be as active as their customers. Showing users how the app helps them tackle all these holiday-related activities is a way of showing ads that are relevant.

#1 The Message Matters

It’s not necessary to have a holiday discount or promo to make the most of the holiday buzz with themed creatives:

Relevance trumps discount on these original holiday-themed creatives

Advertisers who are already running a special offer around the holidays in their apps, should definitely promote it, but the key to success doesn’t lie in dropping prices. RELEVANCY trumps everything else.

More often than not, a successful Engagement strategy consists of a timely reminder: showing the right message, at the right time. While there is the occasional “I’m bored”, mobile gamers mostly, the majority of users turn to their apps for specific tasks, things they need or want to get done or find out (think weather, news, etc.). So if buying a gift is top of mind, advertisers can remind their users that their app is the best place to buy it.

#2 Distinguish User Acquisition and App Retargeting

Themed ads can work for both User Acquisition and Retargeting /Engagement campaigns… as long as advertisers don’t use the same ads for both. In other words: always always use different ads for User Acquisition and Engagement campaigns.

Examples of mobile app creatives for Valentine’s Day

This is not a whim. There are actually a couple of reasons why it’s important to differentiate creatives for different campaigns.

This is why it’s a bad idea to recycle user acquisition creatives on engagement campaigns

#3 Create more than one themed set

Programmatic ad buying allows you to automatically A/B test as many creatives as wanted. Impression level data means advertisers can easily understand which ads are resonating better with different group of users (maybe darker banners work better at night, and lighter in the mornings!). Which set gets more clicks? Which creatives generate more in-app actions?

Marketers can A/B test creatives to their heart’s content

#4 Different sizes and formats

(In line with the previous tip) the more the merrier… Leverage programmatic technology to run and test as many different sizes and formats as possible.

The most popular creative ad sizes

(!) Native images (1200x627) should not have copy or logo on them (assets are provided separately so that they may be combined to match the style of the app where they are shown… thus looking like a native rather than a foreigner on the other app 😉 )

(!) Don’t forget video: “By early 2016, 46% of all video plays happened on a mobile device. Experts believe that by 2020, mobile video will account for 75% of all mobile data traffic and many media platforms have improved their mobile video ad formats and capabilities as a result.” — The Drum

#5 Create a different set for each audience

In App Retargeting, it’s easy to create relevant variations based on users’ previous in-app behavior, for example, shoppings apps can show ads with items left in cart or from their wishlist and food delivery apps can show promotions or new partners.
In User Acquisition, marketers have less data points available, but contextual data does offer customization opportunities.

#6 When should the ads go live? How long should they run for?

This depends mostly on the magnitude of the holiday

(!) Themed ads should be cut off after the holiday has passed. RELEVANCE is key. Advertisers need to have a post-holiday set ready. This may be a generic set or post-holiday-themed:

#7 Creative Basics — quick recap

Pro tip: Holiday themed ads should always look different from regular ads

While themed ads should look different/ stand out from the sets advertisers usually run, they still need to be on brand and follow the basic laws (?) of mobile creatives:

We have an old but gold post on basic best practices if you want to read more about it.

Wrapping Up: 3 things to remember

Promos can work, sure. Who doesn’t love a discount? BUT unless the app sells coupons, discounts are not the reason users downloaded it. Users install apps to order food, book flights, shop for products they like and gifts to give. Since users are quite active around holidays and special dates, it’s a good time for advertisers to remind customers how their apps can help them carry out all these tasks.

Advertisers don’t need to run a themed set for every holiday out there. Instead they should find and focus on the ones that are most relevant for their audience (this will depend mostly on geo and app vertical).

Test, test, test… test. Programmatic technology makes the matchmaking process between ad and user more efficient than ever and, as an added bonus, enables granular reporting. Accessing impression level data means advertisers can acquire and engage users and analyze which ads are converting, in other words, what appeals to their users and what doesn’t.

Jampp

A regular dosage of Jampp driven knowledge about mobile marketing

)

Florencia Vago

Written by

Marketing Manager at @Jampp

Jampp

Jampp

A regular dosage of Jampp driven knowledge about mobile marketing

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade