Plug into Autumn with Audio: Fall Marketing Ideas on Pandora

While it might still be summer, it’s not too early to start thinking of fall. The heat waves and crowds summer brings might just have you longing for chillier days—and the upcoming holiday season. And if you’re in marketing and advertising, we know your mind is already there. 

You can expect consumers to celebrate the fall holidays (and every other day) with streaming audio, giving brands the opportunity to reach them ahead of Halloween and the biggest shopping season of the year. On Pandora, listeners turn up the volume daily—but especially during the fall holiday season. They’re setting the mood for gatherings and hunting for the best deals. For advertisers planning fall campaigns, there’s a direct line to shoppers who are looking for recommendations and ready to buy.

For advertisers looking for fall marketing ideas, read on.

Holiday advertising opportunities are in season

As leaves change and pumpkin spice-flavored everything takes over, streaming audio is there for mundane moments (like working and doing chores), family bonding (like dinners and game nights), and holiday celebrations (like Halloween and Thanksgiving).

Give listeners a thrill

From eating candy to donning costumes, Halloween is all about the good times, with music enhancing the fun and frivolity. More than six in 10 adults over 18 (61%) plan to celebrate Halloween, with 65% planning to decorate. 1 These consumer habits translate into major advertising opportunities, as Halloween has grown into a major spending event. In 2025, consumers shelled out a record $13.1B, up nearly 12% year over year. 2 And they're not waiting until October to get started. Roughly half of Halloween shoppers (49%) began buying in September or earlier, offering brands plenty of potential to get a head start on messaging and promotions. 2

With almost half (49%) of listeners tuning in to music for Halloween, streaming audio should be a critical aspect of any campaign. In fact, on the day of Halloween itself, listeners added 31% more stations than on any other Friday in October. And these spooky stations saw the biggest jumps compared to the week prior: 1

• Handpicked 100: Scary Shuffle: +587% in listeners

• Frightening Sounds: +461% in listeners

• HALLOWEEN FOR KIDS: +387% in listeners

• HALLOWEEN MUSIC: +374% in listeners

And when listeners aren’t tuning in to stations, they’re playing specific soundtracks. These were the top songs on Handpicked 100: Scary Shuffle during Halloween week: 1

• "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell

• "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon

• "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr.

• “Thriller” by Michael Jackson

Brands that advertise on these stations land right in the middle of the fun.

Show some gratitude for co-listening

After Halloween, attention turns to Thanksgiving—a holiday that inevitably brings gatherings and connections (and a lot of prep work). Almost nine in 10 adults (89%) plan to celebrate Thanksgiving, 72% plan to cook or bake something special, and 69% will visit family or friends. 1Throughout all these moments, music is deeply embedded. 

Among Pandora listeners who celebrate, 56% say music provides the soundtrack to a gathering and 41% say it connects them to family and friends. 1And with many friends and family members under one roof, Thanksgiving brings plenty of co-listening opportunities. 

That sense of togetherness shows up in the listening data. Listeners added 35% more stations on Thanksgiving than on any other Thursday in November. And trending stations spiked dramatically compared to the weekend prior: 1

• Relaxing Thanksgiving: +2,620% in listeners

• Turkey & Jams: +1,040% in listeners

• Thanksgiving Day: +850% in listeners

• Swingin' Thanksgiving: +561% in listeners

• Friendsgiving: +401% in listeners

For brands looking to connect with multi-generational households for Thanksgiving, the holiday table is set.

Beat the crowds and get in early for Black Friday

The holiday deals don't wait for Thursday dinner to digest. Black Friday is no longer a single-day event; it's a multi-day consumer mindset. US retail sales (excluding automotive) grew 4.1% YoY on Black Friday in 2025, with in-store sales increasing by 1.7%. 3 And 46% of listeners 18 and up specifically shopped on Black Friday. 1

Pandora puts brand messages in consumers’ ears throughout the week leading up to one of the biggest shopping periods. On the platform, trending stations for the holiday weekend included: 1

• Blue Sky: Country Christmas: +1,715% in listeners

• A Very Yacht Christmas: +940% in listeners

• Acoustic Pop: +387% in listeners

• aura: Pandora chill: +271% in listeners

Plus, thanks to our advanced targeting solutions, you can reach listeners when they’re feeling all types of moods—energetic as they walk into the store, celebratory as they snatch the last item on the shelf, or angsty as they hurry to buy a last-in-stock item online. 

Listeners have their devices ready for Cyber Monday

If Black Friday is about shopping bags and door-buster deals, Cyber Monday is about dozens of open tabs and online carts—with the shopping event seeing a rise of 10.4% in ecommerce sales YoY in 2025. 3 Streaming audio fits naturally into the Cyber Monday experience—listeners are already on their devices, headphones are in, and they’re clicking through to product pages and browsing deals.

By Cyber Monday, listeners are fully in the holiday shopping mindset—and their playlists confirm it. Compared to the long weekend prior, trending stations included: 1

• Holiday Movie Soundtrack: +11,315% in listeners

• Blue Sky: Country Christmas: +1,975% in listeners

• A Very Yacht Rock Christmas: +1,055% in listeners

• Acoustic Pop: +424% in listeners

• aura: pandora chill: +286% in listeners

Economic pressures also help inform how consumers shop this time of year. Almost eight in 10 adults (76%) say they made any change to their shopping behaviors during the holiday season due to inflation and the economy. 4Brands that acknowledge this value-seeking mindset—through promotional creative, discount codes, or limited-time offers—are better positioned to convert engaged listeners into buyers.

Driving lifts for an auto advertiser on Black Friday 

A major auto advertiser recently proved the power of aligning a streaming audio campaign with Black Friday messaging. The brand partnered with us to generate awareness, drive affinity, and boost consideration intent among potential car buyers. The campaign leveraged these solutions: 

• Ad products: Streaming Everywhere audio placements across the SiriusXM Streaming Network

• Geo-targeting: Reaching adults 25–54 in key DMAs

• Impactful messaging: A mix of creative featuring Black Friday and end-of-year sales offers with a strong CTA

The campaign drove double-digit, significant lifts across key brand metrics among adults 45–54: 5

• +10-pt lift in unaided awareness

• +14-pt lift in aided awareness

• +18-pt lift in brand favorability

• +30-pt lift in consideration intent

• +18-pt lift in affinity scale

The campaign proved that combining digital audio, Black Friday-themed messaging, and the right audience can move the needle.

Digital audio is always in season 

Streaming audio perfectly accompanies listeners throughout sweater weather and beyond. With an endless list of options for advertisers to meet the right audiences, the full SiriusXM Streaming Network allows brands to extend their campaign reach even further.

Ready to share in the streaming audio bounty of the season? Let’s talk.

More seasonal advertising insights