Advertisers Take Note: Momentum From Q4 and the Winter Holidays Drives a Strong “Resolution Season”

Between the winter holidays and the close of Q4, the end of the year can be chaotic — especially for advertisers. While it’s no secret that Q4 is a vital time for business, what is often overlooked is the transitional period between the end of Q4 into early Q1 of the next year — or as we like to call it, “Resolution Season.” This time period may not include the major shopping moments (like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc.), but it’s still rife with opportunity for advertisers to drive meaningful performance throughout.

With 61% of holiday shoppers reporting that they’ll buy items for themselves, Resolution Season is a prime time for advertisers to engage with these audiences in different ways, promoting messages like self-gifting and personal growth in the new year. Not to mention that CPMs (cost per mille) in January are generally lower for advertisers, meaning that brands typically see more bang for their buck. And with less competition during this time, if advertisers invest in engaging ad creative and messaging, it’s easier and more cost effective to get in front of the right customers.

To better understand the impacts and opportunities of Resolution Season, we dug into first and third party research. Here are three key takeaways worth noting as we head towards the end of 2024.

The End of Q4 and “Q5” Are Becoming Increasingly More Important for Advertisers

With more than 30% of consumers making holiday-related purchases between July and October, it’s no wonder many advertisers are starting their holiday campaigns earlier than ever. This said, December and January — at MNTN, we call January “Q5” because we think it’s that important — shouldn’t be forgotten. This is a pivotal time for brands to end Q4 strong and kick off the next year with a bang. Especially when 66% of U.S. consumers shop post-holiday sales.

Data from the MNTN Performance TV platform supports these findings. When analyzing data of seasonally-focused MNTN advertisers from Resolution Season (Dec. 1 – Jan. 31) 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, multiple key metrics improved significantly year-over-year (YoY).

Results from Resolution Season ‘23-’24 were impressive on their own, as well. After peaking in early December 2023, return on advertising spend (ROAS) dipped a bit throughout the rest of the month, but then trended positively throughout January 2024.

MNTN advertisers also saw their cost per visit (CPV) numbers decrease throughout Resolution Season.

Our data indicates that many advertisers already understand the importance of Resolution Season and are putting more resources into targeting consumers throughout this time of year. Comparing Resolution Season ‘22-’23 to ‘23-’24, the number of campaigns increased by 44%.

And for these advertisers, consistency is key — MNTN customers who ran their campaigns throughout Q4 saw even stronger results come January.

Note: These numbers are cumulative; i.e., ROAS grew an additional 12% between 60-90 days on top of the 37% growth between 30-60 days.

These findings demonstrate that advertisers can effectively use the momentum of Q4 to generate powerful results in the new year.

Consumers Turn to Streaming for Support With Health-Related Resolutions

Health and wellness goals (both physical and mental) consistently top New Year’s resolutions lists. And while consumers continue seeking out gyms, therapy, and meal subscription services to support these goals, there’s another surprising channel that has become pivotal for the health and wellness space: streaming. According to Roku, streaming hours for health and wellness channels increased by 21% from the first two weeks of December 2023 and the first two weeks of January.

With wellness top of mind for consumers during Resolution Season, MNTN advertisers in the health industry saw powerful positive performance trends. Revenue and average ROAS both grew steadily throughout this period.

CPV also improved during Resolution Season ‘23-’24, trending downward from December 2023 through January 2024.

The rise in wellness content streaming appears to be a win-win for consumers and advertisers alike.

Business and Consumer Services Advertisers Win Big During Resolution Season

Resolution Season may be most closely associated with hitting the gym, home improvement projects, or refreshing one’s wardrobe, but we found that brands in the business and consumer services space also saw huge returns during this time. What are “business and consumer services,” you ask? These advertisers are primarily in the B2B SaaS space, with offerings like marketing automation, CRM software, and property management.

As we highlighted recently, B2B brands see strong performance throughout Q4 just like their B2C counterparts. That said, results really take off at the end of Q4 into Q1 — both revenue and ROAS trended upward from mid-December 2023 through the end of January 2024.

These findings suggest that as budgets renew and businesses ramp up in the new year, consumers turn to B2B offerings supplied by brands in the business and consumer services space.

Crush Your Resolution (Season)

If you take anything from this report, let it be this: Q4 doesn’t end after the winter holidays, and performance doesn’t have to come to a screeching halt on December 26th. Consumers are clearly willing to shop post-holiday sales, and our data shows that a wide variety of brands can drive results throughout the end of Q4 and into Q1. Want to take full advantage of all of the opportunities Resolution Season offers? Consider adding Connected TV (CTV) to your advertising mix to best reach engaged audiences who are ready to spend.