Prepping for Q4: The Paid Ads Playbook to End the Year on a High

As digital marketers we know it’s never too early to start thinking about Q4. It’s the most competitive and potentially the most profitable stretch of the year. Between Black Friday and Christmas, consumers are bombarded with offers making it harder than ever to cut through the noise. This is why planning ahead is essential.

To put it into perspective, according to Adobe’s 2024 Digital Economy Index, UK consumers spent £3.63 billion online during Black Friday week alone last year (a 5% increase year-on-year). That’s a huge volume of transactions and an even bigger opportunity for your business.

In this blog we’ll share practical tips and strategic insights to help you get ahead of Q4 and stand out in a crowded market.

When is Black Friday 2025?

First things first, let’s look at the details. This year, Black Friday falls on Friday 28th November 2025.

With that in mind, here are our top tips!

Start Early Before the Competition Warms Up

If you’re only starting to plan your campaigns when Q4 hits you’re already behind. Ad costs, especially on Google and Meta, tend to spike during this period. For example, in Q4 2024 Google Search ad spend grew by 10% compared to the previous year, with average CPCs rising about 7%. Competition gets fierce with big players with deep pockets bidding aggressively to push costs even higher. On Meta, CPMs can jump 30-40% in November alone as everyone battles for Black Friday attention.

By starting your prep early, you avoid paying premium prices to reach cold, unfamiliar audiences. Instead you can focus on warming up prospects who already know your brand by the time the busiest shopping season hits. We recommend using August and September to test creatives and copy while CPMs and CPCs are cheaper, so your Q4 campaigns launch with the winning combination.

Move Beyond Discounts

If your brand does offer discounts during Q4 it’s important to make those offers feel meaningful rather than just another price cut. Instead of racing to the bottom with blanket discounts, consider creative alternatives like early-access sales, exclusive VIP perks for loyal customers or limited-edition bundles that feel special and unique. These types of offers add real value and help your brand stand out in a sea of generic sales.

That said not every brand wants to participate in discounting, especially if it risks devaluing their products or conflicting with their brand values. Some brands choose to take a different approach focusing on purpose-driven marketing rather than price cuts. Take inspiration from brands taking a different approach to Black Friday, like:

• Patagonia who famously avoid Black Friday discounts altogether and instead encourage responsible consumption
• LUSH Cosmetics who use the period to spread awareness of issues and charity partnerships, like using their The Cloud bath bomb to shout about their People vs Big Tech stance.
• Passenger Clothing who combine their festive campaigns with tree-planting initiatives to offset the environmental impact
• Finisterre who support marine conservation charities instead of offering discounts, turning Black Friday into Blue Friday, and Hush who work with Crisis throughout this period

Whether you choose to run discounts or not, the key is to make your communications and any offers feel authentic, valuable and aligned with your brand’s story and purpose. That’s how you truly connect with customers during the most competitive time of the year and capitalise on the surge in demand for meaningful gifts and experiences.

Think Multichannel – Because Your Customers Are

The customer journey in Q4 is anything but straightforward. While we all know and love the traditional marketing funnel, Google’s Messy Middle framework confirms it’s a far cry from reality. Shoppers might discover your brand through a TikTok video, research products via Google Shopping, browse your Instagram organically and finally make a purchase after receiving an email reminder.

A successful Q4 strategy integrates all these touchpoints (including in-store where relevant) to deliver a consistent message across channels. This means combining high-intent search ads, attention-grabbing short-form videos, dynamic retargeting campaigns and synchronised email and paid media efforts.

To maximise efficiency and brand consistency, repurpose your top-performing content into various formats, saving time and stretching your creative budget further.

Engage In Seasonal Storytelling

Festive campaigns work best when they tap into emotion – nostalgia, togetherness, humour, even a touch of self-indulgence. But it must be authentic. People are buying for family, friends and themselves and a strong narrative makes your brand more memorable than a simple ‘Buy Now’ CTA.

Think about the iconic John Lewis Christmas ads in the UK. They rarely push products directly, instead they craft heartwarming stories that stick with people long after the season ends. The 2024 campaign“The Gifting Hour” follows in that tradition. Rather than leading with discounts or product placements, it focuses on the emotional power of giving.

Another standout from 2024 was Boots’ beauty-led Christmas campaign, “The Christmas Makeover” starring Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh as a fashion-forward Mrs. Claus. The ad swapped sentimentality for empowerment, glam and humour, showcasing  an expanded beauty range while cheekily challenging festive gender roles. While the campaign sparked mixed reactions online, it also drove a 15% spike in site traffic and a 23% boost in ad awareness, proving that visibility and memorability can be just as powerful as emotional storytelling. Watch the full ad here.

Plan for the Post-Christmas Push

Don’t let your ad accounts go dark after Christmas Eve. The relatively newly-coined “Q5” is the period post-Christmas where we see a huge spike of users online paired with much cheaper CPMs and CPCs – plan ahead to leverage this.

Looking beyond Q5, according to Barclaycard, UK consumer spending in January 2024 was up 1.9% year-on-year, with health, home and personal improvement categories seeing the biggest boost. Post-Christmas and January are prime opportunities to re-engage customers, clear stock and introduce new collections or services. The goal here is retention, turn those one-off bargain hunters into year-round customers.

The Bottom Line

Q4 success is all about preparation, creativity and brilliant execution. The brands that win this season are the ones who start early, engage audiences with meaningful campaigns and carry that energy into the new year.

If you want to find a paid media agency to help you capitalise on Q4, we’d love to talk.