Advertisers should embrace the chill this month, as new data analysed by The Trade Desk reveals that winter weather can boost consumers’ receptiveness to online advertising – with travel brands set to win the biggest share of wallet.
When temperatures dropped just shy of freezing (0.6 degrees celsius) on the night of 1st December last year, click through rates for Family and Parenting-related ads soared by 113%, compared to average. Meanwhile, engagement with Style and Fashion brands’ ads increased by almost three times (up 196%), likely the result of shivering shoppers seeking to upgrade their winter wardrobes.
But, according to the data, travel brands enjoyed the greatest uplift in engagement during the early winter cold snap. With temperatures lingering around the two-degree mark, click through rates for travel-related ads were almost five times (386%) higher than average on the night of 2nd December 2017.
This closed a prolonged period of heightened interest in the category, which lasted from 29th November until 2nd December last year – when maximum temperatures of a chilly 2.8 degrees likely inspired consumers to plan their next hot holiday.
Home and Garden brands experienced a later surge in engagement; as temperatures plummeted as low as minus six-degrees on the evening of 10th December 2017, click through rates for these ads climbed 104% higher than average.
Commenting on these insights, Sacha Berlik, Managing Director for EMEA at The Trade Desk, said: “Cold snaps may not be the most obvious event in the retail calendar, but our findings highlight why external factors such as the weather should be incorporated into brands’ campaign plans. This month, there will no doubt be big opportunities for brands to inspire consumers dreaming of everything from cosier homes to sunnier shores. And advertisers shouldn’t underestimate the value of using data to understand these types of audiences, and pinpoint the most effective way of engaging them with messages that will resonate with and inspire them.”
Through its smart technology, The Trade Desk enables brands to target consumers by temperature in real time and serve the most appropriate messages exactly when the right weather strikes.
Methodology
The Trade Desk analysed click through rates (CTR) for online adverts in the UK, split by time of day and vertical, to identify spikes around sudden drops in temperature. The spikes were compared to the average CTR for each vertical, calculated based on October figures.