Holiday Breakdown: A Dive into Consumer Behavior During the Father’s Day Season

The number of people celebrating Father’s Day each year is on the up and up. And with more celebrators comes more growth opportunities for advertisers, especially on Connected TV (CTV).

Key Insights: Father’s Day 2022

A Large Majority of Americans Celebrated

U.S. consumers were all in on dad’s special day in 2022—76% of people reported that they planned to celebrate the holiday last year. Of those celebrating, the expected spend on gifts was ~$171 per person, topping $20B in total.

Consumers Searched for Unique Gifts for Dad

Everyone wants to get the perfect present for their dad(s), right? It can feel like a lot of pressure, but consumers were ready for the challenge. When asked about considerations when purchasing Father’s Day gifts, nearly half of celebrators said that they were motivated to find something unique or different.

Personal Items and Meals Were Most Given

What consumers actually planned to purchase for their fathers in 2022 seemingly aligned with the sentiments above. The top two reported gift categories were a “watch/other personal item” and “take him out for a meal”.

What to Expect in 2023

More People Will Celebrate the Holiday Than in 2022

This year, an even larger percentage of consumers plan to celebrate than in previous years. A recent study by Numerator reported that 79% of people will partake in Father’s Day 2023. Additionally, more than half plan to buy a gift for dad.

Consumers Will Let Dads Choose Their Own Adventure Via Gift Cards

While watches and other personal items topped the list of intended gifts in 2022, this year, most consumers noted that they plan to spend on gift cards. Here’s how the rest of the list rounded out:

The State of the Economy Continues to Impact Holiday Spend

According to the same Numerator study, 85% of respondents said that they expect inflation or economic slowdown to have some kind of impact on their 2023 holiday celebrations and shopping.

The fluctuating state of the economy is certainly something for advertisers to keep in mind. The good news? Consumers still plan on making purchases—91% of people will spend on Father’s Day celebrations in 2023. This is how they plan to save money:

Connected TV Advertisers See Top Performance During Father’s Day Season

With many consumers reporting that they will both celebrate and purchase something related to Father’s Day, we were interested to see how CTV advertising has historically fared during this season. We turned to first-party data pulled from MNTN’s Performance TV platform, which uses an AI-driven optimization engine that determines bids and inventory decisions using performance marketing goals (like return on ad spend, cost per acquisition, etc.).

Here’s what we learned:

While the majority of Americans celebrate Father’s Day, it isn’t always thought of as a primary holiday for driving performance for advertisers. However, MNTN’s data shows that brands who advertised on CTV from May 1-June 30 saw notable year-over-year (YoY) growth. CTV proved itself a fruitful channel for driving key results, including lower-funnel metrics like conversions (a 70% YoY increase) and revenue (a 31% YoY increase). And, these weren’t the only performance results that experienced an increase.

Additionally, we dug into network data to better understand which channels encouraged the best consumer engagement. For this analysis, we focused on MNTN customers that had an obvious tie-in to Father’s Day and could benefit from running campaigns leading up to and during the holiday. We examined relevant brands in specific industries, including: Computer and Electronics, Food and Drink, Hobbies and Interests, Home and Garden, Recreation and Sports.

Important Findings:

• Pluto TV and the MLB Network performed best overall with Father’s Day consumers | While Pluto TV was only in the top 5 for one key metric and the MLB Network didn’t make it to any (see the lists below), these channels provided strong performance across the board. Both were in the top 10 when it came to highest return on advertising spend (ROAS) and lowest cost per acquisition (CPA). Additionally, these networks produced a large number of impressions—with Pluto coming in at the top of the list and the MLB Network far above the network impression average. 
• Sports networks produced best ROAS | Perhaps unsurprisingly, sports networks drove the highest return on advertising spend for brands with obvious Father’s Day tie-ins. CBS Sports and ESPNU produced the top ROAS for advertisers, while ESPN3 was fifth on the list.
• Disney Channel drove top performance results for multiple key metrics | Disney Channel made the top 5 for the highest ROAS and conversion rate and the lowest cost per acquisition. While sports networks might align with what is typically thought of as a dad-focused audience, it is important to remember that a variety of channels can drive meaningful performance for advertisers. Because of this, it’s in brands’ best interests to diversify their ad spend, as opposed to allocating entire budgets to one type of network or another.

Top Performing CTV Networks in Regards to Key Metrics

Conclusion

Father’s Day 2023 is going to see considerably more celebrators than last year. On top of this, 91% of people will spend on Dad’s Day festivities. With this knowledge, it’s wise for brands to develop advertising strategies that encompass the time leading up to, during and after the holiday. Connected TV has proven itself an effective performance marketing channel for advertisers looking to reach Father’s Day-focused consumers. For advertisers who are already on or interested in CTV, serving ads on a variety of streaming networks is a vital piece to success during this season.