How brands can win Q4: Lessons from Fospha on peak season success

Q4 is the most critical time of year for retail brands, with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the festive shopping period driving a huge share of annual revenue. To cut through the noise and convert demand at scale, brands need a smart, full-funnel approach. Recent insights from Fospha show exactly what separates the top performers from the rest.

1. Invest Early in Awareness and Consideration

The best-performing brands don’t just show up at peak—they warm audiences beforehand. Fospha data recommends allocating at least 5% of budget to Awareness and Consideration before peak hits.

This ensures brands build a high-intent audience pool that can be re-engaged and converted when buying pressure is at its highest. Larger brands spending $600k+ per month see the strongest uplift when they exceed this 5% mark—up to 218% higher ROAS compared to those who don’t.

👉 Tip: Start early with Always-On campaigns designed to educate, inspire, and capture new leads so you have a strong retargeting base for peak.

2. Lean Into Meta’s Scale

Meta remains the largest spend channel for advertisers, and brands lean in even more heavily during Q4. Its scale and targeting capabilities make it a cornerstone of profitable growth.

Key learnings from BFCM 2024:

• Reels & Creator Content drive superior engagement, especially with 9:16 vertical video.

• Advantage+ campaigns delivered a 15-point higher conversion rate vs BAU last year.

• Last-click attribution only captures 18% of Meta’s value—Fospha’s measurement reveals its true incremental impact across the funnel.

👉 Tip: Test creative formats ahead of time. By peak, you should know exactly what type of content, Reels, carousels, creator-led ads—drives results for your audience.

3. Balance Conversion With Demand Generation

While the goal in Q4 is to capture as much demand as possible, the smartest brands strike the right balance across the funnel:

• 90% of budget during peak is allocated to Conversion campaigns to drive sales.

• But this only works if you’ve already primed audiences through Awareness and Consideration activity beforehand.

  
  

4. Don’t Sleep on TikTok

TikTok’s influence is growing rapidly. Fospha data shows top advertisers allocate 25% of their TikTok budget to Brand activity (Awareness & Consideration)—and it’s paying off.

• 50% of TikTok conversions now come from new customers, proving the platform’s ability to generate fresh demand, not just close existing intent.

• During peak, when competition is fiercest, reaching and converting new high-intent shoppers at scale can be the difference between hitting and missing targets.

👉 Tip: Treat TikTok as a discovery engine. Use it to fuel the top of your funnel, then re-engage these audiences across Meta and other channels when intent is highest.

Q4 Belongs to Full-Funnel Brands

The brands who win during peak aren’t just those with the biggest budgets—they’re the ones who spend smart across the funnel. By building demand early, leaning into Meta and TikTok’s strengths, and capturing intent with Conversion-heavy campaigns during peak, you’ll set yourself up for a record-breaking Q4.