It’s the final run-up to the end of the year, and almost everything is now a January problem. But once Christmas is over… then what? There’s this hazy period of time between the 26th - 31st where everyone’s in a food coma. No one really knows what day it is. But (and you know this to be true), spending does NOT stop. Because while the majority of your customers are nursing a hangover, they also have a LOT of free time. And that means they’re primed to shop. So, how do we take advantage of this (respectfully)? Enter Q5.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

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Like, the Christmas ads are done, the budgets are spent, everyone’s mentally checked into their out-of-office. What else is there to do?? Our industry collectively powers down like someone unplugged the router.

Except consumers don’t.

And Pinterest, in its annoyingly polite, data-backed way, is here to remind us that the week after Christmas isn’t a cooldown period. It’s a bonus round, a secret "fifth quarter" (like Karen Smith’s "fifth sense" that can help her tell when it’s raining).

A little marketing glitch in the Gregorian matrix that ain't letting you off so easy. They call it Q5. And it matters more than you think.

According to Pinterest, Q5 is the period between Christmas and New Years.

That weird limbo week where no one knows what day it is, but somehow everyone is 1. drunk, 2. full of glazed ham and 3. spending money like they’re trying to speedrun economic recovery.

It’s not Q4. It’s not Q1. It’s a floating pocket of pure consumer intent.

Pinterest’s data paints a blunt picture:

Over half (!!!!) of weekly users keep shopping online between December 26 and 31. Nearly half are still going in-store (hopefully the sober ones.) And Pinterest search behaviour spikes to one of the highest peaks of the year. People may be tired of gift-shopping, but they’re not tired of… shopping.

During the lead-up to Christmas, people are buying for other people. Gifting. Proving they’re thoughtful. Performing familial obligation.

Then Q5 hits. The spell breaks. And poof, suddenly the only person anyone is shopping for is themselves.

Pinterest calls this the “self-buying boom.” Searches shift from “gifts for mum” to “new year makeup,” “drinks for hosting,” “party wear,” “skincare routine,” “home organisation,” “finance planning,” “NYE cocktails,” and “how to build a personality in 2026.”

People want to entertain. Glow up. Reset. Reorganise. Reinvent.

It’s the moment people stop being Santa and start being their own muse.

And because Pinterest is essentially the internet’s mood board, this shift is loud. Search behaviour goes from generosity to self-investment. From performance to desire. From gifting to identity building.

If you’re a marketer with half a pulse, you should be foaming at the freaking mouth right now.

Unlike most platforms, Pinterest isn't driven by doomscrolling or social proof. It’s built on proactive searching, planning, and imagining. It’s where people go when they’re about to do something.

That’s why Q5 hits harder here.

During this week, people have 4 things:

The perfect cocktail for new habits, new aesthetics, new purchases, and new life plans they absolutely will abandon by mid-January.

Pinterest becomes the staging ground for this delusion. The quiet place where people map out new identities before real life barges in again. And because most advertisers have clocked out, CPMs drop, competition shrinks, and your brand suddenly has the floor.

Q5 is the only time of year where Pinterest becomes a bullhorn instead of a whisper.

Is this manipulative? Maybe. But all marketing is to an extent darling. If you wanted something more honest, I’d suggest another career path.

Brands in beauty, wellness, lifestyle, home, fashion, personal care, and anything “reset-coded” thrive. Not because people are making resolutions. Because they’re making micro-decisions about the person they want to be next year.

The “I’m going to be more organised” girl. The “I’m actually going to take care of my skin this year” guy. The “I’m going to host dinner parties” couple. The “I’m going to finally get my finances sorted” well, everybody. The “I’m going to start lifting” person. The “I need a new bikini to look good in for the rest of the summer” girl (hi, it’s me.)

They all live on Pinterest in Q5.

If your brand fits an aspirational narrative, this is your moment. If your brand sells anything that feels like a reward, a reset, or a revelation, this is your breathing space.

And if your brand has been fighting for visibility all year, Q5 is your chance to slip through the cracks and actually get noticed.

This is the part where most marketers fail. They think Q5 requires a Christmas hangover strategy. It doesn’t. Q5 isn’t a sale. It’s a mood.

And the brands that win treat it like one.

Here's how:

Every year, we watch the same ritual play out: marketers pour all their creative energy into the Christmas rush. Then they collapse. Then they reappear mid-January like newborn deer, blinking into the sunlight, wondering why performance fell off a cliff. Helloooooo, because you pushed it off.

The reality is simple.

They’re bored on the couch scrolling Pinterest for who they want to be next, mostly because they feel like sh*t from two days of overeating and drinking.

Pinterest didn’t invent Q5, but they had the intelligence to measure it. And the honesty to say, "This is where your audience is while you’re asleep".

If you’re smart, you’ll meet them there. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Where something small suddenly made your heart race, your brain panic, and you just knew you were going to regret everything?

If so, this trend's for you. The sound features Tiktoker @spot.616 in a silly mood saying to herself, "Congratulations on winning employee of the month," before screaming twice. A short, squeaky "ah," followed by a longer "ahhhh." It's the perfect audio for that split second where your brain goes into full meltdown mode. And now everyone's using it to dramatise their most relatable freak-out moments.

My favourite examples include:

Film yourself reacting to something that makes you panic or freak out. Show your face looking concerned or stressed. Lip-sync the "ah," then the longer "ahhhh." Add on-screen text showing what someone said or did that's triggering your panic, match the timing with the audio, and post.

A few ideas to get you started:

-Paris Foskin, Intern

😲WTF I didn’t know they did that
✨Daily inspo Do what’s interesting to you
😊Soooo satisfying Crazy car deep clean
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight Crispy chicken green goddess salad

Hey Arshia!

The key is to shift your thinking from product-based content to brand-based storytelling. Sure, there's a place for educational content in many "boring" industries. But you absolutely don't need to create content about the actual thing you do. Instead, your content strategy should be anchored in your brand values and what your target audience cares about.

For example, let's say you sell accounting software. Instead of creating content about your product (yawn), you could do skits about what it's like to work in an office. Your target audience will definitely be able to relate to this content. And suddenly, you're the cool brand that posts funny videos your audience loves. This will build your audience and brand without being boring (or bringing compliance issues into play).

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.