As we approach the most anticipated shopping event of the year, Black Friday in the US, brands and marketers alike are ramping up their strategies to capitalize on the consumer frenzy. While the big day is still a week away, some brands have already kickstarted their promotions, setting the stage for what promises to be another record-breaking event.
At Bigger Picture Solutions, we believe preparation is the key to success. Looking back at last year’s performance, we developed a comprehensive plan well in advance, optimizing campaigns for the many big brands we work with. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how we approach Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Data-Driven Strategy: Learning from the Past
To prepare for Black Friday 2024, we began by thoroughly analyzing performance data from the entire year, as well as insights from Black Friday 2023. This allowed us to identify which brands and strategies were most profitable, giving us a strong foundation to build on.
With over 2,000 live campaigns across tens of DSPs, this was no small feat. The process involved opening variations for campaigns, optimizing targetings, and refining white lists (WLs).
Fine-Tuning the Strategy
Black Friday campaigns demand precision. Here’s how we tailored our approach this year:
- Identifying Profitable Channels
We reviewed the most profitable channels for each campaign, including:- Coupon and cashback sites
- Logo recommendations in browsers
- Commerce media placements
- Keyword-targeted domains
- MSN, Yahoo, and Outlook logo recommendations
- Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) apps
- Utilizing Comprehensive Data Reports
While it’s common to optimize campaigns using 30–60 days of data, we went deeper, leveraging a full year’s worth of data. This helped us identify trends that might otherwise go unnoticed, such as shifts in performance by device, OS version, city, publisher channel, creatives or ad exchanges. Tools like Voluum provided a granular view of performance metrics, which proved invaluable in crafting our strategies. - Gradual Bidding Adjustments
Media buying is highly competitive during Black Friday, with bid prices surging dramatically. To ensure cost-effectiveness, we started opening campaigns early, gradually adjusting bids to secure traffic without overpaying. This was particularly critical for RON (Run-of-Network) campaigns, where starting with high bids can be counterproductive. - Caps and Scheduling
Daily and total caps were set carefully to manage budgets and maximize exposure. For brands with dedicated Black Friday landing pages (LPs), we coordinated schedules to avoid delays in DSP approval. We also ensured campaigns ended on time to prevent promoting expired deals.
Collaboration with Brands
Collaboration with our partner brands played a significant role in our Black Friday preparations:
- Landing Pages & Funnels: We requested dedicated landing pages or funnels well in advance, allowing us to test and refine campaigns before the big day.
- Exclusive Promotions: For brands keeping top deals and products under wraps until Black Friday, we scheduled campaigns meticulously to avoid delays in DSP approvals.
- Increased Commissions: Many brands increase CPA rates or commissions for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We proactively requested purchase order (PO) increases where needed to ensure campaigns could scale effectively.
Looking Beyond Black Friday: Cyber Monday
While Black Friday grabs the headlines, Cyber Monday is equally important for many brands. We extended our efforts to cover exclusive Cyber Monday promotions, ensuring that campaigns remained active and optimized for the entire BFCM (Black Friday-Cyber Monday) period.
Conclusion
Preparing for Black Friday is no small task, especially when managing thousands of campaigns across multiple channels and DSPs. But with the right mix of data analysis, strategic planning, and collaboration with brands, we ensure that every campaign is set up for success.
As the big day approaches, we’re ready to drive incremental growth for our partners and deliver results that scale. Stay tuned for more insights into our Black Friday performance and the strategies that made it possible!
Did you find this article useful? We started a whole series of tutorials about Programmatic Media Buying as affiliates and you can learn more here and here.