Top 10 Tips for Marketers Planning a Black Friday Campaign

Black Friday in the UK has evolved from an imported spectacle of bargain-fuelled chaos to a staple of the British retail calendar. For marketers, it’s an inevitable and irresistible opportunity of retail strategy, a chance to showcase your creativity, wit, and ability to generate ROI . Whether you’re running a small campaign or orchestrating a nationwide blitz, here are 10 tips to make your Black Friday campaign a success.

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1. Plan Early, Christmas Isn’t Cancelled

This is a simple tip, I must admit! But let’s face it: Black Friday can sneak up on you!

You’re barely through your “Back to School” and Halloween campaigns and here it is… “What are we going to do this year?”… So if you can, start planning your campaign months in advance. Align your objectives, budget, and creative assets.

Remember, the early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the customers!

2. Know Your Audience Better Than They Know Themselves

Are your customers after high-ticket items, or are they just browsing for novelty socks?

Dive deep into your customer data and segment your audience like you’re revising for exams! Use insights to craft offers that resonate with each group, generic campaigns are as appealing as lukewarm fish and chips.

Your audience isn’t a monolith; they’re more like a lasagne; complex, layered but delightfully rewarding when handled with care.

3. Create Offers Worth Fighting For

Black Friday is your chance to turn your offers into something customers genuinely want. Discounts should be deep enough to entice but not so deep that your finance department starts passive-aggressively CC-ing you in emails. I know they love doing that!

Customer buying intent and impulse is at an all time high with Black Friday, so make sure you give them a deal that gets them over the line.

Remember, No one queues online for 5% off.

4. Build Anticipation: The Black Friday Warm-Up

Tease your audience in the weeks leading up to Black Friday. Early-bird deals, VIP previews, or countdowns can build excitement. Think of it as the marketing equivalent of the Glastonbury line-up announcement.

Warning: You need to balance anticipation with “the tides” of sales. What I mean by that is that once you have communicated an immanent offer, customers will probably hold off ordering from you until they have seen the offers materialise. This can cause the “tides to go out” and sales to dry up a bit in the short term.

5. Optimise Your Website

We’ve probably all heard of this before: a brilliant campaign drives traffic, only for the website to buckle under the pressure. Make sure your site is optimised for high traffic, with speedy load times and a seamless checkout experience. Don’t let your Black Friday campaign become 404 Friday.

Test your site during peak hours, it’s better to find the cracks before your customers do.

6. Mobile First, Always

By now, we should all know that people shop from their phones more than they actually use them to make calls (who does that anymore?). Ensure your campaign is mobile-friendly, with responsive design, easy navigation, and mobile-specific offers.

A clunky mobile experience is like trying to spread cold butter on toast, it’s frustrating and ultimately avoidable.

7. Don’t Neglect Email Marketing

Email is your secret weapon for Black Friday.

Craft attention-grabbing subject lines, personalise your messages, and segment your audience for maximum impact. Timing is everything, send too early, and you’ll be forgotten; send too late, and you’ll be lost in the inbox abyss.

You can usually afford to increase email frequency a bit during the Black Friday period without annoying customers too much – you need to fight the deluge of emails they will be getting – so take it all into consideration.

8. Leverage Social Media, But Don’t Oversaturate

Black Friday is when social media channels become an ad battlefield. Stand out with creative campaigns that entertain as much as they sell. Use engaging visuals, short-form videos, and memes (tastefully, of course). Oh, and don’t forget to boost those posts, organic reach is so 2014.

Posting the same generic sale graphic 20 times is the marketing equivalent of constantly calling your ex-girlfriend. Leave it out. Move on.

9. Be Transparent, No One Likes Dodgy Deals

British shoppers have finely tuned radars for anything remotely dodgy. Clearly outline terms, conditions, and delivery expectations. Inflating prices only to “discount” them is not just unethical; it’s the fastest way to a PR disaster.

Trust in marketing is like making a good profiterole, hard to achieve, but utterly delightful when done right.

10. Prepare for Post-Sale Marketing

Black Friday doesn’t end at midnight, it’s a springboard for long-term customer relationships. Plan post-sale follow-ups to nurture new leads and turn one-off buyers into loyal fans. Whether it’s a thank-you email, exclusive Cyber Monday offers, or a cheeky survey, keep the momentum going.

Treat Black Friday customers like guests at a dinner party, don’t just feed them and leave; offer tea, biscuits, banter and a reason to come back.

Final Thoughts

Black Friday is a test of creativity, strategy, and stamina for UK marketers. By planning carefully, knowing your audience, and keeping things engaging (without losing your head), you can create a campaign that not only drives sales but also strengthens your brand. Remember: Black Friday isn’t just about discounts; it’s about delivering value, delighting your audience, and outsmarting the competition.

Now go forth, craft campaigns, and may your ROI be as strong as a builder’s brew.