The biggest learnings and takeaways from Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) 2023, based on millions in spend
As expert ad buyers, you're well aware of the challenges and opportunities that the Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) period presents. This year's BFCM has been particularly insightful, offering a treasure trove of data and experiences from which to glean valuable lessons. Our comprehensive analysis, derived from millions in ad spend, aims to distill the most effective strategies and practices that emerged during this critical sales window.
In this blog, we delve deep into the nuances of patient strategy execution, the importance of extended sales periods, the vitality of diverse and dynamic creative approaches, and the significance of evergreen campaigns. We'll explore the value of multi-source data analysis for accurate optimization, the power of community wisdom, and the necessity of thorough testing and early planning. Each section is packed with practical insights and actionable advice, tailored specifically for you, the expert ad buyer. Whether you're looking to refine your approach, seek validation for your strategies, or gain new perspectives, this post is your go-to resource for mastering BFCM advertising. Let's dive into the learnings that shaped BFCM 2023 and prepare to elevate your strategies for future sales seasons.
Patience! If you don’t see success during a sales window right away, be patient. Look at soft metrics and other data and signs of success (or failure) to optimize, but don’t optimize too quickly or by too much at a time. Sale windows (like BFCM) take time to build up learnings in your ad account, as well as require an increase in customer intent to purchase, which, many times, comes throughout BFCM weekend. If you aren’t seeing crazy numbers on day one of your sale, be patient, trust your gut, know your account and the data you need to see to continue scaling, and trust the process.
Longer sales allow for longer optimization windows. If you can convince your brand to run a sale for a week instead of a day, do it! Or three days instead of 24 hours! The longer you can leave the sale running, the more your account has time to learn and optimize off of who is buying RIGHT NOW. We saw the most success with brands whose sales ran 10-14 days. Also keep in mind that audiences will fatigue (especially retargeting audiences) after the same sale has been running for (usually) 2 weeks or longer, BUT remember that in true prospecting, even an old sale is new to new customers.
Check multiple sources of information and data for the source of truth to make decisions on optimization. We’re looking at Meta (or TikTok, Google, etc.) in-platform, a third-party attribution software (like TripleWhale or Northbeam), Shopify/MER, and GA4 to circumnavigate a TRUE north in terms of what’s working. Don’t just rely on a single source to optimize or base big decisions off of.
Don’t go at it alone! The learnings you’ll get in a community of like-minded ad buyers, brand owners, agency employees, and other similar roles can be unmatched. Going at BFCM alone puts on unnecessary blinders where you aren’t able to optimize adequately because you only have insights to one brand, or even a handful of brands, but not the full picture of what is or isn’t working worldwide in other DTC ad accounts. The Foxwell Founders Community is a membership of 500+ expert ad buyers from around the world who are active daily (especially during BFCM & Q4) to help troubleshoot, answer questions, give ideas, audit accounts, compare findings, and so much more. Being alone in your decision making and data analysis may be the worst thing you can do during such an important season for ad buyers, like BFCM. Surround yourself with a community of like minded ad buyers who you can gut check with and see what’s working in more accounts and from more spend than just your own.
Creative variety is crucial. What works one year likely won’t work the next. What works one week may not work the next! This is why it’s important to include vastly different types of creative especially during high importance sales periods like BFCM so you’re ready
Don’t sleep on Evergreen/BAU campaigns and creatives and leave them running during your BFCM sales. Everyone knows you probably have a sale going on, so CTR is already going to be higher than usual, paired with higher customer purchase intent. Utilize the learnings and social proof on best-performing ads all year long and keep them running during the holiday
On that same note, relaunch some best performing creatives, but replace with holiday/gifting/sale ad copy and ad headlines. It’s a best-performing creative for a reason, and the added sale call-out may be the perfect formula for a BFCM best-performer
Test ahead of BFCM - audiences, structures, creatives, everything. Go into BFCM with a true roadmap of what works for each individual brand and account. Use your sales earlier in the year for testing to see what people resonate with. If you can run a quick flash sale in the October(ish) time frame, use that to test anything you’re wanting to run during BFCM.
Plan ahead! You’ll thank yourself for being proactive and strategic in your planning. Start thinking about BFCM in July/August, start strategizing your creative and staffing needs in August/September, book your creative in September for a September/October delivery, plan your structure in October/early November, and have everything ready to build by early November. Trust us, you’ll be glad you planned ahead!