Key takeaways
- Peak season is won 90 days before the peak
- The 90-day calendar
- Margins first, volume second
Peak season is won 90 days before the peak
Every Q4, the same story: brands launch campaigns in November, hit CPM spikes, and watch ROAS collapse under competition. The brands that win peak season start in September. The calendar is the strategy.
The 90-day calendar
Days 90-60: creative and catalogue groundwork - 30+ creative variants produced, product feeds cleaned, and loyalty and cart flows audited. Days 60-30: audience and creative testing - discounts excluded from creative so the offers are proven, not just the products; high-margin bundles designed; email and WhatsApp segments built. Days 30-7: hype and priming - early-access signups, waitlists and collection drops to a warm list. Days 7-0: launch sequencing - VIP early access first, then public, with the best margins in the early window.
- Day 90-60: creative volume, feed hygiene, flow audit
- Day 60-30: creative testing, bundles, segments
- Day 30-7: early access, waitlists, hype content
- Day 7-0: VIP window, then public launch
Margins first, volume second
Peak season punishes brands that discount without a margin map. Set a floor ROAS per product tier before the season; discount bundles and high-margin lines, never the flagship alone. After the peak, the playbook flips: win-back flows for the new customer file and a January retention calendar - the buyers you acquired at the most expensive time of year are worth the most in the cheapest one.
