Thanks to Black Friday – one of UK retail’s most successful U.S. imports – Christmas comes earlier each year. Online sales from the likes of Amazon kicked off in October last year and drove shopping peaks right from early November. Here, Ally Stuart (pictured below), managing director, EMEA, Sharethrough, tells RetailTechNews that Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and Boxing Day are now part of a long 'golden quarter' – and it’s starting again.

While the 'golden quarter' opportunity is vast, with total spend reaching £79bn in 2017, claiming a share isn’t easy. In addition to high online and offline competition, and device and channel hopping, consumers are increasingly uninterruptible. To break through, retailers must deliver compelling yet unobtrusive messages with personal appeal.

The question is: how can they do it?

Changing direction

Effectively reaching today’s consumers is a sizeable challenge. Not only is attention regularly divided – 94% of UK adults consume at least two forms of media in the space of half an hour – but attitudes towards advertising are also negative. According to research by Kantar Media, 58% of consumers are ambivalent towards ads and 38% dislike them. The study also found that almost two-fifths of respondents (36%) use ad-blocking software.

Yet, this isn’t to say advertising has lost its spark. Multi-channel campaigns that raise shopper awareness and drive in-store footfall are a crucial tool for any retailer, especially during Q4. It’s just that a different approach is needed. The Kantar survey also revealed over half (55%) of consumers see irrelevant ads and 79% are served the same ad multiple times. Clearly, retailers need to fine-tune their festive ad narrative and delivery.

Making an impression

If retailers want to outshine rivals and create positive associations with their brand, they must provide valuable experiences consumers want to engage with, rather than disruptive or generic ads. And the best way to achieve that is tapping into people’s thirst for stories.

Ally Stuart, MD EMEA, Sharethrough

Take, for example, Christmas campaigns from John Lewis: the leading force in emotionally charged advertising. Last year, its ‘Moz the Monster’ campaign told the story of Joe and the monster under the bed. Including natively integrated products and a brief closing strapline, the ad kept its core focus on the story – and consequently captivated audiences. Within 24 hours of initial launch, the ad amassed 20.9 million digital video views on YouTube and was later ranked as the platform’s second-most viewed ad of 2017. It also provided a boost for revenue, with the featured starry nightlight selling out in just a few minutes.

A key factor in the campaign’s success was its use of a subject that resonated with one of the retailer’s central target audiences – young parents – and presented them with a subtle solution to sleepless nights. Just as other major brands Red Bull and Budweiser have done before with heartwarming documentaries and 360-degree video adventures, it leveraged consumer interests to encourage interaction and create resonance on a personal level.

Don’t forget data & context

While a powerful story arc is a good start, retailers hoping to win the battle for final quarter consumer attention also need to offer something more: consistent contextual relevance.  

As most retailers know, consumer journeys don’t follow fixed routes. Encompassing a near-infinite array of screens and touchpoints, paths to conversion are constantly changing in line with the current requirements, interests, and tastes of individuals. This is especially true in the festive season, when shoppers deviate from typical purchasing habits to buy gifts. So, to stand a chance of seizing attention, retailers must ensure their advertising stories form part of a seamless experience where each message suits its unique audience and environment.  

And this makes a complete, real-time view of shopper activity crucial. By gathering accurate insight into individual behaviour – such as search activity, purchases, and social media interactions – retailers can create targeted audience segments that allow them to instantly match ad formats and content with consumer needs and current context. For example, say a consumer is searching for kitchen goods in one desktop browser tab, while looking up festive recipes in another. By serving a video ad featuring a story on Christmas cookware tips that matches the look and feel of the recipe site, a retail brand could catch the consumer’s attention and offer valuable advice, without interrupting their activity.

The golden quarter is a time of intense rivalry for retailers. With a vast array of channels at the fingertips of savvy consumers, it’s more important than ever to get advertising tactics right. As well as telling stories that tug at the heartstrings of shoppers, retailers must also give ad campaigns the best opportunity to perform through strategic delivery. Only by establishing ad targeting on a precise data-based picture of what consumers are doing and what they want, can retailers hope to cut through the competition and win sales.