Workshops · BFCM 2024 · English · Day 1 - Workshop
(8) The 5 Phases of the Black Friday Campaign
(8) The 5 Phases of the Black Friday Campaign
- Phase 1: HYPE
- Phase 2: LAUNCH
- Phase 3: URGENCY
- Phase 4: EXTENSION
- Phase 5: BRANDING
Same as we saw in the Summer Sales Workshop,
- I need to warm people up and prepare them for when I launch the campaign…
- Then I need to know how to launch the sale, what to do first so that everyone finds out and I can create an initial spike in conversions.
- But since it’s a time-limited sale, I need to use urgency and maximize sales this way…
- Although I could give an extra 48 hours to my loyal customers.
- And as the closing... How do I protect my brand perception after so much discounting and pushing?
Fase 1: HYPE
Warm up pre-campaign launch.
Case 1: you start the BF ads on the 25th (Black Week)
- October 20th to Nov 24th = HYPE
Case 2: you start the BF ads on the 11th
- October 20th to Nov 10th = HYPE
*The hype phase and the launch phase can run at the same time, towards the big event with is BF on the 29th.
*Even though we all want to start asap, I think starting before November 1st is not a good idea because anyone who sees your ad or signs up in October, then after 1 month will definitely not remember you. Consider BF this year starts 4-5 days later than usual.
HYPE PHASE → Available Options and Actions
PAID ADS
- Leadgen Ads
Create a database with the promise of: VIP, early access, exclusive deals
IDEA: say that this VIP list is limited to 500 seats
This is a difficult calculation of profitability.
I was profitable in the UK last year, but not in the US (as first-impression, of course lifetime it’s profitable).
Chat GPT Prompt to calculate the profitability of this campaign assuming certain metrics:
"If my CPL = €0.40
And I capture 1000 leads
ASSUMING: Email open rate: 40%
ASSUMING: Email CTR: 10%
ASSUMING: Website conversion rate from email: 10%
AOV for Black Friday: €100
Then how much revenue do I generate, and what is the ROAS?"
Or alternatively:
"In a lead generation campaign, pre-Black Friday, to build a VIP database,
ASSUMING: Email open rate: 40%
ASSUMING: Email CTR: 10%
ASSUMING: Website conversion rate from email: 10%
AOV for Black Friday: €100
What should my maximum cost per lead be if I want a ROAS of 3?"
- Reach Ads
This is more of a blind effort because there isn’t a clear retargeting strategy. The idea behind this effort is to be “Top of Mind” in a specific market or country. Let’s say it makes you famous for cheap.
Interest targeting.
Don’t start it until November 10th-15th.
“Black Friday is coming… Get Ready!”
“Black Friday is coming… Prepare your Shopping Cart!”
Make the product EXTREMELY clear
- Video Views Ads
Generate a large retargeting pool of users who have watched more than 50% of the videos.
Relevant videos about the brand.
“Black Friday is coming… Get Ready!”
“Black Friday is coming… Prepare your Shopping Cart!”
MEMORABLE
- Traffic / View Content / Add to Cart Ads
Generate a retargeting pool from website events by buying cheaper traffic than conversion traffic.
"Target all website visitors in the last 30 days."
“Black Friday is coming… Get Ready!”
“Black Friday is coming… Prepare your Shopping Cart!”
- Reminder Ads
New release by Meta, could be interesting.
Engagement Campaign,
ORGANIC
- Re-Activate your Retargeting Audiences
Date: 20th to 28th
Reach campaign, let everybody know that you’re starting Black Friday soon.
Open rate email: 30% of database
Stories views: 10% of followers
These ads must be images, showing your logo, your best selling products, and a message like:
“Prepare your Wishlist for Black Friday”
“Get Ready for Black Friday: Select your Favorites”
“Stay Tuned, BFCM Starting on Nov 28th” - Countdown widget on IG
Black Friday 2024 starting in…
04d:18h:55m
*Don’t do it too soon as people will stop buying - Email Teasing
Phase 2: LAUNCH
Typically, this would be a big sales spike. It’s the moment of the launch when you coordinate email, organic, and ads to go live simultaneously.
Since it’s Black Friday, whether you start on November 10 or 29, you’ll naturally have a heavy spike on BF Friday.
So,
The official launch for each of you will be on the date you choose,
Objective for this phase:
- Make sure everyone knows you’ve started Black Friday
- Initial sales peak
- This is the TEST phase on Meta
In general, the launch phase would be Black Week.
My priorities are:
- Find winning creatives
- Find winning landing pages
- Check the performance of my manual bids
- Test how wave surfing reacts
- Keep an eye on CPMs and CTRs
- Monitor CVR and AOV
*Hack to capture a lot more attention: do a live stream on IG (notification pops up + you’re the first in stories!!)
We did this with a fashion brand two years ago every time they launched a collection, and several girls would try on and explain the new products. It worked really, really well.
*Premiere: “Black Friday starting in 01h:10m:23s”
Phase 3: URGENCY
This would be the 4 days of BFCM.
To be honest, your ads with urgency since Thursday is something that makes sense. Black Friday is already a limited time concept. It’s technically 1 day.
- I launched this ad on nov 22nd (wednesday)
As I said before, urgency everywhere!
Phase 4: EXTENSION
Option 1: Turn off all Black Friday activity on Monday and move on to Christmas.
Option 2: Keep Black Friday running until it dies out.
Option 3: Turn off Black Friday ads and offer 48 extra hours of discounts to your email database with a code.
Phase 5: BRANDING
Context for the day after Cyber Monday:
- You’ve sent an overwhelming number of emails.
- You’ve overexposed quite a few people with ads.
- You couldn’t stop talking about offers and discounts on Instagram.
But at the end of the day, you are a brand, and you have a reputation.
Almost NOBODY does a branding phase.
This would be a brand cleanup. Calming the waters.
It helps to close out a flash campaign properly.
You can do it however you prefer,
Channels
Goal
- Communicate closeness and familiarity
Show transparency
Express gratitude:
"Our biggest Black Friday to date, we are absolutely grateful for everyone who supported our brand. We don’t take it for granted and we will deliver the best of our services to you even with this crazy amount of orders."
- Let buyers know that you are already preparing their orders and working extra hours.
- Create FOMO for people who didn’t buy (thinking: “damn, there was a party here, and I missed it”).
Show that so many people have bought from you and that your warehouse is overwhelmed with work, BUT you’re managing it by working overtime and hiring extra staff to ensure your customers are happy.