Holiday shopping doesn't start on Black Friday. 42% of shoppers begin browsing and buying before November. Brands that win Q4 are shipping their holiday creative by early October and building on it as the season ramps through BFCM into the new year.
This guide breaks down how to scale your video ads based on top-performing brands on the platform.
For more insights on getting ready for BFCM, explore our complete Q4 playbook.
A format built to win
Every AppLovin ad pairs fullscreen video with an [Interactive] and [Dynamic Catalog], giving you up to 60 seconds of guaranteed attention. That gives you room to make your full holiday pitch in one shot.
The results back it up. In Q4 2025, spend on AppLovin rose 2.6x during Cyber Week and ROAS increased by 26 points, even for accounts running no promo at all.
Creative volume unlocks scale
A high volume of diverse creative creates room to scale. Upload cadence varies by category. AppLovin’s Q4 playbook breaks down weekly upload benchmarks by category, so you can see how your campaign compares. These four practices help you build volume.
- Refresh weekly. Introduce new creative weekly and whenever spend increases significantly.
- Don't pause creatives. The ad that sparks intent may not be the one that converts. Maintain coverage across the customer journey.
- Iterate on winners. A creative set at 20–40% of spend is your signal. Develop new hooks around what is working.
- Test a variety. Mix UGC, product displays, and storytelling in different lengths to help the model match each shopper with the right message
Top-performing videos in Q4 do this
Go longer than 30 seconds. 81% of top-performing videos do. You've got up to 60 seconds; use it to tell your product story.
Always use captions. Most mobile gamers play with sound off. Videos with captions outperform those without.
Lead with your offer. Interstitial videos become skippable after 5 seconds, so what you show early matters. Open with your offer or a compelling hook to keep shoppers watching.
Make evergreen videos holiday-ready. Repurpose evergreen videos with a holiday touch, layering in holiday messaging, offers, or imagery to increase volume.