The holiday season may be the most wonderful time of the year, but for marketers in 2026, making the magic happen has never been more demanding.
This week, we met with Meta to discuss the outlook for Holiday 2026. One message rose above the rest: A strong campaign won’t be enough. Brands need an operation that can keep pace with the season.
That urgency is growing as shopping habits evolve. Meta shared that 49% of people plan to use AI assistants while gift shopping, while 88% turn to social media for holiday inspiration.
Three shifts should shape how marketers prepare:
1. Use AI to Give Your Team More Capacity
Holiday teams don’t need AI to give them more to manage. They need it to take work off their plates.
Its value extends well beyond generating images and copy, from analyzing performance to identifying campaign and catalog issues. Meta’s Ads MCP shows what that can look like by allowing conversational AI assistants to support analysis, campaign creation, and troubleshooting within the platform.
No one needs to automate the entire operation before Q4. Instead, choose a few repetitive workflows where AI can save time and give marketers more room to decide what happens next.
2. Build a Creative Pipeline, Not Just an Asset Library
A bigger asset count can create the illusion of creative diversity. Five edits of the same video may fill a tracker, but they still give the platform one basic idea.
True variety comes from giving platforms genuinely varied ideas to test. Generative AI can extend strong concepts, while creators introduce fresh perspectives and styles a brand might not develop on its own.
Meta reports that creators influence 94% of purchase decisions made on its platforms during Q4. To capitalize on that influence, brands need a clear process for turning creator partnerships into scalable paid media before peak season.
3. Make Your Catalog Work Harder
Even the strongest creative can only work if it connects shoppers with the right products. Increasingly, the catalog shapes that connection.
Rather than trying to perfect the entire feed, start by making your most important holiday products easier to discover and more compelling wherever they appear. Treat product content as part of the creative strategy, not simply a technical requirement.
Prepare seasonal updates in advance so your team can adjust quickly as the season unfolds. A more flexible catalog makes it easier to respond without rebuilding the campaign each time.
What Brands Should Do Now
Before Q4:
- Choose AI workflows that will give your team time back.
- Build a creative and creator pipeline that can turn learnings into new ideas.
- Strengthen your catalog around the products and promotions that matter most.
Brands can’t predict every turn the holiday season will take. They can build a marketing operation ready to move with it.
