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Playbook: Increase Sales During a Seasonal Event

Goal: build demand early, then scale efficiently through the peak window without missing key traffic days.

Inputs (2–4 weeks before)

Merchandising + landing pages

  • Build a themed Shelf / Brand Shop (e.g., Holiday Gift Guide)
  • Ensure assortment is correct, in-stock, and priced competitively

Creative

  • Seasonal creatives approved in Creative Hub
  • Clear offer/occasion messaging (why now?)

Toolkit: - Campaign Brief - Creative Checklist

Phase 1: Pre-season (≈4 weeks out)

Purpose: warm up learning + identify winning seasonal keywords and creative.

  • Sponsored Brands → seasonal shelf
  • Onsite Display (Persona / Contextual) → seasonal intent audiences
  • Optional: Sponsored Products (Auto) to mine seasonal search terms

Measurement focus: - Clicks to shelf, add-to-carts, CTR; identify top seasonal terms

Audience notes: - For event personas: Seasonal Events Personas

Phase 2: Peak season (event duration)

Purpose: maximize sales at the highest intent moment.

  • Keep Phase 1 campaigns active
  • Add/scale Sponsored Products (Search In-Grid) on the best seasonal terms (exact/phrase)
  • Use Display geotargeting when regional nuances matter (e.g., winter weather)

Measurement focus: - Sales, ROAS, CVR; monitor pacing and budgets daily

Phase 3: Post-season (learning capture)

  • Pause seasonal campaigns
  • Export reports: top items, keywords, and creatives
  • Document learnings to reuse next cycle

Template: - Experiment Plan

Budget + bid posture

  • Expect 2x–5x daily spend during peak vs baseline.
  • Avoid running out before evening shopping peaks.
  • Use budget pacing guidance in:
  • Tactics & Ops
  • Budget & KPIs

Suggested tests (pre-season)

  • Two headline/offer variants (SB)
  • Two creative concepts (display)
  • Keyword theme test: broader category vs “gift/occasion”-specific

Common failure modes

  • Underspend during peak: bids too low, budgets capped, targeting too narrow
  • CTR ok but CVR weak: shelf merchandising or PDP quality issues

Start here: - Performance Triage

Read next: - Objective →→→→→ Stack - Benchmarks & Guardrails