Holiday Advertising Trends 2025: How Marketers are Planning for BFCM

Research Reveals How Marketers are Planning for the Critical Holiday Season 

With tariffs, inflationary pressures, and shifting consumer confidence weighing on spending, holiday retail sales are expected to slow compared to previous years. Despite the economic uncertainty, Black Friday is expected to outperform overall holiday ecommerce growth, with early sales events in November once again pulling consumer dollars forward and making the 2025 holiday season a make-or-break moment for marketers.  

For advertisers, this means staying laser-focused on efficiency and scale, while making every channel work harder in a highly crowded and competitive deal-driven environment. For many marketers, TV plays a unique role in that mix by delivering both reach and impact to break through the noise, drive urgency, and capture wallet share when it matters most.

We asked our clients to share how they are gearing up for the most competitive shopping window of the year. Here’s what we unwrapped from brands like Calm, Ariat, Saatva, Fabeltics, Breeo, and more, and what it means for you…

Holiday Budgets are on the Rise

Our survey reveals a strong upward trend in Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) TV advertising budgets for the current year compared to 2024, signaling a robust investment in the crucial holiday shopping season.

What This Means for You

The data suggests a strategic push by brands to capture consumer attention during the peak retail period through the power of television advertising, but it is important not to spend your budget all at once. Instead, gradually increase spend as you approach peak periods.

Linear TV Leads the Way, Streaming Holds Steady

A significant majority (72%) of respondents plan to include linear TV in their BFCM TV buys, suggesting that despite the continued growth of streaming, linear TV remains a prominent channel for holiday advertising given that big tent-pole holiday programs like sports and holiday specials have become seasonal staples.  

Interestingly, only a little more than half of marketers (57%) plan to use streaming TV as part of their holiday TV campaigns this season. While this is still a significant number, it is a little surprising given streaming’s growing dominance in the market. It demonstrates that linear TV continues to deliver strong value, especially in Q4 when programming attracts some of the year’s largest TV audiences. 

What This Means for You

Of those who cited they are doing both, almost half (49%) said they will use a combination of linear and streaming for their holiday plans. Combining linear and streaming as complementary channels is a proven way to ensure reach and scale during the highly competitive holiday season.

Holiday Cost Efficiencies, Steady but Flexible

The survey reveals a mixed bag of strategies regarding TV advertising cost thresholds for the upcoming BFCM season. A significant portion of respondents (42%) indicated that their target Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and/or Cost Per Mille (CPM) thresholds for TV advertising will remain unchanged compared to other times of the year.

What This Means for You

The data suggests a steady approach for many advertisers. However, a nearly equal number (38%) are adjusting their thresholds for the BFCM period, indicating a dynamic approach to optimize their ad spend during this crucial sales period. 

Tatari clients who run BFCM spots typically see a healthy boost in conversion rates when compared to a typical week. This means that not only are valuable impressions being served to their target audience during this highly competitive time, but that the audience is significantly more likely to take action and engage, validating the bigger spend this time of the year.

Holiday Sales are Happening Online 

The days of camping in parking lots outside big box stores and wrestling over cheaply priced electronics are fading. Consumers are skipping the lines to make their holiday purchases online. Even with slower growth overall, eCommerce sales will be up 4.2% compared to physical retail sales, according to eMarketer. So it comes as no surprise that more than half of Tatari clients (58%) are driving holiday shoppers to a website to make a purchase. 

What This Means for You

With holiday shopping preferences shifting to online and websites serving as the primary path to holiday sales for the majority of marketers, TV is no longer confined to brand awareness, it’s a multi-faceted advertising medium that can drive measurable outcomes like website traffic and sales. One of the most cost-efficient, low-risk ways to capitalize on this trend is by retargeting website visitors on TV to re-engage the audiences digital channels are already driving to your website.

Repurpose Over Reinvent This Season

According to our survey, a majority of TV advertisers plan to repurpose existing creative this holiday, with some repurposing their favorite creatives, and others re-using older holiday creatives. Only a quarter of marketers (26%) will be producing net-new holiday creative this year.

What This Means for You

These findings are great news for anyone short on time or budget and helps confirm that repurposing existing creative isn’t just common, it’s proven to be effective.

YouTube’s Growing Role in Reaching Holiday Audiences 

YouTube continues to play a meaningful role in holiday strategies, with just over half of marketers (52%) planning to include it as part of their BFCM TV buys. This underscores how advertisers increasingly view YouTube as a complement to both linear and streaming TV, extending reach and reinforcing messaging across screens.

What This Means for You

As we’ve seen, combining linear and streaming creates a more complete and effective TV advertising strategy. Adding an online video channel (OLV) like YouTube makes the combination even better, but in order to truly maximize your reach and frequency, it's important to have the flexibility to optimize quickly and measure the incremental impact of YouTube on sales, something you cannot easily get with Google today.

Reaching Holiday Shoppers as They Search

Not surprisingly, search remains a cornerstone of BFCM holiday strategies, with a majority of marketers (69%) ensuring their campaigns are fully set up for the season. Its predictability, intent-driven targeting, and ability to capture immediate consumer demand make search an essential complement to broader TV and digital campaigns.

What This Means for You

TV is not just driving awareness, it is sparking measurable audience interest. By closely monitoring search query volume, you can measure how TV spots translate into curiosity and downstream actions. 

Ready to Launch Your BFCM TV Campaign?

We hope these insights give you a clear view into how brands are approaching the holidays. With many planning to spend more, hedge less, and leaning on TV for scale, now’s the time to refine your own strategy. 

Learn how Tatari can help get your brand on TV just in time for the holidays. 

BFCM starts now.