A playbook for Black Friday through New Year: booking creative early, budgeting for CPM spikes, a fallback GEO, and using the January lull.
The stretch from Black Friday to New Year is the most intense time of the year: CPM rises across all platforms because every vertical is fighting over the same inventory. But the payout curve shifts enough to justify the extra spend — if the campaign is planned correctly.
Book creative and landing pages early
Two weeks before Black Friday, platform moderation queues slow down noticeably because of the volume spike — anything submitted at the last minute risks getting stuck in review right when it should be live.
Budget for a CPM spike
Auction competition genuinely intensifies across almost every vertical in this period, not just e-commerce — plan bids assuming spend will run 20–40% above the usual level.
Keep a fallback GEO ready
If inventory in the main market gets too expensive to run profitably, a second GEO with less pronounced seasonal competition lets you avoid losing budget during the peak week.
Expect a real lull after the holidays
From late December through early January, demand genuinely drops in most verticals — budgets reset to zero. Use this quiet window for creative testing and account cleanup, not for pushing against a sluggish market.
In short
- Book creative and landing pages two weeks before Black Friday.
- Budget with headroom for CPM rising 20–40%.
- Keep a fallback GEO ready in case the main market overheats.
- Use the late-December to early-January lull for testing and account cleanup.
There's no universal recipe here, but the mistakes listed above cost the most and repeat the most often.