Black Friday Campaigns

Post-Covid, the landscape of the retail industry has been through a drastic transitional phase; with retail only just returning to its former glory in the last quarter of 2021. The last two years of ecommerce have also changed not only us, as consumers, but also the course of history by altering the way in which shopping experiences are now undertaken. Due to this Black Friday campaigns have had to adjust to suit the modern-day consumer and marketing industry.

FinancesOnline reported a 42.3% decrease in traffic in physical stores during Black Friday 2020. These numbers suggest that the market has gone through a shift that can be attributed to social distancing during Covid times, however, it has also allowed for new trends to emerge online, such as shopping livestreams.

Black Friday campaigns over the last two years have leveraged these emerging trends to create some of the campaigns we will run you through in this blog.

Tips great Black Friday campaigns

1. Optimise your ecommerce store

In 2021, the term ‘Black Friday’ had started gaining search engine interest 12 weeks before the date. Ensuring that you appear in Google searches is vital. 

You can do this by: 

1. Looking for Black Friday keywords that are relevant to your business and sprinkle them throughout your content; title tags, headings, alt image tags etc.
2. Making sure your website is healthy. Resolve any 404 page errors and 301 redirects. Also, optimise page speed.
3. Creating memorable imagery. This means clear website banners.
4. Making sure your website is mobile optimised. 68% of the younger generation shop 1-4x per week on their phone.

2. Capture email addresses with sign-up deals

A MediaPost study revealed that 53% of Gen Zers said they enjoy getting weekly emails from their favourite brands. Black Friday email campaigns can be used all year round and are a great way to channel interest around the biggest sale of the year. 

Offer exclusive, early-access to your Black Friday sales to those who sign up to your mailing list and offer discounts they can’t get anywhere else. This will prove to your email subscribers that you value them.

3. Give away a free gift with every purchase

Offering a free gift to those who spend above a certain amount is a great way to incentivise shopping with your brand. 

This is a particularly good tactic for luxury brands who find that running Black Friday campaigns actually damage their brand’s image. 

The per unit cost of a free gift is less than the perceived value, and because attracting new customers is far more expensive than keeping current ones, you’ll make your money back in no time.

4. Create value by offering charity donations

A study by Student Beans found that 63% of Gen Z consumers prefer a brand with a greener image, while suggesting that conscious and ethical brand communications have the most impact on younger audiences. 

Offering charity donations is a great route to customer satisfaction.

Couple discounts and promotions with charity donations and you will win over the younger generation of shoppers.

5. Encourage UGC 

A data report by Stackla revealed that 83% of consumers believe retailers need to provide more authentic shopping experiences to customers like them. What better way to do this than through user-generated content.

You can run your Black Friday campaigns in several ways to incorporate UGC:

1. Send your packaging out with a call-to-action encouraging customers to post a picture to Instagram or video to TikTok of them interacting with your product, to be in with a chance of winning a reward.
2. Reach out to influencers. Influencers have huge audiences, meaning extraordinary reach as well as increased sales conversions.

6. Offer personalised bundle discounts

Sales often feel so impersonal and Gen Z love personalised shopping experiences. 

Sales are a shopper’s priority during Black Friday so offering bundled products plays to their desire to get a good deal. 

Best Black Friday campaign examples

FIFA

EA Sports are Black Friday enthusiasts and take care of their loyal customers very well. For their 2019 Black Friday campaign, Fifa released FUT packs hourly from the 23rd-27th November. The campaign included brand new pack types, revamped flash Squad Building challenges, themed weekly objectives and so much more.

ASOS

In 2021, ASOS did something that was unheard of for any Black Friday campaign; they offered up to 70% off the entire store. By clarifying that the sale was limited time and only applied to current stock created a sense of urgency within the consumer, encouraging them to act quickly.

Amazon

Hailed the king of Black Friday, Amazon delivers the most successful Black Friday campaigns. 

This should be expected seeing as Amazon introduced Black Friday to the UK, integrating the holiday into the British calendar. Amazing sales, deals that run for 8 consecutive days, and impressive bundles are just a few reasons why this brand is undefeated. 

Apple

Just like the rest of their branding, Apple does not let you down when it comes to the best creative Black Friday campaigns. Weeks before Black Friday, Apple teased its customers with the greatest Black Friday email campaign within which they did not yet allude to what deals customers could expect, but still induced excitement for what was to come. As the date got closer they released a second email with the specifics on the deals. A brilliant way to keep Apple customers on the edge of their seats for an extended period of time.

Patagonia

As mentioned earlier, younger audiences prefer to stand with brands who offer conscious and ethical communication. What a result for failure-acknowledging clothing brand, Patagonia. In 2011, they released one of the first anti-Black Friday campaigns. The “Don’t Buy This Jacket” ad in the New York Times declared open war on the culture of consumption and criticised excessive consumerism; issues that are still very present today. 

FAQ’s

How do you promote Black Friday?

1. Optimise your offers for mobile
2. Partner with influencers and creators
3. Advertise your promotions on social media
4. Livestream Black Friday events
5. Use Black Friday hashtags 
6. Create a Black Friday gift guide

Why did Black Friday become so popular?

People can get their hands on once-a-year deals in time for Christmas. 

How do you stand out on Black Friday?

1. Optimise your ecommerce store
2. Capture email addresses with sign-up deals
3. Give away a free gift with every purchase
4. Create value by offering charity donations
5. Encourage UGC
6. Offer personalised bundle discounts

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