Most UK marketers are using AI for holiday campaigns - here's how to make it work
New survey data shows 78% of U.K. marketers used AI to plan, test, and optimize this year's seasonal campaigns - a 42% jump from 2024, based on a sample of 100 marketers via Optimizely. At the same time, 30% say their organization struggles to balance AI with human creativity on major campaigns.
"AI has become essential to how marketers plan, create and optimize seasonal campaigns... With consumers expecting more personalized experiences in key retail moments, AI helps teams move faster and refine experiences in real-time," said Tara Corey, SVP of Marketing at Optimizely.
What high-performing teams are doing with AI
- Segmentation and personalization: Dynamic audiences, product recommendations, and time-based offers by cohort.
- Creative iteration at scale: Generate dozens of copy and visual variants, then test quickly across channels.
- Budget and bid optimization: Shift spend based on modeled lift, channel saturation, and marginal ROI.
- On-site and in-app testing: Real-time experimentation on hero banners, CTAs, and promo sequencing.
- Lifecycle automation: Triggered emails/SMS that adapt to stock, delivery cutoffs, and cart intent signals.
Where teams get stuck (and how to fix it)
- AI vs. creative direction: Establish a clear brand story and campaign concept first. Let AI explore within guardrails, not decide the story.
- Data quality: Standardize UTMs, fix broken tags, map events to business outcomes. Garbage in, garbage out.
- Feedback loops: Set "human-in-the-loop" reviews for high-impact assets. Freeze winning variants; prune low performers.
- Governance: Approval flows for claims, discounts, and tone. Keep a log of prompts, datasets, and outputs for audits.
- Measurement: Tie tests to one north-star KPI (e.g., revenue) and 2-3 guardrail metrics (margin, returns, unsubscribes).
A simple AI playbook for seasonal spikes
- Brief: Lock the big idea, audience, offer structure, and constraints (brand voice, legal, inventory).
- Create: Use AI to draft concepts, headlines, and visual directions; shortlist with the team.
- Test: Launch small bet tests across key placements (hero, email subject lines, social ads).
- Automate: Route budget and traffic toward proven variants; cap frequency to prevent fatigue.
- Optimize: Refresh creative every 3-5 days during peak; keep a "hot swap" set ready.
- Review: Post-mortem within 72 hours of campaign close. Document prompts, winners, lessons.
Metrics that signal you're on track
- Incremental lift vs. holdout
- Conversion rate by segment and offer
- Creative fatigue (decay per impression)
- Average order value and margin impact
- Time-to-launch for new variants
Team and tooling that make this easier
Set a lightweight stack you can actually run under pressure: experimentation, messaging automation, creative generation, analytics, and a prompt library. If your team needs a starting point for testing and personalization, explore platforms like Optimizely.
- Experimentation platform for A/B and multi-armed bandits
- ESP/CDP for lifecycle automation and triggered journeys
- GenAI tools for copy and visual variations with brand presets
- Analytics (attribution + MMM, or at least channel-level lift)
- Prompt and template library tied to brand voice and compliance
Want structured upskilling for your team? See our AI certification for marketing specialists.
Privacy, consent, and creative trust
- Make data use transparent and ensure consent is easy to change.
- Set clear boundaries for sensitive attributes and exclusion lists.
- Keep human review for claims, pricing, and brand-sensitive assets.
Plan ahead: 30-60-90 for 2026
- 30 days: Audit tracking, set KPIs, create a repeatable test calendar, and define brand guardrails.
- 60 days: Build creative templates, train prompts, and run controlled experiments across 3-5 high-impact surfaces.
- 90 days: Automate budget shifts, standardize post-mortems, and prepare a holiday "quick-launch" kit.
Bottom line
AI is now standard in seasonal marketing. Use it to move faster, test smarter, and keep the creative bar high - the teams that win pair strong ideas with disciplined experimentation.
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