In this episode, we dive into what marketers may get wrong when running digital ads for major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BF/CM). From poor planning to neglecting post-event strategies, we cover the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them. Watch now to hear our thoughts on planning, executing, and measuring success during these critical retail moments. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.
Top takeaways from the episode
What are marketers getting wrong about running digital ads for big sales events?
- A lack of planning. Many marketers are reactive, rushing to put things together last minute.
- Consider the full user experience, including what's happening on your website. What are some areas where users fall off in the sales process and can you fix them leading up to the event?
- Plan to vary the ad spend across the days and strategically allocate the budget, focusing on key moments rather than spending evenly across the entire event.
- Don’t focus solely on the offer—your brand identity is equally important. A discount means little without clear value or differentiation in the market.
- Plan ahead. BF/CM success requires urgent and aligned messaging, matching website creative with ads, clear timelines for production, and audience targeting.
- Conversations should start no later than mid-summer to allow time for creative production and strategic execution.
- The goal is to capture as much market demand as possible without overspending, especially given the profit sacrifices already tied to sales offers.
- Don't neglect post-event strategy. Having a 30, 60, or 90-day plan helps extend customer lifetime value (LTV) and encourages repeat purchases.
- Review unit economics—applying standard acquisition metrics during BF/CM could lead to miscalculations.
- Consider your product price point when deciding how long to run brand awareness plays leading up to the event.
What data points should marketers gather during BF/CM for future insights?
- Brands less dependent on BF/CM for revenue can use this period for testing, but those relying heavily on the event should minimize experimentation.
- Be cautious—test results from this period normally don’t apply outside BF/CM and we generally don’t recommend running tests during this period. Specifically we avoid geo-testing or turning off certain regions during BF/CM.
- Monitor cart abandonments leading up to the sale period: Are people filling carts before the sale in anticipation?
- Optimize targeting toward existing customers when possible. No reason to miss out on an audience already familiar with your brand.
- Study the competitive landscape—what are your competitors offering? Are their deals better or worse than last year? Are offers becoming homogenous in your industry? This period can tell you a lot about how they’re doing in the market.
- Examine pre-sale performance vs. BF/CM results. This comparison can offer insight into how the market perceives your brand.
- Watch for shifts in top-selling products during promotional periods—this may indicate a change in your customer base during sales events.
How much of BF/CM success is determined by pre-event marketing?
- To put it simply, a lot. Many marketers ramp up top-of-funnel and brand awareness efforts before the sales event. Simply pushing offers without building brand awareness reduces conversion likelihood. 40% off is great, but 40% off what?
- Start pulling users into your funnel before the sales period begins to maximize potential.
- Test new strategies and creative before the event, not during.
What defines a “successful” sale event?
- Meeting or exceeding sales targets is the obvious objective here but there are other success metrics too.
- Gathering new data and capturing fresh audiences.
- Executing the strategy well—was the plan solid, and did the team stick to it?
- Having a detailed, day-by-day budget plan for optimized spending.