Originally, Labor Day marked the social and economic achievements of workers in the US with a daily, nation-wide holiday. This annual holiday is celebrated across the States — and now marks the start of the sale season.
Typically, retailers will offer significant discounts across end-of-season goods, as well as giving shoppers the opportunity to support any charity organizations that are associated with specific companies and brands. This could be in the form of raffle tickets or attending parades.
Business owners will take advantage of the three-day weekend with exclusive deals for shoppers. In fact, several industries experienced a significant increase in foot traffic over Labor Day weekend, according to data from 2022. The increase of physical shoppers also means more eyes on any digital out of home ads, which can help drive traffic and brand awareness. Here, we’ll go through how programmatic advertising can help your business during Labor Day weekend, and how you can and should prepare for it.
Target Your Audience At The Right Time
Any type of advertising is reliant on having the right audience see your ad. But the timing is just as important — if not more. Ensuring your ads are seen at the right time can help influence buying decisions — for example, pushing an ad about coffee during the morning rush hour means your ad is more likely to be seen by commuters on their way to work. This can encourage them to buy your coffee on their way to the office, as you’re reaching them when they’re in the mindset to make a purchase.
For Labor Day programmatic ads, it’s not as straightforward. You’ll need to think more creatively about where your audience might see your ad and what they may be expecting, in order to encourage them to make a purchase.
One way of doing this is through mobile footprinting, which involves using geo locations of audiences based on their phones. For example, if you’re a coffee shop, you could use mobile footprinting to direct ads to people who visited other, similar, local coffee shops over the past few months. By targeting these audiences, you can be sure that they’ll be more interested in your own store and the services you offer.
It can also make sense to target your audience in the mornings via CTV ads. This can help with brand recognition, as they’ll be more likely to recognise any other ads you publish while going about their day. Connected TV ads are an ideal way to target customers — in 2023, 88% of US households owned at least one internet-connected TV device, and this is only expected to increase in the future.
A well-thought out CTV ad can encourage users to click through to your website and find out more about your brand. It can also be used to drive awareness of your products and services, and can target your audiences throughout the day.
Capitalize On Foot Traffic
As previously mentioned, several industries experienced an increase in foot traffic over the Labor Day weekend in 2022 — and this continued in 2023. Data found that outlet mall traffic increased by 29.9%, 49.2%, and 217.4% on Labor Day weekend’s Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, respectively. Meanwhile, indoor malls and open-air shopping centers experienced some footfall increases on the weekend, before reaching significant increases of 104.7% and 69.6%, respectively, on Labor Day Monday.
Capitalize on the increase in shoppers through the use of pDOOH advertising. Look for screens in these malls and shopping centers, as well as popular hotspots nearby, such as restaurants, cafes, and public transport stations, to target potential customers when they’re nearby.
Be Consistent With Online Marketing
Regardless of which type of advertising you opt for, you need to make sure that all your online marketing efforts are consistent. Your ads must match your website design and logos — and you should ensure that any deals are consistent and accurate on marketing material as well as online.
Ensure that any Display advertising banners you design and publish are consistent across all publications and websites, as well as on social media. Having consistent design and branding builds trust, recognition, and creates an identity for your brand — allowing audiences to quickly recognize your products in comparison to competitors.
And, once your Labor Day sale is over, remember to pull any marketing material that overtly mentions it to avoid any confusion within your audience.
Create A Memorable User Experience
User experience is key for any campaign — but especially for a campaign around a public holiday, such as Labor Day. Experiential marketing creates a memorable encounter for your audience, which can foster a deeper connection and improve brand loyalty.
Be creative with your advertising and campaigns, and offer your audience something memorable that they can interact with and won’t forget. If your ad is seen by a potential customer, and it resonates well with them, they’re more likely to remember your brand and make a purchase when the time comes.
Running Programmatic Campaigns With Grapeseed Media
Our team is able to quickly execute sophisticated programmatic campaigns, and is especially skilled at timely and effective advertising solutions. With a Labor Day sale, we can work alongside you to push your brand to the audiences that will respond, giving you a higher return on your advertising investment.
Are you ready to elevate your holiday sales? Get in touch with us for a strategy session to figure out how you can make your holiday vision a reality.
