Four Tips for Successful Annual Planning
Topic: Seasonal Moments
Read Time: 4 minutes
With the fiscal year for retailers set to begin in February, now is the time to get a head start on annual planning to make the most of your media investment over the next 12 months. Our team will start having conversations as soon as November, where we’ll collaborate with brands like yours to look at the year ahead with fresh eyes, discover new opportunities, and hear priorities from everyone at the table.
Here are four tips to make the most out of your annual planning conversations.
1. Start with the Big Picture
Kick off conversations by starting at square one. This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to dig right into the details without giving larger goals their time in the spotlight.
2. Keep an Open Mind
We typically have several meetings with our brand partners, pulling in different experts at Best Buy Ads — such as our Reporting & Insights team — to create a robust plan for the year. These discussions are where we encourage questions, curiosity, and discovery.
We want to help you accomplish your goals, but also want to introduce all the options available, not just familiar tactics. For example, many partners enter conversations asking for low-funnel tactics to drive immediate sales, like a robust presence on BestBuy.com. However, targeting consumers on the site and ignoring the top of the funnel can limit growth, so we might recommend earmarking budget for offsite display advertising in this case.
This type of collaboration is an exciting opportunity that we look forward to with each of our partners.
3. Be an Early Bird
Committing to inventory up-front locks you in for the year. Why is that important?
While some advertising options are plentiful for every Best Buy partner — like offsite display and paid social — others are available in finite quantities. For example, a Best Buy Ads influencer who’s booked for a holiday partnership likely won’t be able to add a second brand to their workload in that timeframe.
Another limited ad buy is an onsite takeover on BestBuy.com. Takeovers are premium placements designed to generate maximum engagement — and scarcity is what makes them such a compelling opportunity.
4. Bring Everyone to the Table
Multiple viewpoints are vitally important to the annual planning process. For that reason, we recommend bringing in as many stakeholders as possible to shape your strategy.
Brand team members and your agency partners can bring additional valuable perspectives and, at times, can extend your budget. By including a variety of perspectives, you can unearth additional opportunities upfront that will give you a more unified vision for the year ahead.
So, don’t be shy — we’re excited to have everyone at the table who wants to set your brand up for a successful year.
Ready to start planning?
Now’s the perfect time to reach out and begin your annual planning discussions. Connect with a Best Buy Ads team member today to set your brand up for success in 2024.
