From Spikes to Synergy: Why Seasonal Moments Need Evergreen Muscle
As we head into the back half of the year, it's tempting to default to the usual seasonal playbook — Labor Day, Halloween, Holiday. However, the brands that win Q4 won't just show up for the moment. They'll build momentum before it, extend relevance after it and connect it all with evergreen infrastructure that works year-round.
Let's start with what best-in-class looks like for the big three:
• Labor Day is no longer just a clearance event. It's a rising moment for snacks, beverages and outdoor categories. Winning strategies pair retail media with influencer content that taps into late-summer rituals including tailgates, road trips and back-to-routine resets. Think "last taste of summer" meets "first step into fall."
• Halloween is growing fast, especially in food and beverage, but it's still underutilized. The opportunity? Start early with evergreen content around fall flavors, family traditions and DIY inspiration. Then spike with retail media and CTV in the final two weeks. Bonus points for tying it to loyalty or CRM programs that extend into Thanksgiving.
• Holiday remains the heavyweight, but it's evolving. Emotional storytelling still matters, but so does precision. The best campaigns now blend evergreen personalization using CRM, loyalty, and identity-based targeting with retail media's scale and closed-loop measurement. The campaigns extend beyond December 26 to include New Year's and "treat yourself" moments in January, which are key for maximizing ROI.
These examples reflect a broader shift: Seasonal moments are no longer one-size-fits-all. They're becoming fragmented, evolving and in some cases, surprising as Father's Day is now outpacing Valentine's Day in spend. Pet Month is becoming a go-to for grooming and wellness brands. Singles' Day is gaining traction in the U.S., especially among Gen Z and DTC players. The takeaway? Every season is up for reimagination.
That reimagination is being fueled by the rise of evergreen. Evergreen campaigns are projected to account for 57% of CPG digital spend in 2025, growing from $27.5 billion in 2023 to $33.5 billion, while seasonal spend is expected to reach $25.5 billion.
Evergreen tactics — like CRM, loyalty, personalization, and influencer — aren't just efficient, they’re effective because they build persistent connections with consumers and power full-funnel strategies. They even make seasonal moments work harder by surrounding them with context, relevance and continuity.
Take Prime Week. Once a mid-summer retail blip, it’s now an estimated $18.2B juggernaut — rivaling Holiday in spend. The brands that win Prime Week don't just show up for the deals. They build anticipation with evergreen storytelling, drive conversion with retail media, and re-engage post-event with loyalty and CRM.
The bottom line? Seasonal moments still matter, but they;re more powerful when they're part of a bigger, more connected strategy. One that blends the urgency of the moment with the consistency of evergreen. One that uses data not just to reach people, but to personalize their experience and treats every campaign as a building block, not a one-off.
So as Q4 approaches, the question isn't just how to show up. It's how to stay relevant — before, during and after the moment.
About the Author
Heather Campain is the vice president of CPG growth strategy at Epsilon. She has a wide range of experience spanning automotive, data & tech and CPG. From cars to candy, and beauty to beverages, she has experience across a wide spectrum of products, categories and functional teams.
Campain has led category management and insights at Mars Wrigley Confectionery, U.S. shopper marketing/retail media and customer-based e-commerce teams at Johnson & Johnson, and strategy and transformation at PepsiCo. She earned her MBA from Pepperdine University with an emphasis in organizational development and strategy.
