Crafting Effective Black Friday/Cyber Monday TV Creatives: Strategies for Marketers

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the most significant shopping events of the year, and TV advertising plays a crucial role in helping brands stand out and capture the attention of eager shoppers. 

In our video, Meagan Boggs, Client Services Manager at Tatari, discusses various strategies for creating effective Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) TV creatives. Watch the video or read the summary below to learn how to stand out from the competition and make the most of this key shopping season.

Aligning Your Creatives Thematically: Two Approaches

Before diving into the strategies, let's discuss the importance of thematically aligning your TV creatives for BFCM. You can primarily consider two approaches: Creating a BFCM-specific creative, OR tweak existing creatives. Let’s dive into both approaches, along with some specific examples.

1. Create a Black Friday/Cyber Monday-Specific Creative

Some brands opt for creating a dedicated BFCM creative tailored explicitly to promote these events. This approach involves crafting a new creative body and designing a special end card that emphasizes the limited-time nature of the promotion. Examples of brands following this strategy include Manscaped, who created unique creatives solely for BFCM.

2. Tweak Existing Creatives

Alternatively, you can take an existing high-performing creative and make targeted adjustments to align it with BFCM. This approach involves modifying specific elements within the creative, such as adding a persistent banner, an end card, or a sticker highlighting the sale. For example, Magic Spoon created a special end card with the promo code “BF21.” 

Saatva also created a simple and effective end card highlighting their sale's time-sensitive nature.

If you choose to implement an end card-only strategy, it's essential to keep a few key principles in mind:

• Simplicity: Ensure that your end card design is clean, uncluttered, and easy to read. Avoid overwhelming viewers with too much information.

• Bite-Sized Information: Present essential information in small, digestible chunks to make it easier for viewers to process.

• Text and Voiceover: Include text on the end card to convey the BFCM savings, and consider overlaying a voiceover to reinforce the message.

Pros and Cons of Dedicated Creatives vs. Existing Creatives

Choosing between a dedicated BFCM creative and tweaking an existing one depends on your brand's goals and resources. Here's a brief overview of the pros and cons of each approach:

Dedicated Creative
Pros

• Emphasizes the message effectively.

• Suitable for brands heavily reliant on holiday sales.

• Can inform future creative strategies.

Cons

• Uncertain performance compared to proven creatives.

• Limited long-term utility beyond the holiday season.

Adjusting Existing Creative
Pros

• Cost-effective to update with holiday elements

• Because it’s already a proven creative, it will likely generate a solid cost per visit or conversion rate.

Cons

• May not emphasize the message as effectively as a dedicated creative.

Timelines and Strategies for Success

A well-thought-out timeline and strategy can make all the difference when planning for BFCM TV advertising. The earlier, the better: We recommend that clients or brands ramp up anywhere between one to three weeks before BFCM, to get in front of viewers and stay top-of-mind.

1-4 weeks before BFCM

• Even if your product or service isn't directly related to BFCM, maintaining a presence on TV can still drive results during this period.

• Increase buys on networks that are generating strong results and meeting your KPIs. 

• Consider higher bids on top networks to improve clearance as the market gets more competitive. Conversion rates during this time frame are much higher, which offset higher bids and CPMs. (DTC intimates and apparel brand Knix saw 40% higher conversions during their 2021 BFCM TV ad campaign and saw 70% higher in 2022) 

BFCM week

• Scale up advertising budgets during Black Friday and Cyber Monday to remain competitive. 

• Monitor performance closely, adjusting bids and budgets as needed to maximize ROI.

• Don't hesitate to expand buys to additional networks and rotations if they show potential for profitability.

Post-BFCM

• Continue advertising on TV, albeit at a reduced budget, to retain a presence during the holiday season.

• Consider scaling up for Christmas if your product is a popular gift item.

• Take advantage of lower CPMs in the post-holiday period to test and gather valuable insights.

Leveraging Creatives for Future Success

One often overlooked benefit of investing in holiday-themed creatives is the potential to inform your larger creative strategy. Even if these creatives run for a short period, they can yield valuable insights that you can apply to future campaigns.

For example, Storyworth initially ran a Christmas-themed TV creative for a limited time. However, they found that the concept behind the creative drove excellent results. They adapted this successful concept for other promotional periods, such as Mother's Day, with equally impressive outcomes.

Crafting effective BFCM TV creatives involves careful planning, a solid understanding of your brand's goals, and a strategic approach to aligning your message with the holiday shopping season. Whether you choose a dedicated creative or adjust existing ones, the key is to stay visible, capture your audience's attention, and drive results during this critical time of year.

For more creative inspiration, check out some other BFCM TV creative examples of some other Tatari clients here. Or, check out our deep-dive with Fabletics, where they discuss how they leveraged TV ads for their BFCM campaign and saw a 70% decrease in CAC, 110K incremental site visitors, and a 25% increase in branded search.