Missed running a Black Friday campaign? Do this instead.

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If you’re considering a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you’re too late. Please save your dollars and your sanity, and instead get curious.

Black Friday is a highly competitive event, with $187 million in ad spend across the retail sector, and that’s just in Australia. Jumping in now without a strategy is unlikely to move the needle for your business, and could harm your brand, as you vie for attention and sales.

Use this time to get curious. Let’s harness your energy and explore the strategies of, not just your competitors but, brands in other industries that you respect.

Learn. Be inspired. Ask questions.

1.COMMUNICATION

  • How are they communicating, what channels are they using? Email, Google Ads, paid social media, and how are they doing this? 

Look at the timing, frequency, and messaging.

I’m excited to open every Bed Threads email; they feel beautiful, informative, true to the brand, and speak to my needs as a consumer - they know me and I know them, which has taken time. 

2. CREATIVE  

  • What format is their creative (video, stills, GIFs, memes), and how is it being rolled out from their website, to emails, to organic and paid social media content?

A strong campaign is consistent no matter where it is rolled out and stays true to the brand. Witchery’s Black Friday campaign messaging does just that; it’s creatively consistent from their website to Instagram posts and reflects the quality, modernity, and sophistication of their brand in the deep blue hues that overlay the imagery and videography, which has high production values.

Witchery

Witchery’s Black Friday campaign reflects the brand’s quality, modernity, and sophistication while still driving a strong sales message.

3. WORKING WITH BRAND AMBASSADORS/INFLUENCERS 

4. SALES FUNNEL AND THE BUYING EXPERIENCE

  • What does their sales funnel look like? What is the buying experience? Do they offer recommendations for other products, what are the shipping costs, and payment options? And do they do a post-purchase follow-up? 

5. WEBSITE

  • What is the website experience? Has the brand made purchasing easy, is the website fast to load, is there an abandoned cart function?

All of these touchpoints will impact the final sale and the connection between a brand and its customer. 

HOW TO RESEARCH COMPETITOR’S MARKETING

Simple ways to uncover this data include signing up to brands’ email and SMS databases, turning on notifications across their social media profiles, searching the Meta Ad library, and online for commentary or case studies about the brand/the campaign.

CHANGES IN BUYER’S BEHAVIOUR

As a brand, you need to understand the current Australian economy and how rising interest rates and cost of living are impacting household spending and likely resulting in reducing your audience’s disposable income. 

Consumers’ buying behaviour has shifted, they are more selective about where they spend their money and aren’t leaving anything to chance when it comes to grabbing a bargain. When their go-to brand’s sale goes live, they add to cart and convert without hesitation. It’s a win-win for the brand and the customer.

ADAIRS MARKETING

Adairs’ Linen Lovers 3 Day Sale in late October, wasn’t positioned as a Black Friday campaign but they understood their audience is primed at this time of year for sales and likely to spend. Adairs strategically leveraged this buying behaviour by offering a significant sale of 40% off full-priced items and 20% off on reduced styles, which drove customers to not just shop with them but to become a Linen Lover (their loyalty program).

In doing so, Adairs got out in front of competitor campaigns, rewarded their loyal customers and gained new customers. Adairs can use this powerful, rich data to better understand, and communicate with, their customers, which in turn can be leveraged to inform business decisions from marketing and segmentation to new product development.

Adairs’ Linen Lovers 3 Day Sale

Adairs’ Linen Lovers 3 Day Sale wasn’t a Black Friday campaign but they understood their audience was primed for sales at this time. Adairs drove customers to shop and join their loyalty program, before competitor Black Friday campaigns began.

DRIVE YOUR 2025 MARKETING STRATEGY WITH BLACK FRIDAY CAMPAIGN INSIGHTS

With these insights, you will create a powerful 2025 strategy, one that has a deep understanding of your customer, their needs and their behaviours, that you just can’t wait to implement. A Black Friday/Cyber Monday campaign may be part of your 2025 game plan, and you’ll have time to plan and execute it like a boss.