Observed Signal · Nov 30, 2025 · Industry Trend · Source: State of Streaming · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Advertisers Shift Holiday Campaigns Earlier (Holiday Creep)
Advertisers are advancing holiday marketing into early fall — a trend dubbed “holiday creep” — to reach financially strained consumers who begin shopping earlier to spread costs. A Simpli.fi report cited by State of Streaming shows a roughly 24-fold spike in early holiday ad spending versus prior peaks. Brands are reallocating existing budgets to run awareness on channels like TV and YouTube in September and October while reserving conversion-focused spend (especially search) for November. The move is accelerating adoption of Connected TV (CTV) and shoppable ad formats (QR-driven creatives), with direct-response interactions up more than 50% year-over-year. Despite weak consumer sentiment surveys, overall ad-market projections for 2025 were revised upward to about $1.17 trillion, reflecting resilient ad demand across channels.
Shifts campaign timing and channel mix (CTV, video, search) affect media planning, inventory demand, measurement windows and budget allocation across the ad ecosystem.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- State of Streaming reports advertisers are shifting holiday campaigns into September and October, a trend called "holiday creep".
- A Simpli.fi report cited a 24-fold spike in early holiday ad spending compared to previous peaks.
- Advertisers are using TV and YouTube for earlier awareness while holding conversion budgets (notably search) for November peak shopping.
- Connected TV (CTV) and shoppable ad formats (QR-enabled) are accelerating; direct-response ad interactions rose more than 50% year-over-year.
- Global ad-market projections for 2025 were revised to approximately $1.17 trillion, per the article.
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