The holiday season is just a few months away. You read that right—just a few months away. And the holiday shopping season will start even sooner, with many shoppers planning to kick off their holiday shopping as early as October. Far fewer will wait until December. For marketers, this means one thing: start planning your holiday campaigns now. If you want to avoid the chaos of last-minute planning and ensure a smooth, successful marketing calendar through the end of the year, it’s essential to start early. Here’s why getting ahead with your influencer campaigns is key.
Every successful influencer campaign requires strategic stages of goal setting and planning, defining audience segments, researching shopper insights, vetting influencers, and developing creative concepts—all before content goes live.
Marketers must realize that there’s an average lag of 4-6 weeks from the time you reach out to influencers to when their content is published. While some agencies, like Acorn, have been able to shorten this timeline, it’s a critical consideration for marketers. When you leave influencer outreach to the last minute, you’re not just risking missing out on the best talent—you’re risking the entire campaign’s success. Timing is truly everything.
We polled Acorn’s customer success & strategy team to find, in their experience, what point of the year influencers typically start getting booked up for holiday campaigns. 100% agreed: Early October. Beyond a smaller pool of talent, last-minute implications include:
A shorter draft creation window can decrease the quality of assets an influencer can produce.
As the holidays get closer, influencers will increase their prices accordingly.
Waiting too long to start content will limit the amount of time available for any edits or reshoots needed.
A recent Digital Commerce 360 panel with retailers revealed pivotal insights for holiday shopping this year:
Higher inflation will cause consumers to purchase less overall.
Consumers will comparison shop more this year, driving conversion rates down.
Consumers will shop on marketplaces more this year.
Consumers will shop earlier in the season to avoid out-of-stock products.
To capture these early shoppers, brands need to launch their campaigns early. And it’s not just about being present—it's about being where shoppers are most engaged. In 2023, approximately 34% of consumers planned to use social media platforms to search for or purchase holiday products. Social media also plays a major role in holiday shopping inspiration, with a large percentage of Gen Z turning to TikTok for discovery and many Boomers looking to Facebook.
Consumer shopping trends highlight the importance of launching influencer campaigns early on the right platforms. By aligning with these habits, brands can capture key demographics when they are most active and in a buying mindset. Starting campaigns early provides access to top-tier influencers before their schedules fill up and help secure exclusivity in specific categories. Additionally, early campaigns benefit from higher engagement rates by leveraging the excitement of the season. Being present early helps brands snag a place on shoppers’ lists, even when those shoppers are still in the inspiration and browsing phase.
The holiday rush is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be chaotic. By starting early, you can ensure seamless and impactful holiday influencer campaigns that resonate with your audience and drive results through the end of the year. So, don’t wait. Get your strategy in place, your influencers lined up, and your content ready to go. A well-executed, well-timed campaign can make all the difference.
