Most brands treat the day after Christmas like the season is over. They pause spend, recycle tired creative, and hope Q1 somehow figures itself out. Meanwhile, the best brands treat late December through late January as a distinct opportunity window where competition drops, attention is cheaper, and warm audiences are still in-market.

Meta itself has pushed the idea of “Q5,” noting that a meaningful share of shoppers keep purchasing after the holidays and positioning that period as a chance to capture lower CPMs. Facebook+1 Several industry analyses also show the same directional pattern across platforms, with CPMs falling from December into January in prior-year data. rightsideup.com+1

This blog breaks down how we approach post-holiday paid media at Convert Via, including creative resets, channel-by-channel execution, measurement sanity checks, and how to align paid with onsite conversion so you are not paying for traffic your site cannot convert.

1. The post-holiday paid media shift: why “Q5” can be a profit window

After the shipping cutoff frenzy and the BFCM auction wars, many advertisers pull back. That typically creates cheaper inventory and less noise, but the shopper intent does not disappear. It changes.

What shifts after the holidays

• Auction pressure usually relaxes as advertisers pause campaigns, which can reduce CPMs. Facebook+2rightsideup.com+2

• Shopper intent moves from gifting to self-purchase, upgrades, routines, and “I have gift cards” behavior.

• Retargeting pools are at their largest because Q4 drove heavy traffic.

Convert Via POV

We do not treat this like a continuation of Q4 promos. We treat it like a new season with a new buyer mindset and a new creative playbook.

2. Creative reset: the fastest lever for better ROAS after the holidays

Post-holiday performance is won or lost on creative. The biggest mistake is running gift-themed creative into January or continuing with blanket discount messaging when the shopper is no longer in deadline mode.

Creative angles that win post-holiday

• Self-gift: “You deserve the upgrade”

• Reset: “Start the year organized”

• Routine: “Make this part of your daily setup”

• Utility: “Built for everyday use”

• Social proof: reviews, testimonials, UGC, before-and-after

Creative formats we prioritize

• Short UGC demos (problem, product, result)

• Product-in-use lifestyle clips

• Creator-style voiceover ads

• Simple benefit callouts with clean visuals

• Catalog and dynamic product ads for retargeting, but with refreshed hooks

Platform-specific creative notes

• TikTok’s own guidance emphasizes TikTok-first creative that feels native, uses trends appropriately, and avoids over-polished production. TikTok For Business+2TikTok For Business+2

Convert Via POV

We plan creative like a pipeline, not a one-off. If you are not shipping new creative weekly in January, you will hit fatigue fast and misread it as “Q1 demand is weak.”

3. Channel playbook: Meta, Google, TikTok

Meta: reset the structure, then feed the machine creative

Meta can be especially efficient post-holiday when the auction cools, but only if you do not keep forcing Q4 structure.

What we adjust

• Consolidate campaigns to reduce fragmentation

• Use broad targeting with strong creative volume, then let delivery learn

• Refresh Advantage+ inputs and keep first-party signals clean

• Control frequency and rotate hooks aggressively

What we measure

• Incremental lift indicators, not just platform ROAS

• Creative-level performance trends (fatigue vs genuine demand)

Meta’s own holiday guidance explicitly frames the post-holiday period as a continued shopping window, not a dead zone. Facebook+1

Google: align feeds, assets, and landing pages, then validate incrementality

Google performance is often limited by product feed quality and landing page relevance. This is where a lot of brands waste spend on “almost right” traffic.

What we adjust

• Refresh Performance Max assets and ensure you have enough creative variety

• Audit product feed titles, imagery, and availability

• Align ad promise to landing page promise, especially for self-gift and upgrade angles

• Use incrementality tools when possible

Google’s Conversion Lift is an incrementality tool designed to measure conversions directly driven by people seeing your ads. Google Help Google also continues to expand Performance Max reporting and controls, which matters for post-holiday optimization. Google Help

TikTok: win with native creative and fast testing loops

TikTok can be a strong post-holiday growth channel, especially for discovery and self-purchase themes, but it punishes stale ads quickly.

What we adjust

• Build TikTok-first creative, vertical, fast pacing, clear hook

• Test more variants with smaller budgets to find winners

• Use creator-style formats, not polished commercials

TikTok’s own creative best practice guidance stresses native-feeling content and frequent creative refreshes. TikTok For Business+1

4. Measurement sanity: how to avoid fake wins in January

Post-holiday results can look amazing while attribution is lying to you. Retargeting gets cheaper, branded search rises, and email plus SMS are active. If you are not careful, you will scale spend that is not actually incremental.

How we keep measurement honest

• Track blended efficiency metrics like MER and blended ROAS alongside channel ROAS

  • Triple Whale defines blended ROAS and notes MER as the inverse ratio. Triple Whale+1
    
    

• Use incrementality testing when possible

  • Incrementality testing compares treatment vs control to measure true causal impact. Amplitude+1

  • Google’s Conversion Lift is a direct tool for incrementality measurement. Google Help

  • Meta also frames lift tests around test and holdout methodology to estimate incremental conversions. Facebook+1

Convert Via POV

January is when we push for cleaner measurement because it sets the baseline for the year. If you start Q1 with inflated attribution, you will make expensive planning decisions that look “data-driven” but are actually wrong.

5. Post-click conversion: paid media only works if the site keeps the promise

After the holidays, shoppers are less forgiving. If your landing page does not immediately match the ad, they bounce. If performance is slow, paid traffic becomes a tax instead of a growth lever.

What we align before scaling

• Landing page message match: headline, offer, and imagery must reflect the ad hook

• Above-the-fold clarity: what it is, why it matters, who it is for

• Personalized merchandising: show relevant products fast, not everything

• Performance basics: remove leftover Q4 scripts, keep pages light, protect Core Web Vitals

Convert Via POV

We treat paid and onsite as one system. If your paid team is iterating faster than your site experience, you are leaking margin with every click.

6. How Convert Via helps

We help brands reset paid media after the holidays without losing momentum:

• Post-holiday paid media audit across Meta, Google, TikTok

• Creative strategy and testing roadmap, including ad variations by angle and format

• Feed and Performance Max asset optimization

• Landing page builds and CRO for post-holiday intent

• Measurement cleanup, blended metrics, and incrementality planning

• Retention coordination so paid does not cannibalize email and SMS

Post-holiday is not the time to retreat. It is the time to reframe, rebuild, and take cheaper attention while everyone else is asleep at the wheel.