The phenomenon, the definitive boom or the consolidation of Black Friday in Spain. These are some of the headlines we were able to read in the press last year. The sector made a very positive balance, including the impact of Cyber Monday. It’s November 2018 and retail is ready to surpass all expectations in Spain: online sales are estimated at 1.3 billion euros, 13% more than in 2017.
The preparations include the digital agencies, which accompany the large eCommerce in what is undoubtedly the most important date of the year. In addition, we have to join forces not only with the client but with the rest of their pool of agencies (if you have it, of course). Black Friday is a litmus test and no one is willing to burn. In this article, I would like to explain what are the challenges we face from a digital agency when it arrives on November 23rd. Tell, from our experience in Tidart, how is the day to day of an agency during the most frenetic week for e-commerce around the world.
The before
Black Friday is very different from sales periods. Especially when it comes to communication. In this case, consumers can find up to 70% discounts in all categories of an online store, not just on selected products. Moreover, in Spain it is not yet as deep-rooted a tradition as the July and January sales, so it is necessary to make a greater effort in notoriety.
Therefore, the campaign must be launched in time, at least one week before the 23rd. In fact, the greatest weight of our planning must fall on the previous days and our objectives must not be focused on selling, but on giving visibility to the promotion, on obtaining the widest possible reach. At this stage, users need to know what’s coming, they need to have time to prepare the shopping cart in order to press «place order» on Thursday 22 at 22:00.
The (counter)clock
22:00 the day before Black Friday, is the prime-time of the event if we compare it with the television grill. It is the moment in which the stores launch the promotion and in which the greatest volume of sales of all «El Buen Fin» is produced, as it is known in Mexico.
Time is a determining factor both before and during. The team has to be prepared and act quickly when changes occur (because there will be, there is no doubt about that). If we are talking about a big retailer, we are talking about a Black Friday promotion in different markets, with their corresponding languages, characteristics and local times. This entails an enormous amount of work for the client and his entire pool of agencies, as the creativities have to be adapted and the programming of each of the international campaigns has to be adjusted to the millimeter. That’s why it’s not uncommon for executives from any area or marketing agency to show up the next day with dark circles under their eyes in the office. Who said Black Friday was easy?
The budget
Black Friday requires a very important investment, but it pays off. That’s why there’s no one in the sector who doesn’t get on this car. And every year it goes to more. As we have seen, online marketing agencies have to adapt to the special requirements demanded by the nature of this event. The budget does not escape these demands.
Our main concern is always to make an optimal distribution in such a short space of time. Therefore, the updating, the adjustments, are constant, even every hour. This is why we work together with the client with a dashboard. Last year we developed one that allowed us to see all the data in real time. Thus, we have a bird’s eye view of the evolution, updated to the second, of the investment we make in each channel. This work methodology is a before and after; it is very important to be able to make an exhaustive balance of the campaign.
Finally, the recapitulation. As in any launch, the after is a vital phase. With regard to Black Friday, there are behavioral expectations but, until it comes, nothing can be taken for granted. It is therefore important to take into account the results within the annual strategy. Firstly, because it is a date close to the next exercise and, secondly, because its evaluation is invaluable for the next Black Friday is also a «better Friday». At Tidart we always think about optimizing.
*Article originally published on November 13 on Madrid Retail Congress‘s blog.
