Back to School 2025: Create a Winning Media Strategy for Your Brand and Shoppers

Back-to-school advertising season is here! It’s a busy period with countless brands competing for consumers’ attention. To stand out from the crowd and reach your consumers effectively while driving your goals you need a media strategy that cuts through the noise.

That’s why we created this playbook: to help you plan and execute a winning campaign with insights and best practices tailored for the season.

With 54% of advertisers planning to increase their Back-to-School ad spend compared to 2024,¹ this guide offers a snapshot of consumer insights to help advertisers craft a strategic media plan for Back to School that leverages the full power of the Yahoo DSP.

‍Today’s Back-to-School Shopper

We tapped into Yahoo data and proprietary research to understand how today’s consumers are approaching the season and what matters most to them:

• Search trends: School-related searches begin mid-July and peak in early August. College-related searches follow, building through the end of the month.
• Spending is up: Despite economic concerns, shoppers are still spending. In fact, 70% of parents expect to spend more in 2025 than last year.²
• Intentional shopping: Consumers are more mindful about where, what, and how they buy. 40% plan to shop at online retailers, with price being the top driver of brand choice.
• Ad that resonates: 62% say deals and discounts are the most appealing messages, followed by 39% who prefer ads that offer helpful tips, hacks, or tricks.³

‍Lessons in Effective Media Strategy

Yahoo DSP offers a portfolio of solutions that can help you take your Back-to-School campaign to the next level:

• Plan a robust, full-funnel strategy: Combine omnichannel reach, led by CTV, paired with strategic targeting like Yahoo predictive audiences and commerce data to stay top of mind and drive results.
• Unlock performance with strategic optimization: As competition heats up, strategic, in-flight optimization is key. Use Yahoo In-Flight Outcomes and Multiple KPI Optimization to improve performance mid-campaign and hit more than one goal.
• Deliver creative that connects with shoppers: Stand out with relevant, engaging creative. Leverage interactive ad formats, testing capabilities, and compelling storytelling from Yahoo Creative to connect meaningfully with your audience.

Explore the full playbook for more insights, strategies, and actionable tips to power your media plan.

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^1-3 Yahoo B2B Omnibus study, May 2025

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