Optimizing Skincare Brand ROAS for Holiday Season 2024

Skincare brands must start planning early for the 2024 holiday season to maximize returns during Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM). The increasingly digital and competitive landscape demands data-driven strategies and innovative marketing approaches to stand out. 

The early bird gets the worm

Getting a jumpstart on holiday planning as early as July can give skincare brands the edge needed to meticulously prepare their campaigns and effectively scale their marketing efforts.  

One key strategy many brands adopt is investing more in high-performing channels to prepare for key selling periods like BFCM. This approach requires careful analysis of channel performance to optimize budget allocation. 

According to the latest statistics from a Fospha report, TikTok and Snapchat are the channels to watch, delivering the highest ROAS among top spend and growth channels respectively. 

Additionally, scaling spend in the week leading up to Black Friday has proven to be particularly effective, resulting in an 83% increase in ROAS for the studied group (October vs. November of the year).  

These insights highlight the importance of strategic channel selection and timing in holiday marketing. Skincare brands should consider allocating significant portions of their budget to these high-performing platforms, particularly in the critical weeks before BFCM.

The full-funnel marketing magic

Adopting a full-funnel marketing strategy ensures that brands engage with potential customers from awareness to conversion and beyond. 

According to McKinsey, a thoughtful and data-driven full-funnel marketing strategy can drive significant value, with leading organizations achieving a 15 to 20 percent lift in marketing ROI.  

This approach emphasizes the importance of integrating brand building and performance marketing through linked teams, measurement systems, and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Capitalizing on upper-funnel opportunities

While many brands focus heavily on conversion-driven activities during BFCM, there's a significant opportunity in upper funnel marketing. Investing in top-of-the-funnel activities can create a sustainable flow of new customers in the long term.  

Interestingly, during peak periods like BFCM, competition is often lower for upper funnel activities as most brands concentrate on conversion-focused campaigns. 

This presents an opportunity for skincare brands to gain a competitive edge. By investing in awareness and consideration stages, brands can build a pipeline of potential customers that extends beyond the holiday season. 

According to The Business Research Company, the global skincare market is expected to grow from $134.1 billion in 2023 to $143.5 billion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.0%. This growth is driven by factors such as consumer awareness, influencer marketing, and the rise of personalized skincare solutions.

CeraVe’s TikTok success

CeraVe provides a compelling example of successful upper funnel marketing. Their "Cleanse Like a Derm" TikTok Live event led to a 52% increase in sales of CeraVe core cleansers during the event week compared to the same period the previous year. Their strategic use of influencer marketing and educational content also helped them connect with a younger, digitally savvy audience. 

This success story illustrates how engaging, platform-specific content can yield substantial results. It also highlights the importance of adapting to emerging platforms and trends, particularly those favored by younger demographics like Gen Z and Millennials. 

Overcoming performance measurement challenges

Accurate performance measurement poses one of the biggest challenges in implementing an effective full-funnel strategy.  

As noted by Sam Carter, CEO of Fospha, "B2C marketers struggle to accurately measure performance. This creates a barrier for scaling at an acceptable profit margin. Proper measurement is crucial - particularly during peak when it matters most". 

Click-based measurement often undervalue the impact of upper funnel activities, leading to underinvestment in these crucial areas. Skincare brands should consider adopting full-funnel measurement approaches, which enable better decision-making and resource allocation. 

Never too early to start planning

As skincare brands gear up for the 2024 holiday season, the winning strategy is a balanced, data-driven approach. By leveraging high-ROAS channels like TikTok and Snapchat, adopting a full-funnel marketing strategy, and not overlooking upper funnel activities, brands can set themselves up for success not just during BFCM, but well into the future. 

Early planning, starting this month, allows for thorough preparation and effective scaling of campaigns. By combining these strategies with accurate full-funnel performance measurement, skincare brands can handle the tough holiday market and achieve sustainable growth in the dynamic beauty industry.