Post-Holiday Momentum: Why Q5 Is a Golden Window for Advertising

December is one of the most intense periods for brands aiming to maximize visibility ahead of the holidays. This is when media activity traditionally surges: multiple formats are activated, ad frequency rises, and overall competition peaks. For many advertisers, it’s a key opportunity to reinforce brand presence in the minds of their audience before the year ends.

In the middle of an active campaign, our client Jägermeister approached newage. with a request to further strengthen performance, the goal was to explore options for broader reach to outpace competitors. Since the audience had already been extensively covered through various formats, the team looked for an alternative way to expand impact without oversaturating exposure.

After analyzing the market and media activity during the pre-holiday season, we proposed continuing the campaign during Q5 — the period immediately following the New Year peak. This approach made it possible to maintain audience engagement, avoid oversaturation, and achieve better results amid lower competition.

Situation Analysis

By the time the new request came in, the campaign was already running at high intensity:

A wide range of media formats had already been activated, including banners, video, social media, and direct placements.
Ad frequency was approaching the upper limit of effectiveness.
Between December 17 and 30, auction bids began to rise significantly.
CPM in the alcoholic beverages category was notably higher than the market average.

Injecting additional budget under these conditions could have led to a further increase in CPM, which was already rising, and pushed ad frequency beyond optimal levels.

Exploring an Alternative Path

The newage. team proposed a different approach: instead of increasing pressure during a period when the audience was already saturated, we recommended shifting part of the activity to the post-holiday window. Based on the analysis of media performance and the competitive landscape, the decision was made to extend the campaign into January, the time frame known as Q5.

Q5: A Quiet Window with a Loud Impact

Q5 is an informal term used to describe the period that begins right after Q4, starting in January. While there are officially only four quarters in a year, marketers distinguish Q5 as a unique media window with its dynamics and advantages.

While most brands hit the pause button on advertising after the New Year holidays, strategic marketers see this period as an opportunity. In professional terms, this phase — known as Q5 — may be unofficial, but it represents a highly promising window for launching advertising campaigns.

Why Launch Campaigns During Q5?

Post-Holiday Advantage. Q5 isn’t just the “leftovers” of the holiday season — it’s the perfect point to kick off a new phase of brand presence. While most companies scale back after Black Friday, Christmas, and New Year’s, a valuable window opens up in the advertising landscape. This is the moment when it’s easier to capture attention, go live without excessive competition, and do so with fresh messaging, renewed energy, and reduced costs.
Lower Auction Costs. With reduced competition comes a drop in CPM and CPC. In our case, Meta’s CPM decreased by 35% — a common pattern for Q5.
The Audience Stays Online. Even after the holidays end, users — especially younger ones — continue to spend time online. They remain active on social media, YouTube, streaming platforms, and news outlets, and search for new plans with more free time on their hands.

Rethinking Media Placement: How the newage. Team Adapted the Media Plan for Q5

The media plan was expanded not to lose audience contact after the holidays, but rather to seize the moment when consumer attention is easier to capture.

The campaign continued in January, not as a “leftover effort,” but as a new wave of communication. This helped ease the pressure of December, avoid oversaturation, and maintain a smooth and consistent brand presence.

We approached Q5 not as a “relaunch,” but as a standalone, full-fledged phase of the campaign. This strategy allowed for more efficient budget allocation and took advantage of a less competitive media environment.

The media plan was designed to be flexible: we started with moderate pressure during the first weeks of January, then gradually scaled up the communication pace to match market dynamics. As a result, the brand remained visible, relevant, and — just as importantly — cost-efficient.

Q5 in Action: Tools and Channels

To bring the Q5 strategy to life and maintain communication effectiveness after a saturated December, we developed a flexible, multi-channel campaign. The focus was placed on formats that resonate with younger audiences and help reduce the cost of reach without sacrificing the depth of engagement.

Platforms:

DV360 — a powerful tool for maximizing reach and boosting brand awareness. Unlike other platforms, it enables precise control over frequency across all audience tiers, delivering additional reach while maintaining effective campaign management.
Meta Ads — used to engage relevant audiences through interest-based targeting and remarketing, with a focus on Instagram, where a significant share of the active youth audience is concentrated.
Streaming platforms — leveraged to connect with digitally active audiences who are typically less responsive to standard ad formats and traditional placements.

Formats:

Video sequence — an ideal format for building a brand narrative over time, gradually increasing user engagement, and optimal frequency for impact.
45-second spot — our top-performing format for immersive storytelling and deeper emotional connection with the audience.
Shorts — a cost-efficient tool for extending reach through short, viral content that resonates with mobile users.
VRC (Video Reach Campaign) — helped reduce the cost of reaching warm and hot audiences by delivering precise, effective interactions with high-value segments.

We also applied an agile approach: starting with moderate intensity in early January and gradually scaling up the activity based on audience behavior and shifts in auction dynamics.

Less Noise, More Impact: How the Campaign’s Effectiveness Evolved

Switching to Q5 not only reduced placement costs, but it also significantly improved performance across all key channels. A comparison between December (Q4) and January (Q5) clearly shows that launching during a less competitive period led to a noticeable decrease in cost per reach, impressions, and clicks. This shift allowed for more efficient media spending while maintaining high-quality brand engagement.

The most significant improvements were seen on Display & Video 360 and Meta Ads platforms:

These results confirm a clear pattern: lower competition = better cost efficiency for the same (or even greater) impact.

Beyond cost reductions, the campaign delivered several strategic advantages:

We reached new audience segments by targeting resort locations, streaming platforms, and youth-oriented interests.
We maintained a high level of brand engagement, as users interacted with the videos instead of simply skipping them.
We optimized frequency balance, avoiding audience fatigue that often peaks in December.
We tested a new streaming platform, which allowed us to reach an additional, hard-to-capture young audience.

Not the End of the Season, but a New Start: The Power of the Q5 Strategy

This campaign proves that strategic timing is just as crucial as creativity or budget. Reinforcing activity during Q5 wasn’t just a tactical move — it was part of a broader strategy rooted in market context, audience behavior, and auction dynamics. By treating timing as a core lever, not an afterthought, we unlocked greater efficiency and impact.

Instead of December overload, an efficient January wave. Instead of rising costs, optimized spending. Instead of a post-holiday pause, active brand-building among a young, digital-savvy audience.

In our case, Q5 wasn’t a pause — it became a continuation of the brand’s dialogue with its audience and proved to be a valuable, results-driven component of a modern media strategy.

Successful campaigns are rarely built on templates. If you value an approach that considers context, audience behavior, and strategic timing, let’s talk. At newage., we help brands not just launch ads, but do it with purpose and precision.

Drop us a message if you’d like to discuss your post-peak strategy or explore new audience segments together.

Interested in more examples? Here are a few case studies that might inspire your next move:

FAQ: Post-Holiday Advertising and the Q5 Period

Should you launch advertising campaigns after the New Year holidays?

Yes, post-holiday advertising often delivers better results than during the peak holiday season. During the Q5 period, competition among brands decreases, allowing advertisers to achieve lower CPMs and greater reach with the same budget.

What is Q5 in advertising and marketing?

Q5 is a commonly used term for the post-holiday period (typically January to early February) when most advertisers reduce their activity. For brands that continue or relaunch campaigns, Q5 becomes an optimal time for testing, scaling, and acquiring new audiences.

Why does CPM usually decrease after the holidays?

After the holiday season, many companies pause their advertising or reduce budgets, which lowers auction pressure in advertising platforms. As a result, cost per thousand impressions (CPM) decreases, while placement efficiency increases.