Unwrapping Your Holiday Advertising Opportunities With Audio

The holiday season is quickly approaching. Summer is coming to an end soon, snow days are near, and stores across the country are ready to press play on Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Holiday shopping is already on some consumers' radars, and we made it easier for advertisers to get in their ears with our holiday marketing ideas. 

Holiday Planning Starts Earlier than You Think

Sales and offers influence early shopping, with half of consumers saying they like to take advantage of sales and deals all-year-round to buy the perfect gift and save it for the holidays—and two in three consumers were shopping during key sales events. As prices everywhere rise, staying on a budget has become increasingly important to shoppers in recent years. In fact, almost half say they shopped for sales more than usual during the 2024 holiday season. And 36% of listeners are listening to music while they do it. Advertisers can tap into this early holiday excitement to influence spending with themed stations on Pandora. Popular throughout the year, listening on our holiday stations sees traffic well before the holiday period leading up to December 25th. 

Popularity peaks during the week of Christmas—and it’s not limited to Pandora's Christmas stations. Just take a look at some of our other popular holiday-themed stations:

Today’s Christmas

• 1.2M listeners in December 2024

• 429 average minutes per listener

Holiday Hits

• 2.5M listeners in December 2023

• 389 average minutes per listener

Influence Spending Before, During, and After the Holidays

Black Friday isn’t the only time consumers are leaned in and ready to shop. Instead, they’re fully engaged for weeks after Black Friday as they search for last-minute gifts, like the seven in 10 shoppers who started their holiday shopping within 60 days of the holidays. To make the most of this timing, brands can jingle all the way through the consumer journey to Christmas Eve and beyond. As shoppers prepare for the festivities, they’re tuned in at home, on the go, shopping, and with friends and family. In fact, 80% of listeners listened to music in a vehicle, and two in five listened while traveling or taking a road trip for the holiday season. With consumers plugging in to get in the holiday mood, we see upswings in listening on Pandora. These changes in listening and engagement are an opportunity for brands to reach audiences as they celebrate with family and friends. 

Be a Part of Their “New Year New Me” Plans

If you’re not planning on connecting with your audiences all the way through New Year’s Day, you’re missing out—60% of Pandora listeners ages 18+ plan to celebrate New Years Eve/Day. And 56% plan to listen to music while ringing in the new year.  

New Year’s holiday listening picks up promptly after Christmas Day and we see big shifts in Pandora listening. Check out the trending Pandora stations that listeners tuned in to for last year's New Years Eve celebrations:

• New Year's Eve Party (+721% in listeners, +1671% in station adds)

• 2016 New Year's Eve Party (+139% in listeners, +711% in station adds)

• 2014 New Years Eve Party (+117% in listeners, +1114% in station adds)

Get in on the Sound of Celebration

This holiday season, be a part of a curated collection on SoundCloud, where festive tracks are designed to bring comfort, cheer, and connection. Each featured track will be visually “wrapped” by your brand, existing album art, and clickable brand creative that sends users to a location of your choice—all wrapped up in a branded profile on SoundCloud. 

In addition to platform takeovers, promoted tracks are there to help advertisers maximize reach and impact potential. Your brand can seamlessly align with new music and emerging talent in a native environment where SoundCloud users are accustomed to seeing their favorite content. 

Give Your Brand Messages the Gift of Podcasts

Podcast listening has grown 49% in the last five years. The on-the-go, listen-anywhere nature of podcasts is what keeps listeners hooked. And people are craving the authenticity and connection podcasts offer, and that includes your ads. With 70M monthly listeners tuning in and topping the charts as the #1 podcast network, we’ve got opportunities on top of opportunities for you to get in their ears. 

Reach Influential Girl Bosses, Moms, Besties, and Aunties 

Did we mention we rank #1 with women? You can reach and influence these smart, hardworking, decision-making women with strong purchasing power during the holidays and beyond with us. What’s more, the SiriusXM Podcast Network reaches 44% more female listeners the next podcast network.

Baked-in Brand Messages Get Better with Podcast Sponsorships

Kelly Ripa is kicking off the holiday season with the ultimate gift-giver’s guide. To her fans, she’s known for being a thoughtful gift-giver, so listeners are all in on her passionate recommendations for brands across travel, beauty, books, and fitness. And your brand can be a part of this four-part series, where you’ll be seamlessly weaved into gift guide segments on Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa throughout the holiday season.  

Hurry Down the (Advertising) Chimney Tonight

It’s never too early to start wrapping your brand campaigns in digital audio opportunities, and consumers are ready to hear what you’ve got. Let’s chat about how to get your brand on the nice list. 

And don’t forget to snag our digital audio insights for the holiday season. It’s (almost) better than milk and cookies—check out our holiday guide for more brand opportunities. 

In the Holiday Spirit?