Monday, 23 March – the Spring Equinox – marks the first day of spring. Thank goodness. Breathing a collective sigh of relief as they say so long to winter, Brits can look forward to warmer weather, a spot of gardening, a shopping spree or two, and the first holiday proper of the year.

Our latest insight feature shows how many of these changes are matched with growing reader interest in content about Easter activities and the chance for friends and families to get together to celebrate.

Easter drives those seeking ‘springs-piration’

Naturally, the changing seasons inspire a change of interest in different content categories and topics among our audience of highly engaged, premium publisher readers. At this time of year, we see the build up to the Easter weekend as a key driver. It’s as much a celebratory event as it is a reason to see and do things, spruce up the garden, shop for gifts and new season’s styles, or enjoy the first holiday of the year.

Brits use the extra time off at Easter to indulge in these activities. Looking at content engagement trends across our publishers last year, we saw this rising in the week leading up to Easter, peaking on Easter weekend itself. In particular, compared to the monthly average, we saw huge category rises across the long weekend:  

Shopping page views +172%; Health & Wellness page views +67%; Events & Attractions page views +53%; Travel page views +53%; Home & Garden page views +33%; and Food & Drink page views +26%

Shopping grows on spring styles and groceries

Shopping shows the biggest growth at Easter with changing seasonal styles, shopping for groceries and seeking out a bargain among the key drivers. Research into spring and summer styles drives engagement with the Women’s Fashion topic. Filling the kitchen cupboards up before the long break drives Grocery Shopping page views in the week before Easter. And bargain hunters drive Coupons & Discounts growth.

Planning ‘me time’ is now an Easter priority

Interestingly, of the extra time Easter offers to Brits, many of them are setting that time aside specifically to fulfil their interests in Health & Wellness. Personal Care, for example, is high on the priority list with readers planning ahead to make sure they can enjoy some ‘me time’ during their downtime across the long weekend. These plans are typically made one week in advance. With the London Marathon returning to its April scheduling this year, we might see greater levels of engagement with our Fitness & Exercise content.

Hunting for the hottest tickets in town

Our Events & Attractions content sees significant Easter growth too. Seeking out Music Events has the greatest lead time due to touring schedules, with engagement peaking two weeks prior to Easter. Theatre – one of our largest Events audiences – sees huge interest with page views growing from two weeks before. Museums and Nature Parks are the exception, as they typically see interest peak during Easter week.

Planning getaways or future trips begins at Easter

As the year’s real first opportunity for a holiday with family or friends, Travel is a popular Easter topic. Interest in UK and international Travel Locations growing significantly as readers engage with editorial to research future trips. Research into Easter getaways has already happened. Those looking for UK Camping Trips or B&Bs carry this out approximately four to five weeks in advance. Day Trips are slightly more last minute. The majority of research for them occurs the week prior to Easter, up +175%, before dropping back down over the long weekend.

Home & Garden grows on Gardening

Traditionally seen as time to get some much needed home DIY started and – hopefully – finished, growth for our Home & Garden content is driven by Gardening. Seeking inspiration for Garden Decorating & Furnishing peaks during the Easter week, with as much as 30% weekly growth. With garden parties and outdoor games requiring more planning, research typically begins a fortnight in advance when page views double.

Feeding Easter feasting inspiration

Finally, as a time of celebration it’s no surprise that Food & Drink interest grows. Whether eating out or cooking at home, Easter feasting is highly important. Those looking to dine out research Bars & Restaurants one to two weeks before. Topic engagement builds gradually from four weeks prior, peaking the week before. Popular foodie topics, such as Food Trends and Slow Food Recipes also grow during the Easter week.

Connect with our Easter audience – there’s still time

With less than three weeks to go to Easter, engagement with related content categories and topics is already springing up. Brands seeking to activate tactical campaigns now can do so and reach our specially created Easter segment to target in-market audiences.

This audience is ready to go and can be activated against immediately. For more information about how Ozone can connect you to our highly engaged Easter audience, please reach out to your agency or client sales representative or email [email protected].