How marketers can use AI to sleigh this shopping season
Black Friday isn't dead. Last year, online sales jumped 10.2% year over year to $10.8bn in the US. And the real opportunity stretches from early November through January, as Black Friday blends into Christmas and general holiday buying.
The problem: audiences are tuning out. By November, 67% hit marketing fatigue, and 49% stop buying from brands after seeing the same ads on repeat. Reach without relevance just burns budget.
Consumers are open to AI - if you use it with care
People are warmer to AI this year: 68% feel positive about its possibilities, up from 62% in 2024, according to Kantar's Media Reactions study. That's momentum you can work with.
But don't lose the plot. Only 16% of internet users feel represented in AI-generated ads, and 30% are uneasy about how their data is used. Translation: prioritize creative diversity, be explicit about privacy, and earn trust every step of the way. Source
"Use AI as an end-to-end partner, not a shortcut," says Marko Johns, UK managing director at Seedtag. Let it inform audience insight, guide creative choices, and optimize performance in real time so your work feels personal, not pushy.
1) Read the room before you deck the halls
Use real-time, neuro-contextual signals to understand mindset and motivation before and during your campaign. This approach blends AI and neuroscience to predict emotional tone and likely reactions so your creative lands and lasts longer under heavy frequency.
Seedtag's neuro-contextual engine, Liz, analyzes over 80 million articles daily and found that 24% of Christmas-related content mentions Black Friday. Treat the entire season as one journey. People start searching for deal previews, product comparisons, and shopping tips in early November. Plan a pre-event phase to build intent, then retarget and convert late shoppers after the peak.
2) Wrap creative in relevant emotion
Build stories that match the moment. AI can analyze context, advise on emotional levers, and dynamically adapt creative. In trials, this approach has lifted purchase intent by up to 10 points and brand recall by eight points.
Seasonality matters by category: tech leads on Black Friday with functional value and utility, while alcohol peaks at Christmas on the back of social connection. People think in moments, not categories. Blend logic and emotion to fit where they are and why they're buying.
3) Keep the magic going throughout
Don't set and forget. Make mid-flight optimization a habit. Precision now beats presence: brands with fewer, more focused assets (think Dyson or Lidl) often drive stronger engagement than those flooding every feed.
Performance spikes when creative matches emotional highs. That's why brands like DFS and Kärcher see surges when messages fit the mood, not just the schedule. Listen, learn, and adjust so your campaign feels alive.
Practical playbook you can run this week
- Audit fatigue risk: tighten frequency caps, build 3-5 creative variations per audience, and rotate offers and CTAs.
- Map moments across Nov-Jan: pre-event education, event urgency, and post-event retargeting and replenishment.
- Create an emotion x function grid per vertical and test a simple 2x2 set of messages and formats.
- Instrument signals: context, sentiment, time-of-day, and inventory to trigger on-the-fly swaps of headlines, visuals, and CTAs.
- Go privacy-first: use contextual signals over IDs, keep consent flows clean, and communicate how data improves the ad experience.
- Measure what matters: weekly creative reviews, brand lift where possible, and incrementality testing to prove contribution.
Tools and training
If you're using neuro-contextual platforms (like Seedtag), connect creative and media teams with a shared feedback loop. Feed the system with real audience signals, and let results inform the next iteration.
Want to upskill your team quickly? Check out this practical certification for marketing specialists to sharpen prompts, creative testing, and privacy-first setup: AI Certification for Marketing Specialists.
The bottom line
This season, relevance beats reach and empathy beats interruption. Read the room, match the emotion, and keep optimizing. Do that, and your brand stays on the "good" list long after the lights come down.
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