Guides

October 14, 2025

Holiday TV Advertising Playbook for Small Businesses

Compete with big brands during the biggest shopping season

Table of Contents

Walmart starts running holiday TV ads in October. Amazon's campaign begins before Halloween. Target's spots fill every commercial break from November 1st onward.

For small businesses watching these campaigns, it's easy to feel outgunned. How can you possibly compete with billion-dollar advertising budgets?

Here's the secret: you don't have to match their spending. You just have to be smart about when, how, and where you show up.

This holiday TV advertising playbook shows you how to compete with big brands during the biggest shopping season of the year, without the big brand budget.

Holiday TV Advertising Timing: When to Start

The biggest mistake small businesses make? Waiting too long.

October: Foundation building

Start TV advertising now. Not to drive immediate sales, but to plant seeds. When someone sees your ad multiple times before Black Friday, you're already familiar when they're ready to buy.

• Week 1-2: Test messaging, optimize creative

• Week 3-4: Build frequency, establish presence

Early November: Tease and anticipate

Hint at what's coming. "Black Friday deals coming soon" or "Holiday collection arriving" creates anticipation.

• Promote upcoming sales without giving everything away

• Build email list and social following for sales announcements

• Increase spending slightly to build reach

Thanksgiving Week & BFCM: Peak push

This is when everyone's advertising. Expect higher costs (CPMs typically increase 20-50% during this period) but also the highest shopping intent of the year.

• Run your heaviest schedule

• Clear, urgent messaging

• Specific offers and deadlines

December 1-15: Gift deadline focus

Shift messaging to gift-giving and shipping deadlines. "Order by December 15 for guaranteed delivery" or "Perfect last-minute gift."

• Target gift buyers (often different from your usual customers)

• Emphasize convenience, quality, and arrival guarantees

• Consider targeting by demographic (reach people buying for others)

December 16-24: Local and last-minute

For brick-and-mortar, this is your advantage. Digital can't compete with "Available today at our store."

• Gift cards and in-store pickup

• Extended hours messaging

• "Still looking?" empathetic creative

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Budget Considerations for Holiday

Let's talk money. Holiday advertising costs more, but the opportunity is bigger too.

Expect higher CPMs. During Q4, particularly November and December, ad inventory is at its most competitive. CPMs that are $20-25 in September might be $30-40 in late November.

Plan your total budget, then allocate:

• October: 15% (testing, foundation)

• Early November: 20% (build-up)

• BFCM week: 35% (peak)

• December: 30% (gifting season)

Example budgets:

• $500 total: $75 October, $100 Early Nov, $175 BFCM Week, $150 December

• $1,000 total: $150 October, $200 Early Nov, $350 BFCM Week, $300 December

• $2,500 total: $375 October, $500 Early Nov, $875 BFCM Week, $750 December

With Adwave's $50 minimum, you can test the waters before committing larger budgets. Start small, see results, then scale.

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Creative That Cuts Through the Noise

During the holidays, viewers are bombarded with ads. Your creative needs to work harder.

Lead with emotion. Holiday advertising that works taps into feelings: nostalgia, generosity, connection, joy. Big brands spend millions figuring this out. You can achieve it by being authentic.

Create urgency without desperation. "This weekend only" works. "BUY NOW OR MISS OUT FOREVER" doesn't. Respect your audience while motivating action.

Make offers crystal clear. Holiday shoppers are overwhelmed. "25% off everything through Sunday" is better than "Special holiday savings event."

Tell your story. This is your advantage over national chains. "Family-owned since 1985" or "Your neighbors for 20 years" creates connection that Walmart can never match.

Consider multiple creative versions:

• General awareness (October)

• Black Friday specific

• Cyber Monday/online focused

• Gift-giving focused (December)

• Last-minute/local availability

Don't have video production resources? AI creative tools can generate holiday-specific versions of your commercial in minutes.

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Targeting Holiday Shoppers

Holiday shoppers behave differently than your normal customers.

Gift buyers aren't your usual audience. Someone buying for a loved one may have different demographics than your typical customer. A husband buying jewelry, a daughter buying for her father, a friend looking for a unique gift.

In-market signals matter. People actively researching holiday purchases, visiting shopping sites, and engaging with holiday content are more likely to convert.

Targeting approaches:

Geographic: For local businesses, focus on your natural trading area. During holidays, people may travel farther for the right gift, so consider expanding slightly.

Demographic: Think about who buys your products as gifts, not just who uses them. Target accordingly.

Contextual: Your ad appearing during holiday programming (Hallmark movies, holiday specials, cooking shows during Thanksgiving week) creates natural alignment.

Behavioral: Target viewers who've shown shopping intent, visited retail sites, or engaged with gift guides.

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Industry-Specific Holiday Strategies

Different businesses need different approaches.

Retail stores

• Start early to drive foot traffic away from online

• Emphasize in-store experience, expert service

• Gift wrapping, personal shopping, extended hours

• Post-BFCM focus on local availability

Restaurants

• Holiday party and catering opportunities

• Gift card campaigns (often 20%+ of December sales)

• Special holiday menus

• New Year's Eve/Day bookings

Service businesses

• Gift certificates (spa, salon, fitness, experiences)

• "Gift of..." messaging

• Post-holiday service bookings (many people have time off)

E-commerce

• Shipping deadlines are everything

• Return policy confidence

• Gift guides and curated collections

• Remarketing to cart abandoners

Professional services

• "Start the new year right" positioning

• Year-end tax planning (accountants)

• Q1 project scheduling

• Holiday availability for urgent needs

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Black Friday & Cyber Monday Tactics

BFCM deserves its own strategy within your holiday playbook.

For Black Friday (in-store focus):

• Early opening / midnight deals (if applicable)

• Doorbuster messaging

• "Skip the mall crowds, shop local" positioning

• QR codes for deal previews

For Cyber Monday (online focus):

• Extended Black Friday deals

• Free shipping thresholds

• Online-exclusive offers

• Easy returns messaging

For Small Business Saturday: Don't overlook this. The "Shop Small" movement has real momentum.

• Lean into local identity

• Community connection messaging

• Neighborhood business collaboration

• Personal service emphasis

See our Black Friday TV advertising guide for detailed BFCM tactics.

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Measuring Holiday Campaign Success

Holiday campaigns should be measured differently than year-round advertising.

Compare to last year. The most meaningful measure is year-over-year performance during the same period. Did you grow?

Track new vs. returning customers. Holiday advertising often brings first-time buyers. How many became new customers?

Monitor traffic patterns. Do you see spikes during/after ad flights? Is there a correlation between ad exposure and store visits or website traffic?

Listen for mentions. "I saw your ad" is a powerful signal. Train staff to ask how customers heard about you.

Calculate acquisition cost. Total holiday ad spend ÷ new customers acquired = cost per acquisition. Compare to customer lifetime value.

Don't expect perfection. Holiday attribution is messy. Multiple touchpoints, long consideration periods, and shared purchases make precise measurement difficult. Directional indicators matter more than exact ROI calculations.

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Launch Your Holiday Campaign

The holiday advertising window is finite. If you're reading this in October, you have time to build a strong foundation. If it's November, you can still compete during the peak season. Even in December, last-minute local campaigns can drive results.

The big brands have bigger budgets, but you have advantages they can't buy: authenticity, local presence, and genuine connection with your community.

Start your holiday TV campaign and give your business the visibility it deserves during the most important selling season of the year. With campaigns starting at $50, there's no reason not to test what TV can do for your holiday sales.

The holidays are coming. Make sure your customers see you before they see your competition.