Most Argentine brands order content once the campaign has already started. It is the most expensive planning mistake of the year, and one afternoon of work solves it.

The six week rule

A creator needs five to ten working days to film and deliver. Then comes review, campaign assembly and internal approval.

Added up, that is four to six weeks between the order and the ad running. If the peak is the May Hot Sale, the brief goes out in late March.

The Argentine commercial year

January and February

New year resolutions and summer. Fitness, supplements, beachwear, domestic tourism. Creative is ordered in November.

March

Back to school. Stationery, children's clothing, food, technology. Brief in January.

May

Hot Sale, the ecommerce peak of the first half. Brief in late March.

June and July

Winter school holidays and Friends Day. Tourism, food service, gifts. Brief in April and May.

October

Mothers Day, the second commercial peak of the year. Beauty, jewellery, appliances, food service. Brief in late August.

November

Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Brief in late September.

December

Christmas, new year and the annual bonus. It is the highest consumption month. Brief in October.

How to plan a year in one afternoon

Open a calendar and mark the four peaks that matter to your category. Not all eight: four.

For each one, write the peak date and subtract six weeks. That is your brief date.

Then, for each peak, define six creatives with three hooks each. With that you have the year's production plan and the approximate budget.

The content that does not expire

Between peaks, order material with no dates or promotions: product in use, detail shots, testimonials. That is what feeds the product page, email and social the rest of the year.

Always ask for two versions of every campaign piece: one with the promotion and one clean. The second serves you for three years.

The mistake that costs most

Ordering the whole year's content in a single January shoot. It sounds efficient and produces material that looks old by October, because the clothing, the weather and the context do not match.

Four shoots of six pieces outperform one shoot of twenty four.

Where to go next

Planning six weeks ahead is the difference between buying well and buying in a rush. Our complete UGC guide for brands explains the rest of the process.