The holiday season is make-or-break time for many Australian small businesses. From Melbourne Cup festivities through to Boxing Day sales, the period between October and January represents the most lucrative months of the year. However, without proper preparation, even the most promising businesses can miss out on this key opportunity to drive their biggest sales yet.
As a coworking space, we’ve seen countless startups and small business owners scrambling to put together last-minute holiday campaigns, often resulting in missed deadlines, overstretched budgets, and disappointing results. The smart operators, however, begin their holiday planning months in advance, developing creative strategies that correlate with consumer shopping habits and seasonal trends so they can stand out.
The challenge for small business owners isn’t just about creating the festive content; that’s the easy part. It’s really about the before work: researching industry trends, understanding your local market, and figuring out how to time your campaigns perfectly. With the right knowledge and strategy in place, you’ll be able to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace where every business is vying for consumer attention during the same peak periods.
What is holiday marketing?
Holiday marketing refers to the strategic promotional activities and campaigns that businesses run during key holiday periods. It’s all about capitalising on increased consumer spending and seasonal shopping behaviours. In Australia, this primarily covers the period from Melbourne Cup Day in early November through to Australia Day in January, which consists of Black Friday, Christmas, Boxing Day sales, and New Year celebrations.
Unlike regular marketing campaigns, holiday marketing taps into the emotional and cultural significance of these special occasions. We know that during this time, consumers are seeking gifts and ways to celebrate with family and friends, so they’re often more willing to spend money, try new brands, and make purchasing decisions based on limited-time offers and seasonal promotions, and this is what we capitalise on.
From a small business and entrepreneur perspective, holiday marketing is the perfect time to gain revenue growth, attract new customers, and raise brand awareness in a relatively short timeframe. If done right, it can really pack a punch. However, the seasonal nature of these campaigns means timing and execution must be precise to maximise returns.
Why holiday marketing preparation matters
Holiday marketing is all about thinking ahead of the curve. The businesses that succeed during this season share one common trait: they start planning early. Preparation in holiday campaigns and promotional materials not only helps you to avoid the last-minute stress of scrambling something together, but it also directly impacts your long-term business growth.
When you prepare properly months in advance, you can secure better supplier deals, book advertising space before rates increase, and develop compelling content without the pressure of tight deadlines. Additionally, early preparation allows you to analyse previous years’ performance and identify areas where you could do better. It gives you time to identify trends specific to your industry as well as create more targeted campaigns that resonate with your consumers.
Typically, well-prepared holiday campaigns see higher engagement rates, which in turn lead to better conversion rates. If you can create marketing material that converts, you’re making more efficient use of your overall marketing budget and truly getting those customers you’re seeking, that’s a win-win for you as a business owner. A well-planned campaign also positions your business as professional and reliable, which builds customer trust and increases the likelihood of repeat purchases beyond the holiday period and into the new year.
Top 6 tips to prepare for holiday marketing success
Start planning in September
The most successful small businesses begin their holiday marketing preparation at least two months before their first campaign launches. September is the ideal time to start planning for Melbourne Cup promotions, Black Friday sales, and Christmas campaigns, but you wouldn’t be crazy if you start in July or August, as many businesses do.
Use this prep time to:
- Analyse last year’s performance data
- Research competitor activities
- Identify which products or services performed best during previous holiday seasons
- Consider recent trends, public events, or world news that could impact your marketing campaigns
- Create a detailed calendar that maps out all relevant Australian holidays, shopping events, and cultural moments that matter to your target audience and industry
Early planning before the peak begins also means you can secure better rates for advertising, printing, and supplier arrangements before demand spikes. Waiting will only cause costs to go up and promotional materials to become harder to get.
Understand your target audience’s shopping patterns
Australian holiday shopping behaviour differs significantly from other markets, and small businesses need to tailor their approach. The Melbourne Cup marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season, but consumer spending doesn’t follow the same patterns as markets like the United States or the United Kingdom.
Boxing Day remains one of the biggest shopping days in Australia, often outperforming Black Friday sales. However, online shopping has extended the traditional Boxing Day rush into a longer sales period. Australian consumers also tend to start their Christmas shopping later than their international counterparts, with many leaving purchases until mid-December.
Gaining a deeper understanding of how Australians think, feel, and behave when it comes to shopping will show you the patterns you need to time your holiday campaigns effectively. You can go one level deeper to see how they specifically shop in your focused industry, as patterns may vary by industry. Rather than copying overseas marketing calendars, it’s important that you focus on what works for Australian consumers in your specific location and industry.
Develop seasonal messaging that resonates
Your holiday marketing messages need to resonate with Australian culture and values while standing out from the noise. Generic “Happy Holidays” messaging won’t cut it when you’re competing against major retailers with massive advertising budgets.
Focus on what makes your business uniquely Australian and how your products or services enhance the local holiday experience. Whether it’s supporting Aussie summer BBQs, providing perfect gifts for cricket-loving relatives, or helping families create memorable Australia Day celebrations, your messaging should feel authentic and locally relevant.
A great way to test this is by developing multiple versions of your core message to test across different platforms and audiences. What works on Instagram might not resonate on LinkedIn, and your email subscribers may respond to different messaging than your social media followers. So brainstorm your message, cohesively build it out, test it with your audience, and see how it converts.
Create a multi-channel approach
Australian consumers use multiple touchpoints throughout their holiday shopping journey, from social media discovery to online research to in-store purchases. Your ideal customer may use one or may use all three. Your holiday strategy needs to meet them wherever they are in this process.
We recommend that you develop coordinated holiday campaigns that work across email, social media, your website, and any physical locations or events. Each channel should reinforce your core holiday advertising message while being optimised for that specific platform’s audience and format. Remember, it will need to be tailored to each platform to fit its look and feel.
Another idea is partnering with other local businesses for cross-promotion opportunities. Melbourne’s small business community is very collaborative, and strategic partnerships can help you reach new audiences and build awareness without increasing your marketing budget too much.
Budget strategically and track performance
When it comes to holiday marketing, it requires a different budget allocation than regular campaigns. Consumer demand is higher during this 3-4 month period, but so is competition and advertising costs. So, it’s recommended that you plan to spend more during peak periods, but make sure you’re tracking return on investment carefully.
Set aside a budget for both planned holiday campaigns and opportunistic promotions. If a particular product starts trending or a competitor makes a misstep, you want the flexibility to capitalise quickly. However, you must always maintain a sufficient reserve budget for your core campaigns.
It’s best practice to stick to KPIs. Establish clear metrics for success before launching any campaigns and track not just immediate sales, but also customer acquisition costs, lifetime value of new customers gained during holiday periods, and brand awareness metrics that might benefit your business long-term.
Prepare your operations for increased demand
The best marketing campaign in the world won’t help if you can’t deliver on customer expectations. Before launching holiday promotions, make sure your operations can handle increased demand, faster delivery expectations, and higher customer service volumes. Because you may go from 1 to 100 to 1000 very quickly if your tactics are hitting the mark.
This might mean arranging additional staff, securing extra inventory, or upgrading your website’s capacity to handle traffic spikes. During the holiday season, shoppers have higher expectations for customer service, and unfortunately, holiday shopping disappointments can damage your reputation for months, which is not what you want.
Consider offering multiple delivery and pickup options, including express services for last-minute shoppers. Make sure you clearly communicate about delivery dates, stock availability, and any service limitations, which helps manage customer expectations and reduces support queries.
Holiday marketing preparation starts now
Build sustainable growth and sales by being smart and strategic with your holiday marketing preparation. The customers you attract during holiday advertising periods often become long-term supporters if you deliver exceptional experiences during their first interaction with your brand.
However, it’s important to remember that every business is different, so take time to understand what specifically drives your customers during holiday periods. Some might respond to nostalgia and tradition, while others prefer innovation and exclusivity. Some thrive on urgency and limited-time offers, while others appreciate early-bird discounts and relaxed shopping experiences.
The investment you make in holiday advertising preparation today will pay dividends in revenue and brand building for months to come. We recommend you start with the strategies that align most closely with your current capabilities and customer base, and then expand your approach as you learn what works best for your unique business.
Make coworking spaces your next move
Your business growth deserves the right space to flourish. If you’re looking for a collaborative space to plan your holiday marketing campaigns, coworking communities provide the perfect blend of focused, quiet work areas and networking opportunities. Here at Melbourne, Connect Co-working, we have a variety of private offices, communal spaces, and shared desks that provide the ideal environment for strategic planning and creative collaboration. If you’re looking for a professional space to grow your business near the Melbourne CBD, we have all the resources you need right in the heart of the city.
Learn more about our space and contact us for more information today!