We all know that for many of us, the holiday season has come to mean one thing – over indulgence. Countless edible gifts, food-driven gatherings and bottomless holiday cocktails often leave us with full stomachs and empty wallets. As enjoyable as these indulgences are in the moment, it’s no surprise that the average adult puts on between four to eight pounds over the festive season and that by January 1st, we’re looking to turn over a new leaf as quickly as possible.
Nearly 45% of the North American population and two-thirds of Brits make New Year’s resolutions. While we all start off with the best of intentions to fight the flab and get in better financial shape, only 8% of people are successful in actually achieving their resolution. In the early weeks of the new year, brands have an excellent opportunity to reach those people looking for solutions and support, ensuring they are top of mind when it comes to helping consumers achieve their goals.
Family Time
Coming in at number 10 on our resolutions list is spending more time with the family. Compounded by cold weather, a lack of money, and because the spirit of a new year makes us want to become a better version of ourselves, we are resolute on spending more time with our families.
And what do people do when they’re at home with the family? Well, it’s not quite the classic notion of family members spending special time together disconnected from digital distractions. It turns out that even on Christmas Day, 31% of families would rather be online than spending time interacting with their loved ones. When they’re not online, families can be found watching television or playing video games. According to Millward Brown, 35% of consumers globally use more than one device at a time. To engage with multi-screen families, brands should be using TV Syncing, ad recognition technology that monitors television channels, allowing delivery of digital ads to correspond with the TV creative also running or specific television shows selected and enabling message continuity and brand consistency across devices.
Looking for Love
Coming in at number nine on the resolutions list is finding that ‘special someone’. According to Match.com, one of the most important things for singles when starting the new year is finding the big ‘L’ – 51% of singles in fact. According to their research, the busiest online dating day of the year is January5th, just as people get back into the workplace and have more time to themselves. As the partying settles down, people want to stay inside cuddled up with a partner. If you’re in the online love business, start early and ensure that your brand is top of mind in the week leading up to the busiest day of the year. Tailor your content with stats around long-term relationships, winter dating ideas and other content that engages singles.
Health & Fitness
Fitness is the fifth most popular New Year’s resolution to make. In the U.S., roughly 15 million new gym memberships are sold each year, but nearly one in four leave their club within the first year of joining. Loyalty incentives and retargeting is essential to ensure customers are enticed to stay beyond the first month. Programmatic allows for careful targeting of current customers through first party data and look-a-like modelling to gain new customers.
Weight Loss
Coming in on top of the list for resolutions globally is losing weight. The health and wellness services and tourism market in Canada is worth over $735 million. The number of overweight or obese individuals worldwide increased from 857 million in 1980 to 2.1 billion in 2013 according to Nielsen. Changes in lifestyle, the increasing availability of processed foods, advertising and beauty magazines have all changed our relationship with food.
Consumers are pushing a healthy balanced diet, and advertisers have the opportunity to fit into their plans.
In the UK, 45% will start a detox plan in the new year and one third will buy kitchen equipment such as juicers or steamers. By the end of 2014, experts anticipate that weight loss product sales globally will surpass $586 billion. Online vouchers and special offers during January and February is just one way to entice new customers.
Tailoring messages per gender further ensures that the right product is reaching the right person. Weightwatchers found that although 90% of its clientele are women there is a growing interest among men. While women generally prefer social interaction in the form of meetings to achieve their weight loss goals, men are drawn to tools such as apps. Programmatic marketing offers the perfect platform to segment and reach these audiences across devices.
New Year, New Opportunities
The new year offers many opportunities for brands to help consumers with their goals and programmatic can help brands connect to their audiences. What are the key takeaways?
- Follow the consumer, don’t book your media in silos. Consumers are flexible with the devices they use and brands should be too.
- Strategize around modern consumer habits, which means considering how to make meaningful connections with your audience across devices.
- Broaden your horizons – make sure you can reach the widest audience possible by using a multi-platform approach to reach your consumers and make sure you cut through the competition by reaching them early.
- And, lastly, and most importantly, ensure your creative is tailored and speaks to users individually.
