Module 7 · The Malaysian calendar
Plan your next season: a festive ad timeline
A week-by-week plan for Malaysian festive and mega sale ads: when to research, make, launch and review, worked back from your last order day.
Updated November 2026 · AdPlay.ai Team
Plan back from the last day a customer can order, not from the festival date. A simple rule: research 8 weeks before that day, make the ads by 6 weeks, run warm-up ads from 4 weeks (2 to 3 weeks for a mega sale), and have the peak ads live 1 to 2 weeks before. How sure you can be depends on the date: Merdeka and 11.11 never move, CNY and Deepavali are known years ahead, and Ramadan and Raya are confirmed by moon sighting.
Lesson 7.3 · 5 min read
Most small shops start their festive ads when they see other festive ads. By then, the shoppers who plan ahead have already chosen. This lesson gives you a timeline you can reuse for every season, so the work starts before the rush. What to say in each season is in Festive seasons in Malaysia. This lesson is about when.
Start from your last order day
The festival date is not your deadline. Your deadline is the last day a customer can order and still receive it in time. For a hamper shop, that might be a week before Chinese New Year. For a baju shop, it is the last day to finish alterations before Raya. For a café, it is the day the open house bookings close.
Write that date down first. Every step below counts back from it.
Three kinds of dates
How far ahead you can plan depends on how sure the date is.
| Kind of date | Examples (2027) | How to plan |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed, never moves | Merdeka 31 Aug, Malaysia Day 16 Sep, 9.9, 10.10, 11.11, 12.12, Christmas 25 Dec | Plan a year ahead with no risk |
| Moves, but known years ahead | Chinese New Year 6-7 Feb, Deepavali 28 Oct | Look the date up once and plan as fixed |
| Confirmed by moon sighting | Awal Ramadan about 8 Feb, Hari Raya Aidilfitri about 10-11 Mar | Plan for a window of a day or two, and keep the date off the image |
The timeline
Count back from your last order day. Shoppers need time: Criteo found an average of 19 days from first product visit to purchase in late Ramadan 2025. Meta needs time too: a new ad set needs about 50 results in 7 days to finish learning, and each new ad is reviewed first, usually within 24 hours.
| When | What you do | In AdPlay.ai |
|---|---|---|
| 8 weeks before | Study last year's ads for the season. Check stock and delivery dates. | Ad Library, Brand Tracker |
| 6 weeks before | Pick the offer and the angles. Make the ads. | Ad Generator |
| 4 weeks before (2 to 3 for a mega sale) | Warm-up ads go live: show the product, reach new people. | Launch this ad |
| 1 to 2 weeks before | Peak ads go live, with the last order day in the post text. | Launch this ad |
| The peak | Let the ads run. Check results each day, but make no big edits. | Campaigns |
| 1 week after | Note what worked and what to change next year. | Insights |
Mega sales move faster. In 2024, Shopee's daily 11.11 vouchers started on 26 October, about two weeks before the day, so your warm-up should be running by then. The mega sale days lesson covers the rhythm.
A worked example: two festivals back to back
Say you sell festive hampers from Penang, from RM120. In 2027, Chinese New Year falls on 6 and 7 February, Ramadan is expected to start around 8 February, and Hari Raya around 10 March. Your two deadlines:
- CNY: last order day 30 January (your courier needs a week).
- Raya: last order day 3 March.
Counting back:
- Early December: study last year's CNY and Raya hamper ads. Track five competitors.
- Mid December: make the CNY ads.
- Early January: CNY warm-up ads go live. Make the Raya ads now, because once February starts you will be packing CNY orders.
- Late January: CNY peak ads. The Raya ads are already made and waiting.
- Early February: Raya warm-up ads go live as CNY ends.
- Mid February to 3 March: Raya peak. Criteo measured Malaysian sales up 26% in the last two weeks of Ramadan 2025.
- Mid March: review both seasons and write down three lessons for 2028.
The squeeze is in January, not February. Seeing that in December is the whole point of the plan.
Make it a habit
- Keep one page per season with the dates, the offer, last year's results and what you will change.
- Keep your everyday ads running. Seasonal ads sit on top of them. They don't replace them.
- After each season, open Insights and check What works, by Ads and by Ideas. Carry the winning angle into the next plan. The lesson on learning from Insights shows how.
Checklist
- My last order day is written down for the next season.
- I know which kind of date it is: fixed, known or moon sighted.
- My research starts 8 weeks before the last order day.
- My peak ads are live before the peak, not launched on it.
- I have a review date after the season.
Your homework
- Write your next season's dates on one page: the festival, your last order day, and the five steps above with real dates.
- In AdPlay.ai, open Brand Tracker and click Add brand to follow five competitors.
- In the Ad Library, switch to Tracked brands and search the season name, for example "raya". Open their ads from last year and note each Published date. That is when they began, and when you need to be ready.
- At the 6-week step, open the Ad Generator, type the season and your offer in Direction, and click Research my market.
The Brand Tracker guide and your first image ads show each step in detail.
Frequently asked questions
How many weeks before a festival should my Meta ads start?
No study gives one right number. Our rule is warm-up ads 4 weeks before the last order day for a gifting festival like CNY or Raya, and 2 to 3 weeks before a mega sale. It is built on three facts: shoppers took 19 days on average from first visit to purchase in late Ramadan 2025 (Criteo), a new ad set needs about 50 results in 7 days to finish learning (Meta), and ad review is usually done within 24 hours but can take longer (Meta).
When should I plan for Hari Raya 2027?
Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2027 is expected on 10 and 11 March, and Ramadan around 8 February, right after Chinese New Year on 6 and 7 February. Both depend on moon sighting. If you sell for both festivals, make both sets of ads in January.
Sources
- 1.PublicHolidays.com.my: Malaysia public holidays 2027 (2026)
- 2.eCommerce News Asia: Ramadan 2025 reshapes Southeast Asia shopping journeys (Criteo data) (2025)
- 3.Meta Business Help Center: About the learning phase (2026)
- 4.Meta Transparency Center: Introduction to the Advertising Standards (ad review) (2026)
- 5.Pamper.my: Shopee 11.11 Big Sale returns (vouchers daily, 26 October to 13 November 2024) (2024)
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