Funnel Vision Issue #008

Happy Friday! Welcome back to Funnel Vision 👀

Mixing up the format a little today. Hope you’re in the mood for rapid-fire knowledge nuggets. ‘Cause that’s what’s on today’s menu.

Buckle up, partner. Let’s get the vision.

Reading time: 8 minutes.

MEDIA BUYING STRATEGY

18 Quick-Hit Tips from Master Media Buyers on Dominating BFCM

Yesterday we wrapped our BCFM Bootcamp with a bang 💥

It was a scintillating masterclass on running efficient and profitable holiday campaigns. Watching two experts of their craft, Juhi Pikale and Nacho Manchi, share their hard-earned BFCM insights was a real treat.

The energy in the room was electric.

We can’t recreate that magic, unfortunately. But we can share the most essential takeaways. Kicking off with…

1. Start planning early

"The earlier you start planning, the better.” 

Seems like simple advice on the surface. But Juhi recommends starting with factors that may not be top of mind for marketers—inventory and supply chain.

Can your warehouse handle the increased demand of BFCM weekend? Are your best-selling items well stocked? Are your shipping logistics buttoned up?

Get answers to these questions as soon as July to avoid any unwanted surprises come November.

2. Align on your offer

Your offer strategy is at the heart of your BFCM campaign.

And just like your inventory, it needs to be aligned across the organization—specifically with the finance team.

“These few days can easily drive 30-50% of sales for the entire year,” said Juhi.

“To make that a reality you need to align teams on the offer. You don’t want to lose your shirt on it, but at the same time it should be as competitive as possible.”

💡 Tip: Agree on your offer early, as it will be a prominent factor in your creative.

3. Exclusive BFCM discounts

Speaking of offer strategy, consider making BFCM the only time of year to offer products at a discount.

“If you’re only going to offer one discount per year, this is the time when you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck. Just make it perfectly clear to your customers that this is the only sale you’ll be doing for the year.”

Juhi has worked with several ecommerce brands that deploy this strategy.

The sense of urgency and exclusivity it creates can be a powerful revenue driver.

4. Cast a wide net

BFCM is the perfect time to expand your reach with broad audience targeting.

While retargeting and catering to your warm audiences & previous customers is important—a key takeaway from the first bootcamp session—now is also the time to reach a wider audience.

“When it comes to growth potential and scaling your budget, the opportunity is in prospecting audiences,” said Nacho.

Juhi agrees.

“This is the time where the mass market is ready to shop. Go broad in your targeting.”

However, it's crucial to test these strategies before BFCM to avoid introducing untested methods during the peak period.

Speaking of testing…

5. Test before BFCM

Wrap up any testing before November 15.

Leading up to this key date, test away! This experimentation phase is critical to uncover your top performers.

But when it’s go-time, solely focus on scaling your top performers.

6. Understand what BFCM means for your brand

BFCM is a lucrative period for many DTC and ecommerce brands.

(Juhi made an excellent point that products that can be gifted typically do well.)

But for other brands, it makes zero sense to compete on spend when costs are at their highest.

Understand what BFCM means for your brand. The smartest move for some is sitting it out till the frenzy dies down.

7. Test TikTop Shop & other new channels

We’ll repeat a common theme: BFCM is NOT the time to test anything.

But the lead up to November (i.e. now) is a great time to test new channels that could give you a boost. 

TikTop Shop is one example. It’s emerged as a powerful platform, one where early adopters are finding success.

Explore whether emerging channels like these make sense for your brand.

8. How to monitor and manage spend

During peak days—Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday—it’s all hands on deck.

For media buyers, the reality is you need to monitor spend like a hawk.

Watch for opportunities to strategically scale ads that are performing well, while also being mindful of overspending on underperformers.

💡Check out Juhi’s awesome system for tracking and adjusting spend in real time.

9. The post-Cyber Monday transition

As soon as Cyber Monday ticks over to regular ol’ Tuesday, it’s time to shift your focus to holiday messaging.

“When things slow down on Tuesday, make the switch to holiday messaging as soon as possible. On your ads, your website, emails, everything.”

Juhi also advises to keep successful ads up if they’re still performing and the offer is still active.

10. Tap Q5 opportunities

Q5 is that quirky period after the traditional holiday period and before people go back to work in early- to mid-January.

Dropping advertising costs present a huge opportunity for certain brands.

New year’s resolutions are on the mind, so offers for beauty, fitness, and health products tend to do exceptionally well.

11. Ad set management 

When testing ads in the lead up to BFCM, make sure each ad set contains between 3 to 6 ads.

“You’ll typically have an answer of whether it’s working or not within 48 hours,” said Juhi. “If it’s not working, cut the fat and move on. Keep testing.”

The weeks in the lead up to BFCM are critical to optimizing your campaigns and creatives so you can focus on top ads during peak times.

12. Ad quality vs. quantity

Start with quantity, refine to quality.

That’s the approach Nacho takes, often to great success.

“There’s a sweet spot for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Aim for quantity through the year as you test different concepts. Then refine down to your top performers for BFCM.”

Plus, the platforms themselves will often isolate one or two winners.

As Juhi puts it, you’re dancing with the algorithm. And as we all know, the algorithm leads 💃

13. Plan for the worst, hope for the best

Just gonna put it out there. Stuff will break.

Nacho’s had to rebuild an ad account from scratch on Cyber Monday after a payment method was rejected.

Juhi had her primary email service provider (ESP) go down. No emails on Black Friday? Yay.

Be prepared for unexpected disruptions. Also have the stoicism to know a lot of them will be outside of your control.

14. Overcommunicate

There’s extremely high expectations around BFCM from the entire company.

You’ll inevitably be asked for updates. Providing them proactively displays leadership and control over what can be an extremely demanding few days.

Share how campaigns are tracking. Explain any changes. Check in with your team. 

This proactive communication and internal education can seem like an irksome addition to an already overwhelming period. But it goes a long way to getting the entire organization behind you.

15. Don’t ignore your CRM

You’re very likely already sitting on a gold mine.

“Your CRM can drive a ton of BFCM revenue,” says Juhi. 

“Leads that haven’t engaged in months will probably be responsive to your offer.”

Don’t ignore your email, SMS, and push notification strategies. These channels can be some of the lowest hanging fruit of all.

16. Testing landing pages

Similarly, your landing pages are often just as important as your ads.

Aggressively test and optimize your landing pages leading up to BFCM to ensure they’re converting effectively.

As with ads, roll out your winning pages for BFCM.

17. Simple creative = 💸

“Don’t be surprised if a static ad with just your offer is your top spender.”

Both Nacho and Juhi have seen this play out time and time again.

People are shopping. They’re looking for the best deals. Make sure yours is prominent and obvious.

18. Preventing BFCM burnout

There’s no getting around it, BFCM is a high-pressure time for marketers.

"It’s a very stressful couple of days,” says Nacho, “but it can be made easier.”

Careful planning, frequent check-ins, and making sure your team feels supported and confident to communicate unexpected challenges are some key considerations

An extended happy hour after the madness is over doesn’t hurt, either 😉

Phew, you made it!

Thanks for riding with us!

Our monthly Screen Share sessions are a ton of fun. It’s a rare look into the minds (and the screens) of some of the best marketers in the game.

And we just locked potentially our biggest guest yet for September 🤯

But you’re gonna have to wait till next time to find out who!

Psst... wanna earn $1k?

Know someone looking for efficiency, flexibility, and scale with performance creative and media buying? Refer brands in your network and earn $1,000.

Check out the Ready Set referral program here.