3 Ways Brands Can Win Black Friday with Digital Ads

By Maxime Chevallon On Nov 26, 2019

Black Friday is one of the biggest days in the retail calendar, and for good reason. Every year, the post-thanksgiving sale brings in more and more attention, and with that, revenue. However, with the ever-growing reliance on the digital world, we are seeing a significant shift towards online sales.

In 2018, while footfall in shops dropped by 5.4% on November 28 compared to 2017, online sales skyrocketed by 46%. This isn’t so great for the high street, but it offers a huge opportunity for retailers and their digital advertising efforts. There are, however, a few specific tactics that brands should leverage to optimize ROI.

Target the Right Users

Black Friday is one of the most competitive events of the year, and brands can’t afford to serve irrelevant ads if they want to maximize conversions.

Today, tools exist to help advertisers to target web browsers through location, time zone, and interests. The technology uses consented data collection that clusters users rather than targeting individual fingerprints and cookies. As a result, advertisers looking to target those interested in sports or gaming, for example, can use these tools to hone into the most relevant audience, increasing the likelihood of better click-through-rates (CTR) and ultimately, better ROI.

Find the Formats That Fit

To target users with the most appropriate offers on Black Friday, it’s important to use the most effective ad formats to maximize the chance of interaction. These include:

Push notifications. Away from where audiences are expecting to see ads, push notifications put a brand in plain sight without disrupting the user experience. This ad format would work particularly well on Black Friday, by alerting users of deals instantly to offer them huge savings on products that are too good to ignore.

Interstitial Ads. Appearing between web pages, banner blindness is near impossible with interstitials, with users needing to physically close the window to remove it. An interstitial ad with a good creative on Black Friday will enable users to better engage with offers and increase the likelihood of a Sale.

Hitting the UX Sweet Spot

There is a fine line between ‘not enough’ and ‘too much’ in advertising – something which can shift towards the latter on Black Friday. Advertisers need to find a balance. If ads are targeted, with high performing formats, user experience should only be affected by the amount on show.

For publishers, the amount of ads on show needs to be monitored. Too many will have a big impact on user experience, which drives traffic away. Conversely, publishers still need to show enough ads to drive CTRs – growing revenue for both the publisher and advertiser.

Digital ads in retail are sure to ramp up as Black Friday approaches. It’s integral for advertisers to make the most of this opportunity as more consumers look to take advantage of any deals they can. Making a few tweaks to your campaigns can make a big difference.