The 2019 Ads of Easter Fame
The first hints of spring are always exciting, when most of the country is itching to shed some layers and get outside again. As winter thaws, people are looking for any reason to celebrate, so while the season is known for Spring Cleaning time, there is another significant advertising opportunity: Easter. Millions of consumers celebrate the Easter season with family, food, plenty of candy, and exercising their purchasing power.
Spikes in chocolate sales and egg sales are a given, but there are unlimited opportunities to bring in Easter shoppers across a wide range of product categories. Plenty of traditional and non-traditional Easter advertisers have found creative ways to hop on the bunny trail and make the most of this lucrative spring holiday. The secret to their success? Tuning in to the audience’s emotions.
Here are some highlights from years past to brainstorm ideas for your campaign:
Nestle’s Alice: Remember Childhood, Wonder, and Joy
An excellent way to establish an emotional connection with consumers during this holiday is by evoking youthful, nostalgic, and joyous sentiments. Nestle’s Easter ad, for instance, was inspired by the classic story of Alice in Wonderland, appealing to the audience through a child-like sense of joy and whimsy. The ad depicted a modern Alice, using larger-than-life special effects to show her experience growing and shrinking in everyday life. These special effects in contrast with ordinary circumstances produced a sense of fun and relatability that intrigued audiences of all ages. The playful, nostalgic nod to the well-known narrative resolved with the memorable phrase, “Life makes us grow up; Easter brings us back.”
Nestle’s was one of the most popular ads of 2019, which proves the power of reminding an audience of the joy of life, particularly through a youthful outlook.
Cadbury’s Easter Egg Hunt: Engage by Thinking Outside the Box
Cadbury also played the nostalgia card, but with a twist. This confectionery company’s advertisement became an immersive experience for the audience, turning the tradition of the Easter egg hunt into an online game through Facebook. Audiences were encouraged to log on and use the 360-degree video feature to scan the virtual landscape in search of Easter eggs. The first person to find an egg’s location was rewarded with chocolate. This proved to be an excellent way to get kids engaged while reminding all of the joy and fun of Easter.
Who Benefits from Easter Themes?
No matter the product or targeted demographic, Easter Ads are a good idea. Gourmet Ads reported that last year 85% of adults aged 18-34 planned to celebrate Easter. A contextual approach, Gourmet Ads suggests, is the best way to pitch to this demographic and their young candy guzzlers. Offering recipes are a great way to do this—they present the opportunity to promote any food products, from staples to limited edition holiday products.
No matter what, food spending is huge during the Easter holiday. According to Grocery Dive, in 2019 54% of people polled planned to cook an Easter meal, which amounted to $5.74 billion spent on food for the holiday that year. Plus, festive environments factor heavily into the holiday celebrations. Last year, consumers spent $1 billion on decorating for the occasion.
And, even if consumers don’t celebrate the holiday, 21% of shoppers will still spend money on Easter goods by taking advantage of the post-Easter deals, regardless!
But is it Really That Profitable?
The numbers prove it: Easter has become one of the most profitable holiday seasons. Reports from the National Retail Federation (NRF) from the 2019 season estimated that consumer spending would top $18 billion, which translates to an average of $151 per person. Almost 90% of shoppers surveyed had candy on their radar and most of those also expected to buy Easter-themed food. 59% were budgeting for gifts and 46% were going to allocate money for clothing.
The takeaway? This year, and every year, there will be shopping. According to the sales team at Disney, big ad dollars come from retail and consumer packaged goods, with the season kicking off ads as early as mid-February, targeting kids ranging from two to 11 years old, and “mom-aged” women from 25 to 54. When it comes to grabbing parents’ attention during any holiday season, think about promoting solutions that save time. Digitas reported that many parents in a recent study described subscription services as “absolutely essential” to their survival as parents. Ecommerce retailers should also keep in mind that kid-filled households are almost twice as likely to shop online weekly, so it makes sense to offer ways to streamline and simplify things for this busy demographic.
Where to Reach Your Consumers
Wondering where to place your ads? Good old television still garners an excellent consumer base, meaning it’s still a great place to engage with your desired audience. Some of the best TV ratings seen in 2018 and 2019 were based on audiences tuning into live, family-focused shows. Last year, “Disney Night” on ABC’s American Idol topped the Nielsen ratings for young adult 18-49 programming. The prime-time episode garnered 6.4 million viewers. The previous Easter, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live” on NBC could not be beaten with a mega-audience of 9.4 million consumers. Nostalgia and emotional connections hit home during Easter time and bringing it to audiences live seemed to garner the most attention.
Marketing products to the kids that want them may require a bit more finesse. For starters, when taking on kid value propositions it’s important to meet them where they already are. These days, YouTube is a great bet. The Google-owned network was 22% of the total kids’ digital spend as of 2018 and for good reason: kids aged 12-17 spend about 33% of their total daily video viewing time on the huge platform, and other streaming services are not far behind. $4.3 billion is spent globally on kids as of 2019, and traditional advertising still accounts for the majority of ads targeting kids. However, online engagement continues to grow and evolve—make sure to keep up!
Takeaway:
The most profitable and popular ads for Easter 2019 were geared toward a vast audience, taking all ages into account. Still, kids and childlike energy are the major stars of the holiday, especially in establishing an emotional connection to the audience on an emotional level. So, get ready to take full advantage of the holiday season with more vibrancy, emotion, and creativity as you compete to win the approval of some of the pickiest consumers in the world.
Need help with those Easter ad placements? Contact us today to get your ads where people will see them.
