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Black Friday, the first Friday following Thanksgiving in the US, takes place annually and is an exciting day full of special shopping deals and big discounts on electronics, toys, clothes and plenty of other items, both in-store and online. Cyber Monday, the Monday following Black Friday, was originally its online-only counterpart, but as a result of the continual growth and popularity of eCommerce facilities, the two have merged into a single, long weekend of offers. For many, the event is considered to be the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, with consumers often taking advantage of the huge savings available to buy gifts for friends and family.
With the day fast approaching, brands are beginning to prepare for this key date in the marketing calendar with teaser posts and countdown campaigns across social media to entice customers and get their followers ready to fill their carts. If your business hasn’t started creating its Black Friday content plan yet, take a look at some of our favourites from previous years below to get inspired.
Walmart - Deals for Days
Last year, retail giant Walmart extended its Black Friday offerings throughout the whole of November, calling it “Add everything to your cart month”. They created the branded hashtag #DealsForDays and featured six main sale days throughout the campaign, each with their own animated GIF countdowns to signify when an offer was close to running out.
It's officially “add everything to your cart month” 🥳 because our Black Friday deals are ready to shop tonight at 7 PM EST online. Grab the hottest savings on tech, home, toys, and more while supplies last! #DealsForDays
— Walmart (@Walmart) November 5, 2020
Argos - My #BlackFriday Pick
In 2017, Argos partnered with PayPal to launch a competition for Black Friday with a selection of great prizes up for grabs. Entrants had to choose their favourite item from the list provided and reply to the Tweet below, filling in the blank: “My #BlackFriday pick from Argos is…” Not only did this campaign generate excitement amongst the brand’s audience but it also raised awareness of which products were included in the sale and incentivised website traffic, boosting their CTR.
Enter our #BlackFriday comp! End the line ‘My #BlackFriday pick from Argos is’ with a BF deal link from: https://t.co/mHb5yV4yQN Ends 4PM pic.twitter.com/DPRR7k44qq
— Argos (@Argos_Online) November 24, 2017
Hubbub - Bright Friday
Hubbub is a UK charity that creates environmental campaigns and encourages greener living. Choosing to take a more sustainable, community-focused approach to Black Friday, they launched an alternative celebration in 2016 called Bright Friday, which featured clothes swapping events in London and Brighton, personal styling sessions and pop-up art installations to highlight the negative consequences of fast fashion. They used their social media presence to share wardrobe revamping tips, statistics regarding overconsumption habits and promote their satirical fashion magazine ‘Faux’.
ASOS - Hidden Message Puzzle
In 2019, online fashion retailer ASOS ran a Black Friday competition, posting a series of images on Twitter containing hidden messages for fans to decode. Anyone who could correctly identify the phrase in each picture then had to share their answer in the replies and wait to see if they were a lucky winner who would receive a DM from the brand unveiling a special prize. This was a fun way for a business to reframe what Black Friday is all about - rewarding, surprising and delighting customers with free gifts rather than concentrating solely on spending.
The North Face - Gift of Exploration
Due to the pandemic, 2020 was a year of uncertainty and restrictions, which led outdoor brand The North Face to encourage its Instagram followers to ‘Give the gift of Exploration’ with its Black Friday sale. Encompassing the hashtag #NeverStopExploring, the campaign aimed to reignite curiosity amongst its audience and inspire fans of the brand to start planning adventures for when the lockdown ended, spreading a much-needed sense of positivity and hope during challenging times.
Boots - Check In After Checkout
Boots chose to prolong the buzz of last year's Black Friday by asking its Instagram followers what they bought during the sales a few days after the event had ended. This was an excellent way for the brand to invite engagement and demonstrate that it cares about its customers’ opinions and feedback regarding the products they purchase, instead of going silent on them after getting them through the checkout.
Just Eat - Charity Donations
Just Eat decided to put a generous spin on Black Friday 2019 by donating a portion of the money made from every order to a charity called FoodCycle, which provides hot meals for those in need, using food that would otherwise go to waste. With 66% of consumers agreeing that they prefer companies who support charities over those who don’t, it’s evident that giving something back to the community will not only support people who are struggling, but will also enhance your brand image, increase customer satisfaction and help you stand out against competitors in your industry - especially during an event like Black Friday, where the emphasis is usually on maximising profits.
GoDaddy - Love Mondays!
It’s common knowledge that everyone hates Mondays, right? Web hosting company GoDaddy acknowledged this in its 2020 Cyber Monday campaign, labelling the event “The only time Monday is loved by all”. The brand reminded customers to double-check their level of online security when purchasing items from eCommerce stores, raising awareness of cyber safety and the importance of remaining vigilant during busy shopping periods.
Gymshark - Breaking News
Gymshark went all out for Black Friday last year, creating a series of mock TV news broadcasts to tease their upcoming deals and spark anticipation amongst their Instagram followers. They started the campaign right back at the beginning of November in order to keep fans captivated throughout the entirety of the month, and launched the hashtag #BigDealEnergy for customers to use when sharing their own posts about the items they managed to grab during the sale. They also prompted their audience to switch on Post Notifications, a brilliant way to alert users of any new updates and ensure nobody missed out on further announcements.
Summary
Have you seen any eye-catching Black Friday content so far in 2021? What are your favourite campaigns from previous years? Tweet us @3sixfivepro and share your thoughts - and if your brand is still in the process of assembling a marketing plan for the event, we hope you’ll be able to incorporate some of the ideas we’ve shared today.
