Every year, brands from all over the world compete in Christmas campaigns to get their messages heard and seen in the most effective ways possible. After several challenging years, the 2023 winter holiday season looks to be by far one of the best, as the number of Romanians going to the mall for Christmas and New Year's Eve increases by 17% compared to a normal period. Usually, 7 out of 10 Romanians go to the mall at least once a week (in urban areas); by the end of the year the number reaches 8, and the time spent in the mall increases by 30%. Similarly, the shopping budget of Romanians increases from an average of 300 lei per visit to over 400 lei.
According to Brand Management, the leader of the indoor advertising market and the first profile company whose services have nationwide coverage, the winter holiday season promises to be a very good one thanks to the release of marketing budgets, at the end of a difficult year with many fiscal changes that generated a cautious attitude in the market. In practice, during the Christmas holidays, 60% of Brand Management's clients generate a quarter of the company's annual activity and almost a third of its turnover.
“The last quarter of this year ends for us with a turnover increase of 200% compared to the same period last year. From the point of view of holiday campaigns, the percentages remained the same as in previous years - about 30% of the turnover was generated by the winter holidays campaigns. In terms of total turnover, we had a 35% increase in 2023 and we estimate that we will keep the upward trend next year as well," says Georgian Drăghici, Brand Management Commercial Director.
The current trends in the field of advertising in shopping centers show that brands have been convinced of the effectiveness of exposure in the indoor environment which brings them closer to the consumer, to the moment when they makes the purchase decision.
The most requested spaces remain those with intense traffic, such as the atrium area or the food courts, where 5 out of 10 Romanians stop to eat after shopping. Regarding the chosen geographical areas, international brands focus especially on the main cities (top 6 in order of size), but we also observe an increasing presence in the cities that complete the top 20 by number of inhabitants. So, in the latest media plans, cities such as Brăila, Galați, Târgu Mureș, Oradea, Piatra Neamț, Suceava, Alba Iulia, Arad, etc., appear more and more often. However, to plan a successful campaign, specialists must consider several criteria.
"Until now, we have made recommendations to improve exposure based on our 20-year experience. Starting with 2024, we will be able to aggregate the traffic data of the malls and hypermarkets we work with, and thus all our customers will receive data such as number of monthly visitors per location and the consumer profile (gender/generation), as it emerges from this year's market study for the indoor advertising industry conducted by Reveal Marketing. Thus, any indoor advertising campaign planning will start with the audience that can be reached and what results they can have in terms of impact and reach of the final consumer", says Georgian Drăghici.
Other criteria and tactics that have proven successful and are emerging as trends in the coming period are:
● The use of sustainable supports for cost efficiency.
● Increased attention to the companies' budget in building and implementing campaigns.
● Campaigns that offer offline-online experiences and interactions, that arouse as many senses as possible.
● Focus on demographics, which add value to any campaign, directly influencing sales growth. Knowing your audience and placing campaigns in the right place is the difference between a mediocre campaign but one that drives sales, or a great one that no one has seen.
● Global campaigns adapted to the local market, mentality, and context, so that it is easy for the consumer to relate and interact with them.
