How much of your peak budget goes towards paying to appear to people who have never heard of your brand? The bill is usually high, and it gets worse when media is more expensive. Audience warming is the simplest way to solve this: prepare lists, audiences, and remarketing weeks before the end of the year, so that the peak budget is spent converting people who already know the store, instead of introducing the brand from scratch at the most competitive time of the year.
The cost of advertising has risen structurally. In 2026, Meta started passing on taxes to advertisers that it previously absorbed, which increased the price of ads in Brazil by 12,15% , according to a company statement released by Canaltech . On top of that, there's the seasonal competition for impressions during Black Friday and Christmas : the CPM rises precisely when every advertiser wants the same space. Reaching peak demand with cold audiences means paying more for work that could have been done earlier for much less.
On this page you will find:
The essentials of boosting audiences by 6 points.
- Warming up audiences means preparing viewers and lists before a period of high investment.so that the media can find people who have already interacted with the brand;
- It starts early: Ideally, you should have your lists and audiences organized 30 to 45 days before the main date;
- Reduces peak costs.Because warm audiences require less frequency and less funding to convert than cold audiences;
- Remarketing is the core of the operation.But it depends on the base: without accumulated traffic and interactions beforehand, there's no one to advertise to again;
- Primary data (first-party dataThey gain weight every year.Customer lists, email addresses, WhatsApp contacts, and website visitors;
- It requires continuous execution, not a last-minute effort: Collection, segmentation, and creative content for lead nurturing running before the conversion campaign.
Why does the media penalize those who arrive "cold" at the peak?
At its peak, you're competing for the same impressions with thousands of advertisers. The auction becomes more expensive, and campaigns revert to the learning phase every time you change your audience or creative. The worst time to teach the algorithm who your customer is is during Black Friday week.
➡️ Read also – Black Friday 2026: 10 things you should NOT do now (and what to do instead)
A cold audience needs more exposure before making their first purchase, which pushes up the frequency and cost per result. Those already familiar with the brand respond with fewer touches and at a lower cost. It's the same campaign, with one crucial difference: the temperature of the audience receiving it.
What to prepare before the turnaround: lists and remarketing.
Organize your primary data.
Gather what you already have before thinking about new funding: customer base, email and WhatsApp contacts with opt-in, repeat buyers, and website registrations. These lists are uploaded as custom audiences on the platforms and feed into remarketing. Keep everything within the LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law) consent rules , with clear origin and permission for each contact.
Reconnect with those who have already interacted.
Website visitors, those who watched your videos, those who saved or commented on posts, and especially those who abandoned their shopping carts. This last group is larger than it seems: about 70,22% of shopping carts are abandoned , according to the Baymard Institute , a huge pool of people with purchase intent waiting for the right incentive.
Structure your remarketing by stage of the funnel.
Separate audiences by intent level: general visitors, those who added to their cart, those who started checkout, and returning customers. Each group receives a different message (reminder, social proof, offer, or repurchase condition). With warmed-up lists, you also create high-quality lookalike audiences, using your best database as a reference.
Start early: the audience warm-up calendar
30 to 45 days before the main date, run reach, engagement, and traffic campaigns at a still low CPM, aiming to fill your remarketing audiences . Simultaneously, maintain email and organic nurturing so that the brand is already top-of-mind for consumers. When the peak arrives, you can launch a conversion campaign targeting existing audiences and avoid spending the most expensive period of the year teaching the algorithm from scratch.
This early start also protects performance: the account exits the learning phase before the competition intensifies, and scaling happens based on already mature data.
Prepare your operation for the next peak.
Maintaining lists, audiences, and remarketing strategies ready before each event isn't a last-minute project; it's routine operation. That's where e-Plus's CS Flex comes in: a continuous work model that combines strategic monitoring and on-demand access to media, CRM, data, and automation specialists, ensuring your audience is warmed up for each season.
If you'd like to review how your store is approaching the upcoming dates, talk to the e-Plus team of experts about CS Flex and explore other blog content about preparing for the peak season.
FAQ
What is audience warm-up?
Warming up audiences is the process of preparing audiences and contact lists before a period of high media investment, using reach, engagement, and content campaigns so that people are already familiar with the brand. This way, the peak conversion campaign speaks to warm audiences, who buy at a lower cost.
What is the difference between audience warming and remarketing?
Remarketing is advertising to those who have already interacted with the brand. Audience nurturing is the previous step, which creates and nurtures these audiences. Without nurturing, there isn't a sufficient base for remarketing to perform. One prepares the audience; the other wins them back at the moment of purchase decision.
When should the pre-Black Friday warm-up begin?
Ideally, you should start 30 to 45 days before the main date. This timeframe allows you to run reach and engagement campaigns at a lower CPM, accumulate visitors and interactions, organize your first-party lists, and move beyond the learning phase before the competition tightens the bidding.
Does warming up audiences reduce peak media costs?
Yes. Audiences that are already familiar with the brand need less exposure to convert, which reduces the required frequency and the cost per result. In a more expensive media environment (Meta raised prices by 12,15% in Brazil in 2026), reaching warm audiences protects the operation's margin.
