Jasmine Allen: Black Friday/Cyber Monday Campaigns – Who is getting it right?

By Jasmine Allen, head of performance, Impressive

 

For many businesses, Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns have now become key sources of revenue in Q4, and in some cases the entire year. Brands pour a wealth of resources into preparing for these major sales events, aiming to capitalise on the increased demand to boost their year-end sales. But is this strategy the best way to ensure long-term growth and success?

At Impressive, we believe it is crucial for brands to re-evaluate their Q4 strategies in light of evolving consumer needs and uncertainty. Rather than relying solely on seasonal peaks or retail sales events to drive revenue, a more sustainable and profitable, ‘always on’ approach involves adopting a consistent, year-round plan that fosters growth and enables strong customer relationships. Let’s take a look at one examples of Black Friday campaigns where shifting into more innovative gears reaped great results.

 How Rethinking Black Friday Led Nine West To Record-Breaking Success

 When Impressive and Nine West started to discuss a game plan for 2023 Black Friday/Cyber Monday, declining market conditions and rising competition over the months preceding meant that Nine West anticipated the period might not perform as well as it had in previous years. Despite this, we still saw an opportunity to drive strong revenue and prospect new users during the sale period.

Preparations for Black Friday with Nine West began several months before the sale and were embedded into their evergreen marketing approach. Recognising the growing competitiveness of the November sales period, we prioritised brand-building and awareness activities in the lead-up to the event. This approach allowed us to create robust retargeting pools that we could leverage during the sale.

To compliment these efforts, we launched teaser lead generation ads that encouraged users to sign up for first access to the sale. This not only helped us build anticipation but also expanded our customer database, to ensure reduced reliance on volatile auction costs in driving new customer acquisition.

When the sale launched, we implemented a comprehensive cross-platform strategy. Multiple campaigns with diverse targeting strategies were deployed across Meta, Pinterest, and TikTok to increase awareness of the offer and engage retargeted users.

For Google, we utilised ad extensions and Google Merchant Centre promotions to highlight the offer, ensuring that our marked-down pricing stood out in Shopping PLA ads amidst the competition. Finally, we used Criteo to bridge the gap to conversion by dynamically remarketing the specific products that users had interacted with during the sale.

Remarkably, with the same offer launched as the previous year, our long-term planning enabled us to drive the best Nine West Black Friday results yet!

Implementing an ‘Always On’ Strategy

Transitioning to a robust  ‘always on’ strategy doesn’t mean abandoning Black Friday or Cyber Monday. However, it does involve integrating these events into a broader, evergreen marketing approach. Here are a few steps to get started:

1. Choose Your Sales Wisely:

Be conscientious with your key sales and offers, and only participate in events that are relevant to your business and brand, with the capability to drive profitability.
For example, tactically leveraging deeper discounts on higher margin, stale product inventory on select sales dates can be a stronger approach than pushing sitewide/storewide discounts on low-margin products at every sales opportunity.

2. Prioritise Test & Learn:

Develop a commitment to continuously test and learn to understand what works well across on-peak and off-peak periods. Leverage historical data on sales and seasonality, and prioritise incrementality testing and agile measurement frameworks to support sustainable performance long term, not just through peak sales periods.

3. Uncover your value proposition:
Increase your brand’s ability to have cut-through by addressing the ‘why’ of why people decide to either buy or not buy from you, and endeavour to communicate and test this through your creatives, content and messaging. Where possible, identify your key ‘hero’ products or services to drive more efficient engagement and new customer acquisition.
Shifting the narrative from solely discounting in off peak periods to testing different value propositions helps to position your brand well in times of high competition and of low demand, further driving salience.

4. Continuous Engagement:
Invest in strategies that keep customers engaged throughout the year, such as loyalty and affiliate programs, email marketing, and organic social media content. This ensures that when your big sales do come around, your audience is already primed, engaged and ready to buy.

Ready To Adopt A Pragmatic Strategy?

To successfully navigate the ever-evolving retail landscape, brands must embrace a strategic shift beyond the traditional focus on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The competitive nature of these peak periods highlights the importance of maintaining a strong, value-driven approach throughout the year. This consistent engagement helps brands stay relevant, build customer loyalty, and maximise sales when it counts.

Download The Report
Impressive has put together a free “Mastering Black Friday/Cyber Monday” report for brands looking to strengthen their peak-season strategy. Download a copy of the report here: https://impressive.com.au/mastering-bfcm-report-2024/