There is still time before International Women's Day, but clients' calendar windows are already starting to close. So let's talk about pre-holiday marketing without pink ponies.

How work is usually structured👇

Reconnaissance. 1.5–2 months in advance, they look at last year: what worked and what was wasted?

Hype (what generated the most buzz and which products "hit"). It's important not to confuse noise with sales. Atmosphere is great, but if there's no clear offer behind the beautiful picture, money will go to competitors.

Targeted strikes. People are tired of choices during this time. They need someone who says: "You need exactly this gift for your mom, take it, don't think."

But there are also rakes we step on every year. I've compiled my top observations (I've been through a lot myself):

❌ Mistake #1:
"Word of mouth. In normal times, word of mouth works. In the pre-holiday rush, clients are too lazy to forward voice messages from friends and search for contacts. They just Yandex "gift for (someone or such)." If you're not in the search results, you're not in their plans.

❌ Mistake #2: Spending the budget on advertising exactly on the holiday itself, not before, but on the date (e.g., March 8).
I believe in magic, but statistics don't. The peak of conversions is usually 2-3 days before. Then people go offline for groceries and beauty salons. On the last day, traffic is expensive, and people are already mentally in the holiday.

❌ Mistake #3: Template "30% off everything." This kills margins. People don't want a discount; they want a solution to a problem. Sell the benefit and emotion, not just a discounted product.

❌ Mistake #4: Unpreparedness of you or your warehouse and logistics. The most frustrating thing is to get a bunch of orders in a day or two and realize that couriers are overloaded and there isn't enough stock for everyone. It takes six months to clean up the reputational damage.

❌ Mistake #5: Technical work on the website. Please, don't update or redesign anything before the holidays. The site should just work and not lag.

Bottom line 👇
You need to prepare for holidays in advance and always think with your head.