Holiday marketing has long been the season that can determine the success of a brand’s sales year. But in today’s fragmented media environment, defined by early spending patterns, retail saturation and challenger brands, every ad dollar must deliver measurable results.
Half of holiday shoppers now begin their shopping well before Thanksgiving, and a growing number start before Halloween. Meanwhile, up to 53% of shoppers who buy holiday presents make purchases on Black Friday, as consumer engagement with tentpole holiday shopping moments such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Super Saturday are at an all-time high. For marketers, this holiday rush means compressing months of campaign performance into an even narrower window — and getting it right the first time.
In today’s media environment, reach is no longer enough. Holiday success now hinges on creating ad experiences that are immersive, actionable and shoppable — especially in high-impact environments like connected TV (CTV), where consumers are especially leaned-in and, in turn, receptive to brand messaging.
Here’s a deeper look into how ad experiences, not just exposure, play into the holiday shopping experience this season.
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1. Make it shoppable and immersive.
To cut through holiday clutter, many marketers are turning to shoppable ads, which transform passive viewership into active commerce opportunities through creative overlays, QR codes and dynamic product displays. Streaming platforms like Paramount and Disney+ are working closely with commerce tech companies such as Shopsense to integrate purchasing functionality directly into streaming content in a way that’s intuitive rather than intrusive. These experiences reduce friction and shorten the path to purchase — critical advantages in a season when consumers are primed to act.
According to eMarketer, 38% of U.S. marketers plan to increase their investment in shoppable ads by 2025. And for good reason: 26% of consumers now find CTV home-screen ads helpful in making purchase decisions — a number that’s grown 105% year-over-year. That kind of double-digit lift doesn’t come from impressions alone. It comes from making the moment matter.
During the holiday rush, consumers face an endless barrage of ads, flash sales and calls to action from every angle. For marketers, simply being seen isn’t enough. The real test is being remembered — which is why immersive ad formats stand out. From pause ads and home-screen takeovers to interactive video and branded content hubs, these immersive formats create genuine emotional connections that help inspire action. Once the domain of Hollywood blockbusters and major brands, immersive creative is now an essential tool for performance-driven marketers, including quick-service restaurants, retailers and delivery apps.
One standout example of immersive ad creative was JCPenney’s 2024 “Really Big Deal Days” campaign. Each week during Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football, the retailer aired a celebrity-fronted video ad unveiling a new limited-time deal. The results were massive: 13% to 15% new customers each week, with 15% of them converting again within three weeks.
2. Go omnichannel.
Shoppers don’t think in channels — they think in moments. One minute they’re streaming a show, while the next minute they’re searching for product prices online or completing a purchase on their laptops. To stay top-of-mind (and cart), brands need to show up across screens with a seamless, consistent experience.
For example, mobile continues to dominate consumer spend during the holiday season. According to Salesforce, mobile devices accounted for nearly 70% of all holiday orders in 2024, up from 67% the year before. On Christmas Day, that number spiked to 79%.
But that doesn’t mean mobile operates in a vacuum. Oftentimes, a consumer sees an ad with a QR code on CTV, scans the ad with their mobile device, revisits the brand via a mobile reminder such as a push notification and then finally completes the purchase later on a desktop. The winning campaigns are built to follow the user — not the device.
In today’s performance-driven ad environment, omnichannel strategy isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s the foundation for converting attention into action.
3. Measure what matters — across the full funnel.
Great creative only gets you so far. To drive performance — and prove it — you need full-funnel measurement that connects upper-funnel engagement to lower-funnel outcomes.
Effective measurement is especially critical during the holiday shopping sweet spot between October and November, when 78% of consumers plan to act on holiday deals. Shoppable and immersive formats may spark attention, but without the right measurement infrastructure, it’s hard to know what’s actually driving conversions.
Enter strategic partnerships. Collaborating with SSPs and tech platforms that offer closed-loop attribution and advanced performance insights is no longer optional — it’s how smart marketers optimize in real time. These partners help tie ad exposure to real outcomes, whether it’s app downloads, in-store visits or completed purchases.
Walled gardens may offer reach, but they often lack transparency. Working with partners that have access to premium inventory and measurement capabilities gives advertisers a clearer, more complete view of what’s working — across CTV, mobile, display and beyond. In 2025, that degree of visibility is what separates good campaigns from great ones.
‘Tis the Season to Perform
Holiday marketing has always demanded speed and scale — but in today’s climate, it also demands precision. That means moving beyond impressions to deliver experiences — ones that are shoppable, immersive, omnichannel and measurable. In a holiday season defined by speed, saturation and screen-hopping shoppers, success will belong to the brands that prioritize experience over exposure.
Mike Laband is the Group SVP of Revenue at Magnite. He oversees all elements of the U.S. revenue teams and platforms including Demand Facilitation, DV+, Streaming and SpringServe platforms. His team at Magnite is focused on cultivating relationships and partnerships with buyers and media owners to leverage the Magnite video platforms for ad serving, programmatic yield optimization, activation and data enablement. Laband joined Magnite via the acquisition of SpotX in May 2021, where he worked for 11+ years leading publisher platform sales, growth and advanced TV solutions. He graduated from the University of Colorado, Leeds School of Business with an emphasis in Marketing.
