5+ Ways AI Can Supercharge Your Holiday Marketing Campaigns
The holiday season is a make-or-break moment for any brand, yet it’s also the most challenging. With so many campaigns competing for consumers' attention, it can be challenging to stand out, optimize ad spend, and personalize experiences effectively. But more and more sophisticated AI driven solutions are emerging.
66% of marketers consider AI very important or critically important to their marketing success -Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute, 2024
AI is becoming an essential component of a full-funnel marketing strategy, and it’s already making its mark on holiday 2024, streamlining tasks and enabling brands to reach the right audiences with the right message at the perfect moment.
The best part? It’s easier to get started than you might think.
From audience segmentation to ad optimization, different types of AI tools allow you to reach customers at the perfect moment with just the right message. Below are some ways top brands are using AI to engage audiences, drive conversions, and deliver experiences that will keep customers coming back long after the season ends.
1. AI for Audience Segmentation and Personalization: Target with Precision, Convert More
Imagine being able to pinpoint not just who will buy, but why and when. With AI, brands are doing just that. Forget generic buyer personas – AI enables hyper-targeted customer segmentation that dives deep into behaviors and preferences, ensuring your campaigns reach those most likely to convert.
Here are some applications:
Unlocking hidden audiences. Kendra Scott recently harnessed AI to reach niche customer segments, targeting Disney fans with a Disney-themed product line. This laser-focused approach boosted both conversions and order values, proving that segmentation powered by AI is not only more efficient but also more profitable.
Predicting patterns. For brands like Shari’s Berries (1-800 Flowers), AI has been a game-changer for uncovering less obvious gift-giving trends, such as gifts between friends and future in-laws. By understanding these unique segments, they’re able to create more targeted campaigns that drive real results.
Running Facebook Ads? Meta’s latest advertising options take on much of the holiday workload by reaching customers exactly where they are. These tools feature promo code ads that highlight special offers and reminder ads that nudge buyers about upcoming sales, ensuring shoppers see the right deals at the ideal moment to drive conversions.
31% of shoppers say AI-based suggestions are helpful for holiday gift shopping -Coveo, 2024
2. Optimizing Ad Spend and Ad Targeting: Amplify Impact, Minimize Waste
Maximizing every marketing dollar is always a challenge, especially during the holiday season. AI tools offer unprecedented control over ad spend by tailoring ad placements in real time. The result? Higher engagement, reduced spend, and a stronger ROI.
Here are some applications:
Targeting with precision. Companies like Session AI use real-time data to identify high-intent shoppers within seconds, during their online shopping experience. Instead of throwing out costly, broad-based promotions, brands can target their customers differently depending on their behavior and likelihood to convert. Retailers like Macy’s are using AI to target ads precisely, avoiding site-wide discounts that erode margins. Instead, they serve promotions where they’re most likely to drive conversions.
This data-driven targeting keeps ROI high and costs low – a win-win in any season.
Reducing promo waste. AI-driven promo targeting ensures that you’re not giving discounts to customers who would buy anyway. Retailers are saving millions by using AI to offer discounts only to customers on the fence, sparing the budget and maintaining margins. In a season that’s notorious for slashed prices, this approach lets brands retain revenue without sacrificing sales.
3. Scaling Content Creation with AI
AI is transforming creative production, from generating visuals to writing copy aligned with brand guidelines.
Here are some applications:
Creative content generation. AI tools like Omneky and Canva allow brands to create storyboards and digital assets more efficiently, freeing up creative teams to focus on high-impact ideas. Marketing teams are now able to produce on-brand visuals faster and at scale, which is essential in the busy holiday season. Not to mention the potential for generating copy content with tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, Copy AI, Anyword and many more (the list is long).
Dynamic, real-time campaign adjustments. AI enables brands to stay relevant during the fast-paced holiday season by quickly adapting campaigns to trending topics and cultural moments. AI’s ability to respond to real-time trends is valuable in maintaining audience engagement and keeping content fresh.
Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) is a programmatic advertising technique that personalizes ads for each viewer based on real-time data. With DCO, you can tailor every aspect of your ad – from visuals to copy – based on what resonates with each viewer. According to Digiday, 99% of marketers using DCO report improved engagement, proving that AI-driven creative pays off.
99% of marketers using Dyamic Creative Optimization report improved engagement. -Digiday, 2024
4. Customer Service and Virtual Assistants
Customer service demand skyrockets during the holidays, but AI chatbots can shoulder much of the load, answering questions, resolving issues, and keeping customers happy.
Here are some applications:
Automating answers and assistance. AI chatbots, like Amazon’s Rufus and Klarna’s virtual assistant, keep customer service seamless by handling routine questions and tasks. Klarna’s AI assistant now manages two-thirds of customer interactions, freeing up human reps to focus on complex issues. During peak holiday demand, these bots deliver fast, reliable service.
Efficient seasonal onboarding. For retailers bringing on seasonal staff, AI can simplify the onboarding process, ensuring that temporary hires are ready to provide top-tier service. Kendra Scott has developed an AI-powered onboarding program, reducing training time and helping seasonal staff hit the ground running.
Leverage customer feedback efficiently. With tools like ChatGPT-4, brands can monitor customer sentiment in real time by analyzing reviews, support tickets, and social media comments. By understanding customer feedback in real time, marketers can make adjustments to keep campaigns in sync with what audiences value most.
5. Data Management for AI Success: Clean Data, Clear Results
AI runs on data, so the quality of your insights depends on the quality of your data. Investing in data hygiene and infrastructure isn’t just a good practice; it’s essential for AI to deliver accurate, actionable insights.
Here are some applications:
Data validation and cleaning. Platforms like Data Robot organize information before it reaches AI-driven campaigns. This approach ensures that AI outputs are accurate, empowering brands to make smarter decisions.
Privacy and compliance. As regulations tighten around data privacy, AI can help brands manage customer data responsibly. Companies like Starbucks leverage first-party data to create personalized experiences in-app, recommending products based on past purchases, time of day, and even weather. By building trust, brands can strengthen customer loyalty during – and beyond – the holidays.
Process data more efficiently. With Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT-4, marketers can categorize and tag unstructured data at scale, helping them uncover insights and make real-time adjustments to holiday campaigns. This capability enables faster decision-making, helping brands stay agile in the high-stakes holiday season.
As AI reshapes the holiday marketing landscape, brands have an unprecedented opportunity to create targeted, cost-effective, and highly engaging campaigns. If you’re interested in exploring how AI can boost your marketing strategy or would like a deeper understanding of the tools and techniques that can drive your business forward, please feel free to reach out. I would be glad to discuss how these tools and best practices can be tailored to meet your unique goals this season and beyond.
