Sprinting during the holidays or a marathon strategy?

The holidays are just around the corner, and for many brands, this is the perfect time to be visible and fully invest in campaigns. But is that really the best strategy? Or is it smarter to spread your efforts throughout the year, so you not only benefit from peak moments but also from consistent visibility and long-term results?

We spoke about this with Marketing Manager Emile and Consumer Account Manager Tim from Epson Netherlands. Epson is globally known as a supplier of printers, projectors, and other innovative technologies for both consumers and businesses. Emile and Tim explain how Epson advertises via bol, how they adjust their campaigns throughout the year, and which approach is especially important during the holidays.

Read on and discover Epson's perspective: is it smart to go full throttle during the holidays, or to build a strategy that yields returns all year round? We're going to ask them…

Of course! I'm Emile, and I've been with Epson for over three years now. I'm responsible for marketing and PR for Epson in the Netherlands. Tim has been with Epson for 9.5 years as a Consumer Account Manager, and among other things, he focuses on our collaboration with bol.

Epson is a Japanese technology company with nearly 80,000 employees worldwide. We are primarily known for our printers and projectors, but we also develop many other technologies, such as robotic arms and even watches. We create solutions for both home use and businesses: from compact POS printers to large industrial printers, and from home projectors to professional installations for business environments.

Sustainable innovation plays a major role in this. We focus on items with lower energy consumption, less waste (such as our cartridge-free printers), and the use of recycled materials. All our locations run on renewable energy, and because we manage our factories ourselves, we can ensure safe working conditions and environmentally conscious production.

Epson has been advertising via bol for years, but the way we do it has changed in recent years. Previously, the focus was mainly on sponsored products to get our printers at the top of the search results. A great example of this is our EcoTank line, a unique concept with refillable ink bottles instead of cartridges. Because this concept deserves some extra explanation, we now also use Branded Shelves and display campaigns. This way, we can clearly show how it works and why it's so convenient.

For us, advertising is not just about visibility, but also about conversion and brand awareness. We continuously monitor the results and adjust campaigns where necessary, for example, based on keywords, category performance, and budget. sponsored products remains an important foundation, but by combining it with other campaigns, we not only achieve short-term results, but we also build on Epson's long-term growth.

This period is always important for us, but it actually starts earlier. In recent years, we've noticed that people start researching weeks or even months in advance, and often only make a purchase during the holidays.

That's why we allocate extra budget and keep a close eye on everything. We look at which keywords are performing well, where we can make adjustments, and how we can use our budget smartly. During this period, there's simply more traffic and more people ready to buy, so being at the top is extra important.

You don't buy printers every week, so there are always people who need one at some point. For us, it's therefore important to be visible all year round, not just during the holidays. Of course, this period is extra important because that's when the peak in interest and purchases occurs, especially around offers. That's why we design our campaigns to cover both the research phase and the peak during Black Friday and the holidays.

No, certainly not. January is often one of our best months. The algorithm simply performs better if you let it run continuously, so we remain visible all year round. This ensures our items remain easy to find and we don't miss any opportunities.

Not everyone needs a new printer right at Christmas, but perhaps a few months later. By staying visible all year, we ensure that people already know our brand and are more likely to choose Epson when they are ready to buy.

We notice that people are loyal to Epson. Once they consider our brand, they often do make a purchase. That's why we continue to invest in visibility throughout the year and ensure that more and more people get to know us through our bol Retail Media campaigns. This way, we build long-term results step by step.

Continuity is truly essential. We never completely turn off a campaign. During quieter periods, like summer, we sometimes lower bids or allocate a bit less budget, but we always remain visible so the algorithm can continue to learn. It's better to have slightly lower bids than to run out of budget halfway through the day, because then you simply miss out on sales.

Additionally, sales and marketing at Epson are working more closely together, especially with online partners like bol. This way, we not only achieve short-term results but also build long-term growth and a strong position for the next peak moments.

What we especially want to convey is: think carefully about your approach and continue to actively adjust. Regularly check how things are going and adapt your campaigns, or consciously choose not to change anything, as long as you make a choice.

Also, actively work with the algorithm, because if you do nothing for a month, you quickly miss out on sales. bol's tools and advice really help with that. We've also adjusted our own strategy thanks to bol's reports and insights. The benchmarks show you where you stand, but of course, you have to do something with them. So keep testing, learning, and adjusting, and you'll continue to grow even outside of peak periods.

In recent months, we've done a lot with display advertising, so that people who might not have been familiar with Epson or our EcoTank concept now know us. This way, everyone looking for a printer becomes familiar with our brand.

Our long-term approach also helps the algorithm: we rank higher, so people click on our items more quickly. As soon as someone considers an Epson, we see that there's a high chance they will actually buy. This way, we remain highly visible and get the most out of the holidays, and beyond.