Half of Consumers Say Holiday Advertising Should Begin Mid-November

November is a polarizing month. Each year when the calendar turns away from Halloween, important debates begin.

What is the best way to get rid of pumpkins? Is it too early to listen to holiday music? And what about putting up festive decor?

New Morning Consult data offers an answer to perhaps the most pressing question of all: When is the right time for brands to begin pushing their Christmas and holiday marketing campaigns?

When is the right time for brands to begin pushing their Christmas and holiday marketing campaigns?

For half of U.S. adults, it’s mid-November. A nearly equal share (48%) prefers late November. Either way, Americans mostly enjoy festive campaigns, making it the rare ad category that consumers can tolerate.

Consumers want to see holiday advertising pre-Thanksgiving

• Early November (39%) and early December (36%) saw the next-highest levels of “just right” support, after mid- and late November.
• Opinions get more intense on the extreme ends of the time scale: Nearly 2 in 5 consumers (38%) described mid-October as “way too early” for festive marketing to begin, while 44% said mid-December was “way too late.”

Millennials, women enjoy holiday-themed marketing most

• 在每个主要的人口统计分组,不到one-third of respondents said they find holiday ads annoying — a notable feat considering Americansgenerally dislikeadvertising.
• Millennials were more enthusiastic than any other group, as nearly 2 in 5 (39%) reported finding holiday marketing “mostly enjoyable.” Thirty-four percent of women said the same, the next closest group.
• Men (28%) and baby boomers (24%) were least likely to find holiday ads “mostly enjoyable.” Still, more than 60% of both groups said they enjoyed such advertising overall.
• When asked to rate the likability of certain aspects of holiday promotions, “hearing about savings opportunities” and “the cheerful nature” of such ads came out on top — as 43% of respondents indicated they like each of these features “a lot.”
• Most adults overall (54%) were partial to advertising that mixes both Christmas and general holiday themes. Meanwhile, 27% favored Christmas-focused ads, and 19% said the same for general holiday ads.

U.S. consumers’ favorite holiday brand activations

Despite a clear public preference for a Thanksgiving-adjacent start date to holiday advertising, many retailers continue to roll out campaignsearliereach year. But this might be only a minor issue for consumers, given their general admiration for holiday marketing.

With that, just one question remains: What are some of Americans’favorite假日品牌多年来激活?

In open-end responses, most consumers cited Coca-Cola Co.’spolar bears, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA’sBudweiser Clydesdalesor the Hershey Co.’sholiday bells. Mars Inc.’s M&M’sSanta commercialsand Hallmark Cards Inc.’sCountdown to Christmasprogramming event also received frequent mentions.

No matter when holiday ads arrive this year, they’re sure to bringdeep discountsas brands look to moveexcess inventoryand court inflation-weary shoppers.

The Nov. 16-17, 2022,surveywas conducted among a representative sample of 2,215 U.S. adults, with an unweighted margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.