The Unforgivable Sin in Paid Media: When Tentpole Promos Become Afterthoughts

Okay, let's talk about something that genuinely makes my blood boil in the paid media world: ad buyers who aren't fully tapped into their client’s tentpole promotional moments.

It's more than just a missed opportunity; it's a fundamental misunderstanding of how brands actually drive revenue. And frankly, it's a failure in strategic planning.

Let me tell you two stories that illustrate exactly what I mean.

When 14% of Spend Gets 100% of the Frustration

A few summers back, Pennock.co started working with a promising new beauty brand. They were small, spending around $300-$500/day on Meta, but had a critical 4th of July promo on the horizon. We kicked off with them right around July 1st, so admittedly, everything was brand new – no deep historical data to lean on.

What happened next? The media buyer on the account simply threw all the 4th of July promo assets into the existing Business As Usual (BAU) campaign. No dedicated budget, no strategic ramp-up, just... tucked in. We came back after the long weekend, eager to see the results of their big holiday push. The reality? Roughly 14% of the entire budget for that period went towards the 4th of July promo. I was devastated. This wasn't just a mistake; it was a major strategic misstep. We had to be completely transparent with the client: it was bad planning on our part, and it cost them dearly.

"We Will Allocate $3K for Prime Day" (Said No Savvy Brand Ever)

Fast forward to summer 2025. We're talking to a prospect, a fantastic skincare brand complaining about their current agency. Their agency, supposedly lacking both beauty industry knowledge and fundamental strategy, proposed spending a paltry $3K on Amazon Prime Days this year.

Let that sink in. $3,000.

This client's entire monthly budget is $60K, and Prime Days is their second biggest tentpole outside of BFCM. How, in good conscience, could an agency justify allocating only $3K to such a pivotal moment? This isn't just baffling; it's borderline negligent. (But the agency is defending by saying it’s double what they spent last year!)

The Real Problem: A Disconnect Between Media Plans and Business Goals

Both of these stories make me absolutely irate because they stem from the same core issue: a fundamental disconnect between media buyers and their client's business realities. Good media buyers need to understand what questions to ask. They need to understand performance expectations of a promo in relationship to the full month's goals, so they can properly scale their media planning.

If your brand anticipates 45% of its monthly revenue to occur during Prime Days, then guess what? At minimum, 45% of your paid media budget should be allocated to promo ad collateral for that period. But it goes deeper: if your historical ROAS or CAC are typically unfavorable during the non-promotional days of that sale month, a truly savvy media buyer knows to flex and lean into the promo campaign strategy even harder, potentially spending even more than the revenue percentage would suggest to maximize the profitable window.

This isn't rocket science; it's about asking the right questions and applying strategic common sense.

Questions Every Media Buyer MUST Ask Their Client/Team for Tentpole Promos:

Before you even think about building a promo campaign, you need these answers:

1. What percentage of your monthly revenue do you anticipate will come from this specific promotional period (e.g., 4th of July, Prime Day, Black Friday)?

2. What are your specific ROAS/CAC goals for the promotional period itself? Are they higher or lower than BAU?

3. What is the full duration of the promotional window, including any pre-sale or post-sale periods?

4. Are there any specific inventory limitations or overstocks we should be aware of for this promo?

5. What are the key messaging pillars and unique selling propositions for this promotion?

6. Do we have high-performing, dedicated creative assets specifically for this sale, or will they be adapted from BAU?

Formulas for Smart Daily Planning During Promo Months:

Once you have your client's revenue expectations (and total budget), you can back into your daily promo spend:

• 1. Calculate Tentpole Promo Budget:

  • Tentpole Promo Budget = Total Monthly Media Budget x Anticipated % of Monthly Revenue from Promo

  • Example: If your monthly budget is $60,000 and you expect 45% of revenue from Prime Days: $60,000 x 0.45 = $27,000 dedicated to Prime Days.

• 2. Calculate Non-Promo BAU Budget:

  • Non-Promo BAU Budget = Total Monthly Media Budget - Tentpole Promo Budget

  • Example: $60,000 - $27,000 = $33,000 for the rest of the month.

• 3. Calculate Tentpole Daily Spend:

  • Tentpole Daily Spend = Tentpole Promo Budget / Number of Promo Days

  • Example: If Prime Days is 3 days long: $27,000 / 3 days = $9,000/day during the promo.

• 4. Calculate Non-Promo BAU Daily Spend:

  • Non-Promo BAU Daily Spend = Non-Promo BAU Budget / Number of Non-Promo Days in Month

  • Example: If a month has 30 days and 3 are promo days, then 27 non-promo days: $33,000 / 27 days = ~$1,222/day for BAU.

• 5. Adjust for Historical ROAS/CAC (Qualitative Factor):

  • If historical data shows promo period ROAS is significantly higher than BAU, consider spending more than the calculated percentage during the promo window to maximize profit.

  • If historical data shows BAU ROAS during that month is poor (outside the promo), it further reinforces the need to overweight spend heavily on the promo days to capture efficient revenue.

The difference between a buyer who simply "throws assets into BAU" and one who meticulously plans for tentpole moments is the difference between stagnation and explosive growth. Don't leave your brand's biggest revenue opportunities to chance. It's time for media buying to be truly strategic.