8 Best Practices for Mother’s Day Marketing During COVID-19

Mother’s Day is the first major retail event since the pandemic – and it’s a big one.

According to the National Retail Federation, 86% of consumers will celebrate the holiday, and 78% say it’s particularly important to them given the current health crisis. Spending is also expected to jump to an average of $205 per person this year, an $8 increase from the previous Mother’s Day season.

Still, many advertisers are concerned about brand safety and placing their ads next to coronavirus content. The good news is that 78% of US internet users don’t mind it and 77% want advertisers to share how they’re helping people adjust to this new normal.

That’s why, in a recent Real Time Banter webinar, we provided best practices for advertising in email newsletters during the Mother’s Day 2020.

Here’s what you need to know.

1. Test simple creative concepts

Instead of piling on information, use a straightforward call-to-action (CTA) so people know what they’re clicking into and they’re ready to convert once they get to your page. It’s also important to consider user soft CTAs like “Books to Give Mom” instead of “Buy These Books.” Remember that some consumers may not be financially able to afford certain gifts at this time. Being less pushy is the way to go.

2. Make it mobile-friendly

LiveIntent found that 55% of impressions in email are served on mobile, so be sure to optimize ads for viewing across devices. Also, keep your branding and logo visible so you can remain top-of-mind for consumers who might look you up later to make a purchase.

3. Focus on flexibility

As Kantar found, 75% of US internet users want advertising to inform them about how brands are facing the current crisis. Use this opportunity to share how you’re making mom’s life easier, especially if she’s homeschooling kids.

4. Use content marketing for the soft sell

Educate and inform audiences instead of asking them to buy right now. Remember that people also have more time now to click through to your website, digest content, and research brands before they make a purchase.

5. Target above-the-fold inventory

If you’re advertising programmatically in email newsletters, stay up top to increase brand recall and recognition. At LiveIntent, we have specially curated marketplaces for above-the-fold ads, which provides a great branding and awareness opportunity.

6. Create lookalike audiences

When running acquisition campaigns, use lookalike audiences to create unique audience segments modeled off of last year’s best-performing customers. At LiveIntent, we’ve seen significant ROI with this strategy, and encourage brands to use their data to drive performance.

7. Build custom audiences

To increase retention this Mother’s Day, create custom audiences of last year’s best customers and target them directly. You can even expand that audience with probabilistic modeling, helping you find those valuable audience members even if you don’t have their exact ID. This is especially helpful for driving repeat purchases year-over-year.

8. Offer gift cards or home delivery

Gift cards and delivery purchases may increase this year as people continue to self-isolate and order gifts online. Good thing popular Mother’s Day gifts like flowers, fine, and food can be delivered right to mom’s door.

If you want to get inspired by some of our favorite Mother’s Day campaign creatives that delivered in both scale and performance, check out this blog post.