What’s scarier than Halloween? Maybe retailers running holiday ads in mid-September. This week, both Etsy and eBay began running holiday-related messaging. While the latter was poking fun at Christmas Creep—the industry term for holiday merchandise and marketing that takes place far ahead of Thanksgiving—both marketers are trying to draw attention to their brands ahead of the crucial spending season.
On Monday, Etsy, the Brooklyn-based crafts marketplace, began running “Here’s to the Givers,” a campaign that highlights different seasonal products available on its platform and the makers that create them. The push includes a series of 10 30- and 15-second TV spots that will run here and in the U.K., digital ads and a social influencers campaign. Chief Marketing Officer Ryan Scott, who joined in June from pizza platform Slice, says this is the first time Etsy is running TV ads for the holidays. He also notes that consumers think of Etsy for décor ideas throughout the fall season, including for Halloween, so it made sense for Etsy to begin advertising earlier than competitors.
“We felt it was a real offensive strategy to come in at this point of time,” says Scott. “Knowing we touch a lot of people’s hearts and minds during month of September and October as well [as November and December.]” Etsy’s in-house team partnered with Frank Collective on the campaign.