Originating in the USA, Black Friday was traditionally a time where fewer people at work meant stores dropped prices to kick start the year’s Christmas spending. The trend was brought to the UK over a decade ago, with momentum growing year on year before eventually becoming the biggest pre-Christmas online sales day in 2014.

What used to be a one-day event has now morphed into a month-long promotion for brands around the globe, with more consumers than ever grabbing a bargain. Although 2020 saw a significant drop in Black Friday spending during the pandemic, consumers are forecast to spend a record amount in 2021, signalling how Black Friday is an integral part of the retail calendar.

It goes without saying that a strong media strategy is paramount during this promotional period.  Here are five key things that will help optimise your Black Friday campaign:

1. Ensure all promotions are legitimate

Although we’re anticipating record breaking participation in Black Friday, there is still scepticism surrounding offers, with 3 in 5 shoppers believing that Black Friday deals are misleading. Once more, only 13% of consumers agreed that they were the big winners during the period. To maintain brand trustworthiness, it is not only important to ensure that sale creative is transparent, but that landing page experience is optimised, with users able to find the discount they anticipate on site.

2. Monitor your competitor’s activity

One of the most competitive times in the retail calendar, Black Friday drives a competitive media landscape, particularly in the e-commerce vertical. We can therefore expect to see increased brand bidding, more competition on ad space and competing sales offers, which will not only impact visibility but also spend efficiency. To mitigate the impact of competitor activity, we recommend the following actions:

• Buy your media in advance for more favourable avails.
• Upweight over Black Friday when planning marketing budget to ensure visibility when cost per result in likely to inflate.
• Create a digital competitor heatmap to monitor changes in impression share and cost per result when competitors are bidding more aggressively

3. Think multi-channel

With stay-at-home mandates in place for much of last year, digital dominated the sales industry. However, with more people out and about this year it’s important to remember your physical locations are valued by consumers. In-store Black Friday spending is expected to grow by 7.35% this year, with research indicating that 40% of shoppers are likely to choose to shop in physical stores. Out of Home has therefore never been more of a crucial consideration and channel to strategize during this period.

4. Be transparent about your eco-friendly efforts

Sustainability is another major talking point in the retail market with 67% of consumers paying more attention to environmental efforts during Black Friday promotions this year. “Climate anxiety” is of high concern for UK shoppers and therefore it’s important brands effectively deliver not only promotional messaging but also environmental information during the key commercial period.

5. Consider an Amazon digital strategy

A huge 62% of Black Friday shoppers spend money with Amazon during the period.  It is therefore now more imperative than ever to consider an Amazon Advertising campaign, directing customers the shopper specifically to your customized product page or your Amazon Store. With Amazon delivering competitive own-brand sales, this platform has an extremely attentive audience during Black Friday and is a great opportunity to maximise share of voice on alternative search platforms.

In conclusion, Black Friday is an event not to be missed by consumers and advertisers alike. Understanding how to navigate through the sale period will become increasingly important across all channels and a strong strategy will help to deliver a successful campaign and drive your sales KPI.

To find out more on how our planning and buying team can help you deliver successful media campaigns, get in touch today!

Originating in the USA, Black Friday was traditionally a time where fewer people at work meant stores dropped prices to kick start the year’s Christmas spending. The trend was brought to the UK over a decade ago, with momentum growing year on year before eventually becoming the biggest pre-Christmas online sales day in 2014.

What used to be a one-day event has now morphed into a month-long promotion for brands around the globe, with more consumers than ever grabbing a bargain. Although 2020 saw a significant drop in Black Friday spending during the pandemic, consumers are forecast to spend a record amount in 2021, signalling how Black Friday is an integral part of the retail calendar.

It goes without saying that a strong media strategy is paramount during this promotional period.  Here are five key things that will help optimise your Black Friday campaign:

1. Ensure all promotions are legitimate

Although we’re anticipating record breaking participation in Black Friday, there is still scepticism surrounding offers, with 3 in 5 shoppers believing that Black Friday deals are misleading. Once more, only 13% of consumers agreed that they were the big winners during the period. To maintain brand trustworthiness, it is not only important to ensure that sale creative is transparent, but that landing page experience is optimised, with users able to find the discount they anticipate on site.

2. Monitor your competitor’s activity

One of the most competitive times in the retail calendar, Black Friday drives a competitive media landscape, particularly in the e-commerce vertical. We can therefore expect to see increased brand bidding, more competition on ad space and competing sales offers, which will not only impact visibility but also spend efficiency. To mitigate the impact of competitor activity, we recommend the following actions:

• Buy your media in advance for more favourable avails.
• Upweight over Black Friday when planning marketing budget to ensure visibility when cost per result in likely to inflate.
• Create a digital competitor heatmap to monitor changes in impression share and cost per result when competitors are bidding more aggressively

3. Think multi-channel

With stay-at-home mandates in place for much of last year, digital dominated the sales industry. However, with more people out and about this year it’s important to remember your physical locations are valued by consumers. In-store Black Friday spending is expected to grow by 7.35% this year, with research indicating that 40% of shoppers are likely to choose to shop in physical stores. Out of Home has therefore never been more of a crucial consideration and channel to strategize during this period.

4. Be transparent about your eco-friendly efforts

Sustainability is another major talking point in the retail market with 67% of consumers paying more attention to environmental efforts during Black Friday promotions this year. “Climate anxiety” is of high concern for UK shoppers and therefore it’s important brands effectively deliver not only promotional messaging but also environmental information during the key commercial period.

5. Consider an Amazon digital strategy

A huge 62% of Black Friday shoppers spend money with Amazon during the period.  It is therefore now more imperative than ever to consider an Amazon Advertising campaign, directing customers the shopper specifically to your customized product page or your Amazon Store. With Amazon delivering competitive own-brand sales, this platform has an extremely attentive audience during Black Friday and is a great opportunity to maximise share of voice on alternative search platforms.

In conclusion, Black Friday is an event not to be missed by consumers and advertisers alike. Understanding how to navigate through the sale period will become increasingly important across all channels and a strong strategy will help to deliver a successful campaign and drive your sales KPI.

To find out more on how our planning and buying team can help you deliver successful media campaigns, get in touch today!