Paid Media Strategies to Leverage the Low Season and Prepare for Success

The low season is an opportunity to refine strategies, test new approaches, and strengthen the brand, though it can also present challenges. What can you do to make the most of these moments in paid media?

First and foremost, optimising your budget is essential. Keeping only the best-performing campaigns active allows you to maximise returns by focusing on products or services with high demand or strong growth potential, even during the low season. For instance, identifying high-performing campaigns through key metrics such as ROAS or conversion rates can help determine where to continue investing. Less is more: every pound counts when resources are limited.

Another key strategy is to tailor creatives to the context of the low season, measuring the effectiveness of these changes using indicators such as engagement or click-through rate (CTR) to ensure the adaptations yield positive results. For B2C, relaxed tones can evoke preparation for future key moments, while in B2B, positioning your offer as part of planning for the next quarter or cycle is key. This keeps the message relevant and avoids creative fatigue.

The low season is also the perfect time to explore new channels. Often, brands focus on media that generate short-term conversions, but this is the time to test emerging platforms like TikTok, Pinterest, or even Spotify. While these may not yield immediate results, they help build presence and familiarity, which can be invaluable when demand picks up.

Retargeting and reactivation are crucial during these periods, allowing you to capitalise on audiences who have previously shown interest. This is particularly effective in low seasons when acquiring new users is more challenging and expensive. Targeting users who expressed interest but didn’t convert, offering personalised incentives, can make all the difference. Additionally, segmented reactivation email campaigns can rekindle potential customers who already know the brand but haven’t yet taken action.

There’s also room for creativity. Producing micro-content that’s educational or adds value provides an extra benefit to the customer, keeps them engaged, and strengthens the perception of the brand as a sector leader. Short videos, tips on social media, or ads that educate rather than just sell can also stand out.

Finally, preparing for the upcoming season is one of the most profitable actions you can take during periods of low demand. Investing time in creating high-quality creatives, messages, and offers tailored to future trends and target segments ensures a competitive edge when demand returns.

The low season doesn’t have to be a hurdle—it can be a springboard to the next period of high demand. It’s all about perspective and strategy.

What are your best strategies for the low season?

Attribution Strategies for High and Low Consideration Products in Paid Media

Consideration in the buying process is a key factor that affects both the marketing strategy and the attribution model we implement. Differentiating between high and low consideration products or services significantly influences how we approach digital advertising.

For low-consideration products (whether B2B or B2C), purchasing is more impulsive, the decision process is brief, and the focus is on aspects such as availability and price. Here, attribution tends to be more straightforward. A model that focuses on the user’s most recent interaction is often used, as these products have a short decision cycle and a transactional focus.

On the other hand, when we talk about high-consideration products, the approach changes significantly. Decisions typically involve multiple stakeholders and require more time and analysis. In the B2B realm, this means long and complex sales cycles. Here, it is essential to choose an attribution model that captures the cumulative impact of each interaction, adjusting the attribution window to properly reflect the customer journey. The goal is to attract, educate, and build trust throughout the process.

Let’s consider a practical example: a campaign to sell a standard printer in the B2B space versus a campaign for a complex ERP software. This contrast illustrates how different levels of consideration require distinct approaches in terms of attribution models, to adapt to the complexity and duration of the decision process. The printer, being a low-consideration product, might have a shorter attribution cycle, possibly incentivised by a direct offer. But the ERP software would require multiple touchpoints: remarketing ads, downloadable content, forms, demos, and meetings, with the value of each interaction needing to be assessed to understand the customer’s journey.

The important thing is not to apply the same analytical criteria to all campaigns, but to recognise the nature of the product and how users progress along their journey. In paid media, it’s essential to adapt the attribution model based on the type of consideration and the value of the product or service. In addition to optimising campaign performance, you’ll also gain specific insights into purchasing preferences, friction points, and customer decision patterns.

What kind of products or services do you usually manage in your campaigns? High or low consideration? Let me know in the comments.

General Principles of CRO for Paid Media Professionals

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is an essential process today for maximising return. But how can we improve it? Below, I present the fundamental principles of CRO, adapted to the context of Paid Media.

1. Attention: It all begins with capturing the user's attention. The relevance of the message is key. An advert can catch the eye, but if it doesn’t connect with the user’s real needs and desires, it will be lost.

2. Context: It’s not enough to capture attention; it must be done at the right moment and with the right message. This means understanding the customer journey and adapting campaigns to align with the user’s intent. Why is this important? Because a message that is out of context can be ignored or, worse, create a negative perception of the brand.

3. Clarity: A basic but often underestimated principle. Clarity in the message and what you offer removes friction and reduces uncertainty. A user who fully understands what is being offered and the benefits they will gain is much more likely to convert.

4. Congruence: Congruence ensures that all elements of the campaign—from the ad to the landing page—work in perfect harmony. Any disconnect in this flow can create distrust and negatively affect conversions. Have you ever wondered why a campaign with good copy, good creatives, good search terms, and a high CTR in the ad still doesn’t convert on the landing page? Here’s your potential answer.

5. Credibility: Don’t underestimate the power of credibility. Testimonials, case studies, and social proof strengthen the user’s trust in your offering. Nowadays, consumers are more informed and sceptical than ever before, and credibility can set you apart from the competition.

6. Closing: This is where all the previous work is either validated or lost. A clear and compelling call to action is what turns that attention into a concrete action. Are you using the right CTAs in your campaigns?

7. Continuation: Optimization doesn’t end with the conversion. You need to think about the post-conversion experience and how to keep those new customers engaged and satisfied. Are you nurturing your customers to foster loyalty and future conversions?

8. CRO isn’t just a technical discipline; it’s a way of understanding marketing that puts the user at the heart of every strategy.

For those looking to maximise the impact of their Paid Media campaigns, it’s time to dig in deeper into this topic and apply it strategically.

Have you had any particular CRO strategies that have worked well for you?