In one of the biggest shake-ups the SEO world has seen in years, Adobe has announced plans to acquire Semrush for 1.9 billion dollars. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory approval.

For marketers, SEOs and digital teams, this is more than just another technology merger. It is a major moment that could reshape how brands approach visibility in search and, increasingly, in AI-driven recommendation systems.

Why this matters

Semrush has long been a major force in the SEO industry. Over the past decade it has grown from a keyword research tool into a full ecosystem for search visibility, content strategy, competitor intelligence and, more recently, GEO (generative engine optimisation), a new category focused on visibility in AI assistants and AI-powered search.

Adobe, meanwhile, sits at the centre of enterprise digital marketing. With tools such as Adobe Analytics, AEM and the newly launched Adobe Brand Concierge, it already influences how many of the world’s biggest companies manage customer experience.

By bringing Semrush into the Adobe universe, the lines between SEO, AI search, content creation and customer experience will become more closely connected.

A sign of where search is heading

The backdrop to this acquisition is clear: search is changing rapidly.

Consumers are no longer turning only to Google. They are increasingly asking AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini for recommendations, information and purchase decisions. Adobe’s own Analytics data shows that traffic from generative AI sources to United States retail sites increased by 1,200 percent year on year in October.

In this new landscape, traditional SEO alone is no longer enough. Brands need to understand how they appear not only in search results but also inside AI-generated answers. This is exactly where Adobe sees Semrush adding value.

What Adobe gains

Adobe is investing heavily in becoming the go-to platform for brand visibility in the AI era. Semrush brings more than ten years of SEO experience, along with rapidly developing GEO capabilities. This gives Adobe a direct route into SEO teams, an area of marketing where it has had limited presence until now.

For enterprise marketers already using Adobe tools, this could eventually create a seamless way to understand:

• how their brand appears on traditional search engines
• how it is surfaced in AI-generated answers
• how content performs across different channels
• where visibility gaps exist

In simple terms, Adobe wants to be the single source of truth for brand presence across the entire digital landscape.

How the SEO industry could change

This acquisition is likely to trigger wider shifts across SEO and martech.

1. SEO will become more closely aligned with AI – As GEO becomes a formal discipline, tools will need to measure and optimise brand presence inside AI-generated answers as well as traditional search results.

2. Enterprise SEO will become mainstream – Adobe’s influence will push SEO further into senior marketing conversations, presenting visibility as a key part of customer experience.

3. More consolidation is likely – Competitors may feel pressure to seek partnerships or acquisitions of their own in order to keep pace.

4. Content, search and analytics will move closer together – Traditional silos between SEO, content teams and customer experience platforms are likely to become less distinct.

The bottom line

This is not simply Adobe buying another tool. It is a clear sign that:

• SEO is evolving
• AI-driven search is becoming unavoidable
• Brand visibility will become the next major battleground for marketers

For SEOs and digital teams, the acquisition sets the stage for a future where search visibility, AI behaviour and customer experience are all connected within the same ecosystem. The speed of this shift will depend on how Adobe integrates Semrush although one thing is certain: the SEO industry has entered a new era.

Multi-Modal Content is the concept of creating one overarching piece of content that can be repackaged into multiple different forms to reach different audiences. This differs from a multi-channel approach to content marketing, which consists of just reusing the same piece of content in the same format across multiple platforms.

Examples of the Multi-Model Approach

At Intelligency, we believe in the value of using a multi-model approach towards client content as audiences differ from platform to platform based on demographic, attention span and different types of content they want to consume. A piece of video content for a client can be posted on the website, YouTube and in an email campaign. However, it can also be clipped up in the form of a YouTube short and Instagram Reel. This means we can target younger audiences with shorter attention spans on platforms more relevant to them.

Benefits of the Multi-Model Approach

Using a multi-model approach is more time-consuming, and some marketers may be wondering if it’s a sensible approach to spend extra time repurposing content for different platforms when they can reuse existing content. I will lay out some of the benefits of the multi-model approach and why I believe it is a worthwhile time investment.

• Less Content Creation – While it’s true that repurposing content does take more time than just simply reusing content, take into account the fact that the lifespan of the content after it’s been repurposed has been dramatically increased. This, therefore, means that you don’t have to spend as much time making different content from scratch and coming up with new ideas as often, which frees up more time to focus on other areas.
• Reaching Different Audiences – As mentioned previously, different platforms attract different audience demographics with different attention states. Posting the same content in its original form across multiple platforms might seem like a good idea; however, the audience on each platform (while there is obviously some overlap) is different and consumes content in different ways. Someone who typically watches podcasts on YouTube and someone who prefers short-form content, such as TikTok and would never listen to a podcast because they believe it’s “too long” have wildly different attention spans and approaches to what good content is. However, creating long-form content for a podcast-style video and then repurposing it into short, digestible TikTok clips allows us to catch both types of users as opposed to the one we were initially targeting.
• SEO Benefits – Google still dominates the search market (Even with the rise of ChatGPT and even though Google is still largely focused on written content, the different types of content that appear on the SERP now are more than ever before. From standard written content to AI Overviews, Videos and Images. Making sure your content comes in different forms, such as having video content and imagery to support your content in its written form, can help you target the SERP from different angles and give you an improved chance of appearing higher on the SERP and improve SEO results by extension.

How to start your Multi-Modal Approach

If you want to undertake a multi-model approach in the future when looking at your content strategy, one of the ways to do this is by auditing your existing content. Some of the content you already have posted on your site or different platforms may have potential to be repurposed into different formats that boost engagement. Go through your content systematically and look for any gems that could work in your favour. Once all existing content has been audited, you can make sure to focus on creating specific content that can be repurposed when coming

What is and when is black Friday?

Black Friday happens each year on the Friday following Thanksgiving. Aptly named by Philadelphia police in the sixties for the chaos that ensued as city dwellers and tourists took to the streets, causing carnage and chaos, they shopped to their hearts’ content.

This year it falls on the 28^th of November.

Black Friday has since evolved, with businesses and brands capitalising on the notoriety of the event. It’s become of commercial importance as a holiday; it signifies the start of Christmas shopping, which ultimately is the time when retailers see a significant increase in profit.

Should my business run a black Friday campaign?

Considering whether a business should run a black Friday campaign can be difficult, but there are several strategic, operational and financial factors to think through before creating a Black Friday campaign, which include:

• Product/ inventory reality: Can it be discounted? Do you have enough stock? Is your business logistically capable of selling something on a large scale if it’s needed?
• Your business model: If you sell B2C, then this is less of a concern, but if you’re a small business with a B2B model, then you may find that it’s less suited.
• Being technically prepared: Is your website built to accommodate high levels of traffic? Have you checked that the checkout process is smooth and efficient for the customer? Making sure the process is as easy as possible for the customer increases the chances of driving conversion.
• Competitive landscape: Are your competitors holding campaigns? Do you need to keep up with the competition and remain visible within your industry?
• Audience fit: Will your audience be motivated by a promotion? Have they previously responded to promotions?
• Luxury brands risk devaluing their positioning
• B2B companies often see less demand for tactical promotions
• High-trust or relationship-based services may not benefit from aggressive price cuts
• Customer experience: Customers on the receiving end of a poorly functioning site, bad deals, and confused messaging are likely to have a poor experience.
• Strategic alternatives: Some businesses benefit from taking a step back and capitalising on different holidays/occasions. Holiday campaigns face the risk of over-saturation to begin with, so taking a step back and focusing on Christmas or the January sales can be an effective way to

When should my Black Friday campaign start?

Picking the right time to launch your Black Friday campaigns is almost as essential as the messaging and assets. If timed correctly, a campaign can capture the curiosity and attention of existing and potential customers.

Begin the soft launch of your campaigns in late September or early October. This can be done simply, with an email hinting at what’s to come. Create intrigue for existing customers with things like early access to products or exclusive early-bird discounts. 

Mid-October is when we recommend ramping up the messaging on exclusivity and deals. It’s the perfect time to capture your warm audience and create some buzz around the event.

As November rolls around, this is the point of intensity where leads are being nurtured with follow-up emails. It’s a great time to commence a countdown for your sales, again reiterating the limited time left until Black Friday and the exclusive shot-time deals available to customers.  

Even after the Black Friday sales are over, give those who have abandoned cart a last chance to snag a deal on the product they want.

The campaign period usually spans around two months, but for some companies it may be as little as a week.

How to design an effective Black Friday marketing campaign?

Emotion, entertainment and relatability are all feelings that drive conversion, whether that’s engagement through a click or a lead that becomes a conversion.  Creating a campaign that resonates with the audience is a tactful way to put your brand in the minds of viewers.

A great campaign provokes thought at minimum, and a reaction (i.e. a sale) at most. Think about how you can connect with your audience, whether that’s creating a sense of urgency through ‘last chance’ messaging or using UGC in your campaign to create a sense of relatability from a customer perspective.

Should I create landing pages especially for Black Friday?

If you’ve made the decision to run a campaign, then we absolutely recommend creating a tailored landing page. This allows you to home in on the types of content and visual assets that are more likely to drive conversion.

Striking a balance between urgency and building trust is key for these pages. You want the customer to feel like they can build trust and rely on your company’s honesty.

Using urgency design like countdown banners, is a great way to remind the customer of the time limitations, encouraging them to buy the product before their time runs out. Providing a deadline makes it super clear how long your deal will last, giving the customer an explicit reason to purchase the product. 

Make sure the content is benefit-led. Keeping your offering clear and driven is essential; the customer doesn’t necessarily care about the minor details of the product as much as the details of how it’s going to benefit them.

Addressing the customer’s problem without them having to infer how your product/ service helps them slashes the decision-making time for the customer.

How should I measure performance for Black Friday?

There are a number of metrics and measurement techniques that allow you to assess the success of your Black Friday:

• Total revenue generated – This is ideal, especially if you have the metrics from the previous year. It will allow you to measure growth YoY, as well as being able to better forecast the following years.
• Conversion rate – Your conversion rate will either validate the UX of your landing pages, or it will signal an issue. This, coupled with heatmaps, can be an incredible piece of insight for people to see.
• Average order value – Knowing the average order value will allow you to see whether Black Friday sales measure up to the day-to-day performance of the business.
• Return on ad spend and cost per acquisition– Understand the profitability of your campaigns with ROAS. It is a direct way to see how effective your campaign is at generating leads. Cost per acquisition allows you to understand the cost to acquire your leads, which is especially useful for future budget allocation.
• Return rates – A spike in returns can sharply reduce margins — especially in apparel, electronics or beauty.
• Track return rate vs. typical periods.
• Website traffic and session quality – Track:
• Users
• Sessions
• Bounce rate
• Time on site
• Pages per session

These numbers reveal whether the campaign attracted the right traffic and whether your messaging matched expectations.

Final Thoughts

Black Friday continues to be one of the biggest commercial moments of the year, but success isn’t about simply slashing prices or joining the noise. The businesses that truly win are the ones that prepare early, understand their audience, and execute campaigns with intention and clarity. Whether you choose to participate fully, take a lighter-touch approach, or sit it out in favour of more strategic seasonal opportunities, the goal remains the same: deliver value in a way that strengthens your brand, not dilutes it.

With thoughtful planning, strong creativity, and the right performance metrics in place, Black Friday can be more than a promotional event; it can be a catalyst for long-term customer relationships and meaningful revenue growth. So take the time to evaluate your fit, refine your messaging, and build an experience your customers will remember for the right reasons.

Google has introduced a new test that lets advertisers pull video assets from social platforms like X (formerly Twitter) directly into Google Ads. The update first came to light after marketer Francesco Cifardi shared a screenshot showing the feature in action, which was later confirmed by Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin. The aim is to make it easier for advertisers to reuse strong social video content when building new campaigns on Google.

Social Video Assets Automatically Suggested in Google Ads

Some advertisers are now seeing videos they previously used on X appear in the “Suggested assets” area while setting up a Performance Max campaign. These creatives are being surfaced through a YouTube channel linked to the Google Ads account. When adding a video, Google includes a reminder that the advertiser must own the content and have the right to use it. This small but useful change saves time and reduces the need to manually upload or recreate assets already performing well on social platforms.

Google Clarifies This Is Not X Inventory in Google Ads

After the initial discovery, there was speculation that this might signal a deeper integration between the two platforms. Google quickly clarified that this is not the case. X ads are not being served through Google’s Display or Video networks. The feature is simply a way to import existing assets, helping advertisers make better use of their own creative library without suggesting that media buying between the platforms is connected.

A Step Toward More Unified Creative Management

For marketers, this experiment points toward a future where managing creatives across platforms feels more seamless. Being able to move strong social videos into Google campaigns with less friction could help teams work faster and test more efficiently. While still early days, this trial hints at Google’s interest in making creative workflows smoother, especially for advertisers who rely heavily on video. As with any new feature, it’s worth keeping an eye on performance and ensuring all imported content is cleared for use.

One of the most crucial aspects of any SEO strategy is backlink generation. Backlinks are links from other sites to your own, which can be gained by acquiring links from authoritative sites. This is beneficial for SEO as sites that Google sees as authoritative lend your site some of their credibility and trustworthiness. In this article, we will discuss different strategies for acquiring backlinks to help grow your business.

Broken Backlink Fixes

When running a backlink audit on your site, it will highlight key issues for you, such as broken backlinks. Site managers may have accidentally put in the wrong URL or a URL that has since changed when linking to your site. Reaching out to these sites in order to fix the broken link and restore equity is a good idea, as not only does it boost your SEO potential, but no one wants broken links on their site, so you are actually also doing them a favour in return.

Create Linkable Content

One of the easiest and most natural ways that users can generate backlinks is by creating content that generates natural interest. Some types of content that are good for generating links include:

• Research and Data Studies
• In-Depth Guides
• Infographics

When people are crafting content, there are certain materials, such as infographics and data studies, that users don’t always create for themselves due to time constraints. Creating this type of content yourself makes it infinitely linkable and can improve your backlink profile.

Promote Content

Creating great content is obviously important for visibility, and using organic methods such as SEO is great, but expanding reach through other methods can also improve potential for backlink generation, further expanding SEO potential in the future.

Backlink Gap Analysis

SEO websites such as SERanking and SEMRush have backlink gap analysis features. This feature allows its users to track the links that their competitors are gaining and see any potential gaps. If your competitors are gaining links from reputable sources that you are not, creating a piece of content or running a campaign and reaching out to these sources to gain a link is a valuable strategy. (As you already know, they are willing to share links within your industry.)

Using a combined approach of all the aforementioned tactics will help to grow your backlink profile over time. While no one can say how much one link can add value to your site, making sure your backlink profile is much larger than it was before will certainly help Google see you in a different light as a more credible business in your industry.

A new benchmark report from Conductor has revealed an interesting shift in how people discover websites. While organic search is still the clear leader, AI tools have quietly become a meaningful new source of traffic – and almost all of it is coming from one place: ChatGPT.

AI referrals: small share, growing fast

Across ten major industries, just over 1% of website visits came from AI platforms between May and September 2025. That may sound small, but it represents the beginning of a new behaviour: people using AI assistants instead of traditional search engines.

ChatGPT was responsible for a staggering 87% of all AI-driven traffic. Other AI tools such as Perplexity, Gemini, and Copilot contributed the rest, but none came close to ChatGPT’s influence. Some industries saw stronger performance than others. IT and Consumer Staples gained the most traffic from AI answers, while sectors like Communication Services and Utilities saw very little.

Even so, AI referrals grew by around 1% month-on-month, showing that usage is steadily rising.

AI tools vs. traditional search

Despite the buzz around ChatGPT and similar tools, organic search is still the biggest source of website visits by far. In some sectors – such as Health Care and Communication Services – organic search drives over a third of all traffic.

But here’s the important shift: AI is becoming its own performance channel. The brands that appear in AI answers are shaping what users see, trust, and eventually visit. Ranking well on Google no longer guarantees visibility inside AI tools. If your brand isn’t showing up in AI answers, you’re quietly disappearing from a growing share of discovery.

AI Overviews: where Google is heading

The report also looked at Google’s own AI Overview feature, analysing 21.9 million searches. Around a quarter of all queries triggered an AI Overview, with Health Care searches leading the way. Interestingly, the types of pages most often cited by these overviews were common content formats: blogs, videos, articles, news stories, and product pages.

This suggests that Google is blending familiar SEO content with new AI-driven presentation, and brands with strong content libraries are more likely to be featured.

What this means for marketers

The message is clear: organic search remains essential, but visibility in AI platforms is becoming just as important. AI is now shaping which brands people discover first, particularly in categories where trust and authority matter.

Ensuring your content is accurate, credible, and helpful is no longer just good SEO practice – it’s how you stay visible in AI-powered answers. And as ChatGPT continues to lead the market, brands will increasingly need to consider how they appear across both search engines and AI assistants.

For a channel that barely existed a couple of years ago, AI-driven traffic is already proving it deserves attention.

Did you know that winning or even being shortlisted for awards can strengthen your SEO and overall digital presence? Awards don’t just celebrate your success — they’re also powerful marketing tools that can improve your website’s visibility, build brand trust, and attract new customers.

How can an award benefit your business?

There are many benefits to applying to industry awards, especially for businesses which are looking to establish their name and build trust with their audience. Some of the benefits include:

• Building your authority

If you’ve received your award from a reputable organisation, it’s beneficial for demonstrating your authority and expertise over a specific topic or sector. It lends credibility to a business to win a prestigious award.

• Signals you’re trustworthy

Viewers who see your business has been accredited with an award are more likely to have trust that you’re an authentic and reliable business.

Pro Tip: Include an “Awards & Recognition” section on your homepage or About page to visually showcase your achievements.

• Demonstrates you’re active in your business industry

Applying and attending to industry-relevant events like awards ceremonies shows your business is active within the sectors it’s in.

• Getting backlinks

Backlinks remain one of the strongest SEO ranking factors. When you win an award, your business name and website are often featured on:

• The award organiser’s site
• Industry news publications
• Partner or sponsor pages
• Local business directories

Each of these mentions can provide high-quality backlinks that improve your domain authority and organic search rankings.

• PR opportunity

When you are shortlisted or win an award, it’s a great opportunity to publicise your success. It’s a great piece of content to share with your audience, and even better for those discovering your brand to see.

• Promote team morale and brand advocacy

Whilst it’s not a direct contributor to your SEO efforts, happier and motivated teams often are more productive, creating high-quality content that ultimately does benefit their SEO strategy.

Why Awards Matter for SEO

In a competitive online environment, trust and authority are everything. Awards serve as a third-party endorsement — a signal to both search engines and users that your brand is reputable, high-quality, and actively contributing to its industry. Let’s explore how awards can benefit your online performance and search rankings.

Final Thoughts

Winning or even being nominated for an award can do more than boost your reputation; it can strengthen your SEO, expand your reach, and enhance your credibility online. By taking advantage of award opportunities, you’re not only celebrating your success but also setting your business up for long-term digital growth

It is increasingly common for websites to store images, videos, and other media assets on cloud platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure. This is convenient and scalable, but it also creates a risk: Google Search Console may not track those files unless the cloud hosting is verified.

Why this matters

John Mueller from Google issued a reminder that any third-party cloud host used to store site content should be added and verified in Search Console. Without verification, marketers and SEO teams may be missing information about:

• Indexing and crawl issues
• Performance data
• Malware or Safe Browsing alerts

If Google cannot associate the cloud-hosted files with your domain, it cannot provide insight into how they appear and perform in search results.

How to fix it

To bring cloud-hosted content into Search Console reporting, Google recommends setting up a hostname on your own domain, such as images.yoursite.com or content.yoursite.com. This hostname can point to your cloud storage bucket through a DNS CNAME record. Once that is done, the host can be verified in Search Console using DNS verification, and you will be able to see data for those files within the same Search Console property as your main site.

This is usually a job for a developer or IT administrator. It requires access to domain DNS settings, but not code changes to the files themselves.

What happens next

After the CNAME is set up, all internal links across the website need to be updated so they point to the new hostname. Larger websites may need to run a search-and-replace across templates or sections of the site, followed by a crawl to ensure everything has updated correctly. Users should only be able to access the content through the new hostname.

If you are moving a large number of image URLs, be aware that Google Images can take longer to recalibrate. Image search traffic might fluctuate at first because Google must recrawl and reprocess the new URLs. This is temporary, and performance will stabilise once Google finishes updating.

A useful bonus

Using your own hostname to serve cloud-hosted content also makes future migrations far easier. If you decide to switch cloud providers later, you can redirect or repoint the CNAME record without losing search visibility. Because the content sits under your domain rather than the provider’s domain, you remain in full control.

Why marketers should check this

Many digital marketing teams assume Search Console only tracks web pages, but images, videos, PDF files, and other hosted assets play a major role in search performance. If some of your most valuable content lives off-site, you may not be receiving reports that could identify issues early or explain changes in organic performance.

A simple verification step can unlock more data, protect traffic, and give your SEO team better visibility. If your business uses cloud services for content hosting, it is worth asking your developer or IT team whether those hosts have been added and verified in Search Console. If not, the fix is straightforward and has long-term benefits.

Meta Ads have become one of the most powerful tools in digital marketing. With billions of users across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, the platform gives advertisers an unmatched ability to reach highly targeted audiences. Brands love Meta because it offers precise targeting, flexible budgets, and detailed performance data. It’s where small businesses and global brands alike can connect with people who are most likely to buy, click, or sign up.

Revenue from risky ads

According to internal documents reported by Reuters, Meta projected that around 10% of its 2024 revenue came from advertising linked to scams and banned products, roughly 16 billion US dollars. The report also revealed that Meta served an estimated 15 billion “high-risk” scam ads to users every day. That’s a staggering volume of potentially fraudulent content passing through one of the world’s biggest ad systems.

A cautious approach to enforcement

Meta’s internal systems reportedly only banned advertisers when it was at least 95% sure they were running scams. If the platform wasn’t completely certain, it often allowed the ads to continue running but charged those advertisers higher auction prices. The idea was to discourage bad actors financially, but it also meant that some fraudulent campaigns stayed live longer than they should have.

Mounting global pressure

Meta’s platforms have been linked to a significant share of online fraud worldwide. In the US, company data suggested that its apps were involved in about one-third of all successful scams. In the UK, regulators found Meta products were responsible for 54% of payment-related scam losses in 2023, more than every other social platform combined.

Balancing profits and integrity

While Meta has publicly committed to fighting fraud, the documents suggest a business still carefully balancing revenue and regulation. In early 2025, its review teams were reportedly told not to make enforcement decisions that would cost more than 0.15% of the company’s total revenue. Meta has since set goals to reduce scam-related ad income, aiming to bring it down from 10.1% in 2024 to 7.3% by the end of 2025. For marketers, the findings are a reminder that platform safety isn’t guaranteed. Brand protection, regular account reviews, and transparent reporting

Brand Christmas ad campaigns often tap into the sentimentality, atmosphere, and general shared sense of spirit to hook viewers. When comparing everyday advertising to the techniques used in seasonal advertising, there’s a stark contrast. So, we have to ask, is this an effective way to find leads and drive conversions?

Do Christmas campaigns drive conversions?

For most brands, yes, Christmas campaigns can prove to be effective for driving conversion, with a reported 3.2% YoY in December, up from 1.9% for UK retail sales.

However, spending for the public is shifting as the cost-of-living crisis impacts household incomes. When compounded with increasing product prices, consumers aren’t necessarily able to continue to bridge the gap.

What is so effective about a Christmas ad campaign?

Christmas campaigns benefit brands for several reasons:

1. It raises brand awareness

During the festive period, brands have the opportunity to innovate. When the campaign is executed masterfully, driving a specific message and is timed just right, undiscovered audiences are more likely to be reached.

A great example of a standout brand at Christmas for their campaigns is John Lewis, which year after year provides iconic visuals on top of warm gestures, heartfelt campaign messaging. As such, they’ve become notorious in their ability to capture audiences’ attention and evoke curiosity. This is evidenced by their 42% majority in polls for “most anticipated Christmas advert.”

• The ability to boost sales and return on investment

Whilst success comes differently for many businesses over Christmas, those that leverage their marketing campaigns often see a spike during the holiday period. This can be especially said for supermarket brands that find a way to promote products and produce during the festive season.

Whilst it can take a while to achieve a majority market share, for some brands like Christmas chocolatiers, this has long been the point of contention. With products like Roses, Cadbury’s Heroes and Celebrations going neck and neck for the majority hold in the sector, Christmas confectionery.

• Resonating with the audience

A campaign done right creates an emotional connection for the viewer, whether that’s them relating to the content, or feeling inspired or joyed by it. This emotional connection reinforces the positive rapport audiences develop towards brands.

Ultimately, what makes a brand is how it is perceived and interpreted by audiences to establish a positive reputation. The experience needs to be memorable.

• Increased reach

Campaigns work as a form of PR for brands, representing how the business operates and reacts during this period. Again, thinking about sentiment and the general conversation that garners, it really helps to propel these brands and their campaigns, so they end up reaching a whole new audience.

Should brands create Christmas campaigns this year?

The final quarter of the year brings the opportunity to capitalise on buyer intent, where they aren’t just considering purchases for themselves, but for their friends and family too.

This allows brands to cast the net on prospective customers, often yielding better results as people or in the mindset of being converted. Brands are able to position their products to a whole new demographic, for the gift giver.

Understanding the various types of ‘gift givers’ and the type of gift giver that would use your product or service as the gift allows you to directly tap into an audience that you typically wouldn’t appeal to. We often see this with brands like Harry’s, a grooming company for men. Every year, they find a way onto the screens of people beyond their typical audience, which again shows an awareness of the types of new customers they can appeal to during the festive period.  

While Christmas campaigns aren’t a guaranteed route to conversions, the data and trends show that the potential is undeniable. When executed with creativity, emotional intelligence, and a genuine understanding of audience sentiment, festive marketing has the power to do more than just drive sales; it builds long-term brand affinity.

As competition increases and consumer spending habits shift, brands that can authentically connect with audiences will continue to stand out. The key isn’t simply joining the festive noise, but finding a message that resonates, inspires, and reminds customers why they choose your brand, not just at Christmas, but all year round.