Fine-tuning your ad targeting strategy for Mother’s Day

With Mother's Day right around the corner, it’s time businesses and advertisers start thinking about the most effective way to reach audiences primed to buy Mother’s Day gifts. Last year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that consumers were expected to spend more than $28 billion on Mother’s Day gifts, purchasing everything from clothes, jewelry, and electronics to housewares, gardening tools, and personal services.

When it comes to how we splurge on moms, the market is wide open and growing. But just like any other seasonal advertising, you need to be smart about your ad targeting strategy and fine-tune your Mother’s Day ad campaigns to connect with shoppers looking to buy your products. We’ve put together the following trends and targeting tips to make sure your Mother’s Day campaign is coming up roses.  

Mother’s Day purchasing trends

When building out your Mother’s Day ad campaign, it’s important to have data-driven insights on consumer spending habits this time of year. On the heels of the pandemic, consumers are looking to get back to some sense of normalcy this Mother’s Day, buying gifts and experiences that truly make Mother’s Day special.

The NRF has done a lot of the heavy lifting for us, pulling together key purchasing trends to help advertisers refine their ad targeting strategies. For example, did you know that millennials like to spoil their moms? In fact, millennial shoppers planned to spend an average of $367 on Mother’s Day gifts last year, investing in higher-priced items like jewelry or electronics.

Millennial shoppers are also more amenable to advertising, with 48% browsing online for inspiration. Another purchasing trend advertisers should know: Men spend almost double what women spend on Mother’s Day, paying $300 on gifts for their wives and moms. Last year, Mother’s Day shoppers spent over $4 billion on special outings and experiences for their moms (spa services, brunches, trips, etc.) – that number could very well see an increase this year with fewer Covid-19 restrictions in place.

Be sure to read our full list of Mother’s Day Trends: Give your Mother’s Day campaigns the special treatment.

Mother’s Day shoppers: Finding key audiences across devices and platforms

Once you have a handle on consumer buying habits, the next step is defining your ad targeting strategy. Brands have a full range of options to target and reach consumers where it’s most convenient for them to connect. From smartphones and laptops to gaming consoles and TVs, there are endless opportunities to reach Mother’s Day shoppers on their preferred channels. The challenge is knowing which audience segments to target to reap the most rewards on Mother’s Day.

Oracle Audiences offers a comprehensive selection of audience segments to power your ad targeting strategies. From traditional Mother’s Day audiences to spa gift card buyers, jewelry buyers, and weekend getaway high-spenders, there are a number of options to leverage to find your intended audience with precision and reach.

For advertisers, social media has become the go-to strategy to reach a variety of demographics across regions and markets. By combining social media analytics and Oracle Audiences, advertisers can gain insight into behavioral targeting signals specific to Mother’s Day, finding the shoppers who are ready to buy on Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Twitter.

Along with social media platforms, audio streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora are gaining traction for advertisers. Podcasts especially are a unique way for brands and advertisers to connect with their target audiences on a new channel this Mother’s Day, offering new ad placement opportunities in a space where listeners (consumers!) are often fully engaged.

Bringing it all together: Combining purchase trends, audience data, and contextual intelligence to optimize your Mother’s Day campaigns

After diving into consumer buying trends and identifying which audiences will help you reach your intended buyers, contextual targeting can add another effective layer of ad targeting capabilities. Oracle Contextual Intelligence analyzes complex content to help you scale your ad campaigns, reaching the most relevant ad environments while keeping your brand safety and brand suitability efforts in check.

With Oracle Contextual Intelligence solutions, advertisers have access to multiple Syndicated, Predicts, and Sentiment Categories, in addition to customizable audience targeting segments.

When it comes to the type of gifts that consumers are looking to buy on Mother’s Day, most tend to purchase within traditional product categories such as cards, flowers, gift cards, clothing, or jewelry. Not only do these traditional categories give advertisers a wide range of products to promote, but they also provide insight on contextually relevant content to target when building out your Mother’s Day campaigns. By utilizing contextual targeting, advertisers can place their ads within contextually relevant Mother’s Day content, such as gift guides, news articles, and blogs that deliver high-performing ad environments.

With so many gift options, consumers need help from the brands they trust to find that just-right purchase to make Mother’s Day extra special. Our job is to make it as easy as possible for advertisers to find their customers online.

Looking to Oracle Advertising to help activate your Mother’s Day campaigns? Take a look at our Mother’s Day audience categories to help make your campaigns stand out.