The Best of Black Friday and Cyber Monday Marketing

The holiday months are a competitive time for marketers. Before the pandemic, advertisements were centralized around in-store retail. Commercials and advertisements flooded our digital media spaces; fighting for the best deals, lines wrapped around the store, millions of people rushing into shopping malls; we’re sure you’ve seen it all. 

However, after the pandemic, many brands have now begun focusing their marketing efforts towards both online and in-store black Friday shopping. This is to appeal to the growth in ecommerce post-pandemic. 

Holiday commercials during the months of November and December are what make the holiday shopping all the more fun. To highlight some of the great marketing work put into millions of Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns we’ve found some of our favorites, both past and present. 

Patagonia: “Reversible Poem Ad” 

Patagonia, an outdoor and sustainable clothing brand, is well-known for their multiple marketing spin offs to place emphasis on their brand goal: save the planet. Recently, the CEO made the decision to give away all future profits to fight the climate change crisis. 

Patagonia is responsible for crafting one of the most talked about Black Friday marketing campaigns in 2020; the “Reversible Poem.” The poem was published in the NY Times as a Black Friday advertisement, however, the campaign did not promote any sort of deal or discount  but instead was a call to action for all consumers:

We’re all screwed

So don’t tell us that

We can imagine a healthy future

Because the reality is

It’s too late to fix the climate crisis

And we don’t trust anyone who says

We need to demand a livable planet

Because we don’t have a choice

(Now read this bottom up)

Although many Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing campaigns urge consumers to hurry and buy whatever it is they are selling; this marketing campaign plays directly into human emotion— a big reason for its success. 

Apple: “Save the date. Or save all four” 

The success around Apple’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing campaign is the anticipation it builds up for the consumer. Instead of sending out one mass email promotion for Black Friday or one for Cyber Monday, they separate the deals out by an extended period of four days that you have to keep coming back for. 

By letting their customers know there will be four days of deals, Apple is giving the customer more time and more money to dedicate to their purchase. The marketing campaign begins with an email sent out a week in advance to “save the date,” followed by consistent emails reminding the customer to actually “save all four.” 

Email marketing campaigns are easy to adopt during the holiday season. As long as you have a clear objective and a targeted audience to reach, sending messages directly to the consumer through email is a great way to generate sales and customer loyalty.

Cards Against Humanity: “99% Off Sale” 

Every year, Cards Against Humanity master their Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing campaigns by not actually having a sale. The 99% off Sale is laid out as such: every 10 mins there is a new sale posted to the site, however, the sales are completely unreasonable. For example, they offer an “All New Absurd Box” that was originally $2,000 now listed for 99% off for $20. What must be known is that the box is actually just the normal box and it originally is $20. 

Cards Against Humanity does a great job at incorporating their signature humor with this annual prank sale that consumers look forward to. One year the brand even raised the price of their product and sales actually increased from the year before. 

*Photo

Though Black Friday campaigns usually promote a sale, Cards Against Humanity understands their target audience, how to appeal to human emotion through humor, and generate sales. 

With consistent growth in ecommerce and technology, brand campaigns strive to appeal to digital marketing trends more and more each year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great times for creative brands to grow their audience during the holiday season. However, to stand out– you’ve got to get creative.