The holiday quarter can deliver a surge of new shoppers, but it rarely tells a brand which of them will return. At an ADWEEK House Advertising HQ fireside chat co-hosted with Roundel, marketers from the retail media network and personal-care brand Goodwipes made the case that seasonal joy is not the finish line — it is the start of a retention window that runs all year.
Joy begins with the guest, not the channel
Roundel VP of partner solutions group Jenny Holleran opened with a familiar Target trip: a shopper arrives for one item and leaves with a Christmas tree and an unplanned $300 basket. Because purchase paths from inspiration to checkout are rarely linear, brands should design moments that add to the experience instead of interrupting it.
Goodwipes SVP of marketing Meredith Diehn said the same applies to solving real pain points. The flushable wipe brand shows up at marathons, where bathrooms can be rough, and uses elevated packaging to make the product feel a little special. Around the holidays, the focus shifts to hosts: “It’s a time of stress for people that are hosting,” Diehn said, adding that small improvements to a guest bathroom can create a moment of calm.
Keep showing up after the tentpole moment
The larger opportunity, both speakers agreed, is continuity. A holiday or Super Bowl moment may introduce the product, but joy fades if marketing does too. Holleran urged brands to keep reminding consumers why they bought in the first place until the purchase becomes routine.
Diehn added that brands should look beyond the classic retail calendar to personal inflection points: training for a marathon, packing a hospital bag, hosting relatives. These moments are smaller but often carry a more specific need.
Key lessons for marketers:
- Treat peak-season discovery as an onboarding moment, not a one-off conversion.
- Map both tentpole seasons and personal consumer milestones on the same calendar.
- Start creative and media planning from the guest’s problem, then choose channels and KPIs.
- Delight your current community with small, direct gestures — like a surprise care package.
Why this matters for retention
For marketing teams, the chat offers a practical frame: acquisition is seasonal, but habit formation is continuous. If a brand only shows up when demand is already high, it competes for attention at the most expensive time. The follow-up window after the festive season is often cheaper, less crowded, and more likely to convert a satisfied buyer into a repeat customer.
Peak-season acquisition tends to deliver a wave of low-frequency buyers. The brands that follow up with useful, context-rich moments — a hosting checklist, a travel reminder, a post-marathon care note — can move those buyers from trial to habit without fighting for attention in the busiest media window.
Diehn closed with the brand’s community-led example: Goodwipes DMs followers to offer care packages as a thank you. “That kind of joy, of feeling like a brand that you love loves you right back, is something that you can’t replicate,” she said.
Source: Adweek
