Why it’s important to play the long game during the Black Friday frenzy
Summary
In the run-up to Black Friday, brands will be putting together their promotions, finalising their creative and deploying an enormous volume of ads across both digital and non-digital channels. For UK retailers, the stakes will be similarly high and with much of that spend going into auction-based digital advertising platforms and pushing up the cost of those bids, that can have a big impact on your cost-per-acquisition. The competition is harder, demanding greater levels of investment if you are going to be successful, the expectation from those looking on is higher and any failings in your tactics or strategy are going to be much more ruthlessly exposed. It’s very easy to see Black Friday as an event in which you simply compete to generate revenue at (almost) any cost as your competition comes out with even bigger discounts and more aggressive ad bidding, but there are much smarter ways to take advantage of this increased consumer activity whilst at the same time, protecting that all-important margin. Whilst many ecommerce brands will invariably focus on volume during the Black Friday period, the real difference is made in generating audiences that will carry much more long-term value.