Beat the Heat: 4 Advertising Trends to Drive Brand Momentum Ahead of Q4

Gone are the days when summer represented a lull in consumer spending. The warmer months have become pivotal for driving business growth and building crucial customer relationships. Despite economic uncertainties, consumers have indicated that they are still eager to travel this summer. However, with discretionary spending becoming increasingly more deliberate, it’s more important than ever for advertisers to develop messaging that resonates with their ideal customers.

To help brands maximize their summer advertising impact, we’ve analyzed both MNTN Performance TV data and broader industry research. Our findings revealed four significant trends that will not only support summer performance, but could also determine Q4 success.

1. Summertime Shopping Behavior is Shifting

Brands have seen a fundamental shift in summer purchasing patterns, largely driven by major shopping events like Amazon Prime Day. These evolving consumer behaviors have turned traditionally slower months on marketing calendars into significant revenue opportunities.

Since its 2014 launch, Prime Day has steadily grown in impact — even in its first year, consumer spending surpassed that of Black Friday. While the official dates for summer Prime Day 2025 have yet to be announced, the event will be bigger than ever, expanding from two days to four. EMARKETER anticipates Prime Day sales will grow by ~8% year-over-year (YoY).

The Prime Day phenomenon extends beyond Amazon itself. To take advantage of the heightened consumer spending mindset — and compete with Amazon — other retailers have launched their own promotional events. Target held its Circle Week from July 7-13, 2024, providing members of its complimentary loyalty program with discounts on summer essentials and back-to-school (BTS) items. Walmart got in the mix, as well, with what it promoted as its “largest savings event ever” from July 8-11, 2024.

We found first party evidence that supports the notion that retailers beyond Amazon can capitalize on elevated consumer engagement around Prime Day. When looking at data from all MNTN advertisers during Amazon’s Prime 2024 event compared to the previous week, we observed notable performance improvements:

Another factor contributing to increased summer purchasing is “Christmas Creep” — a phenomena where advertisers and consumers alike are starting to think about holiday purchases and activities earlier in the year. While economic uncertainty may impact the Christmas Creep this year, reports show that 32% of shoppers begin making holiday purchases between July and October. It may seem premature, but taking advantage of summer promotions is a smart move for these proactive consumers.

Whether due to the increase of summer and BTS sales, the expanding holiday shopping window, or a combination of both factors, our Performance TV data underscores summer’s growing importance in the retail calendar — with July emerging as a particularly crucial month.

2. Advertisers Should Leverage Summer to Build Consumer Loyalty Ahead of Q4

Speaking of Q4… since Christmas Creep is creeping up earlier each year, summer has become a crucial season for building customer relationships. For advertisers aiming to maximize Q4 performance, establishing consumer loyalty during these warmer months is vital.

“Summer sales will also be key to convincing customers to switch brands,” Radial reported. “69% of customers in our survey said that, while they prefer to stick to brands they know, they would be willing to switch if there’s a good deal on another product; another 13% of respondents said they’re solely focused on getting the best deal. Only 19% of consumers said they would be loyal to known or preferred brands, even if they’re more expensive.”

One way to bolster customer loyalty is via advertising consistency which helps build brand recognition and trust over time. Creating multiple touchpoints throughout the summer keeps brands top-of-mind once consumers enter the critical Q4 buying season.

Our data supports this point — MNTN advertisers who ran campaigns consistently through the summer of 2024 (6/1/24-8/31/24) experienced impressive performance growth heading into Q4:

Note: These numbers are cumulative; i.e., ROAS grew an additional 7% between 60-90 days on top of the 35% growth between 30-60 days.

3. Economic Concerns Haven’t Grounded Summer Travel Plans

While economic pressures have consumers cutting back in some areas, travel remains a priority. According to American Express’ 2025 Global Travel Trends Report, 77% of respondents plan to take the same number or more international trips than in 2024. Our first party data supports this trend — Q1 performance of MNTN customers in the travel industry indicates that consumers are still willing to invest in travel.

Travel brands are wise to leverage this Q1 momentum heading into warmer months — especially considering that 58% of people have 2025 summer travel plans, with 32% saying they’ll book private accommodations for leisure travel in the next three months.

Large-scale events drove much of summer 2024’s travel surge. But even without the Olympics or Taylor Swift dominating this year’s calendar, entertainment and sporting events will continue to shape travel decisions. In fact, 60% of travelers will plan trips around entertainment or sporting events in 2025.

The Eras Tour may have come to an end, but summer 2025 features numerous high-profile women-led events. The UEFA Women’s European Championship runs July 2-27 in Switzerland — for all you non football/soccer fans, this is a premier tournament for the women’s national teams of Europe. This is followed by August’s Women’s Rugby World Cup in London. And we’d be remiss to forget Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour, which began in late April in Los Angeles and continues across the U.S., U.K., and Europe through July.

On top of this, there are plenty of other highly-anticipated events for people to travel to this summer, including tours from Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar and SZA, and Ed Sheeran (among others), and festivals like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Outside Lands.

Many of this summer’s major events will stream live on platforms like Hulu, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix (now home to WWE), creating additional opportunities for advertisers to reach engaged audiences. However, brand success depends heavily on high-quality ads.

Here’s what worked for some of MNTN’s top performing advertisers in summer 2024:

• A focus on ensuring traveler confidence — either via safety, education, or location guarantee. 
• Showcasing the potential experiences, destinations, and activities viewers could enjoy while traveling.
• On-screen text throughout the video, keeping viewers engaged with value propositions, important product/experience details, discounts and/or sales, and more.

4. Consumers Are Prioritizing Sustainability

Environmental consciousness has become a major purchasing factor for many shoppers. In 2024, 66% of consumers considered a brand’s commitment to sustainability “extremely / very important” when making summer purchases — up from 43% the year prior.

And they’re putting their money where their values are. Today’s shoppers are willing to pay a premium of ~10% for sustainable products and services.

Advertisers that want to effectively communicate their green initiatives can connect with increasingly eco-conscious summer shoppers by highlighting any of the following:

• Sustainable materials and/or responsible sourcing
• Eco-friendly packaging 
• Greener shipping options
• Recycling programs or product take-back services

This said, authenticity is vital — shoppers are savvy about distinguishing between meaningful environmental commitments and superficial “greenwashing.” So, brands should only include genuine sustainability offerings in their summer advertising.

Make a Splash With Your Summer Campaigns

As the temperatures rise, so do the opportunities for advertisers to connect with engaged consumers. Summer is no longer just a bridge between spring promotions and holiday campaigns — it’s become a vital season for building brand awareness, driving conversions, and establishing customer relationships that will help determine Q4 success. From sustainability-conscious shoppers, to early holiday buyers, understanding the evolution of consumer behavior during the summer is essential for creating campaigns that leave a lasting impression.

For brands looking to capitalize on these summer trends, Connected TV (CTV) advertising has proven itself a powerful performance channel. With consumers increasingly turning to streaming platforms for live events and other entertainment during summer downtime, CTV is ideal for reaching high-intent audiences. By combining these seasonal insights with the performance-first capabilities of CTV, advertisers can craft summer campaigns that don’t just beat the heat — they generate customer loyalty that will last well beyond Labor Day.