Over the years Black Friday has solidified itself on the calendar of every marketer in the country. The day of crazy sales is always a hub of some amazing campaigns that get really creative to set themselves apart from the competition. In this blog we explore some campaigns from recent years that stood out.
IKEA
In 2020, IKEA launched their alternative to Black Friday with their #BuyBackFriday campaign in a bid to promote and develop their circular service and sustainable consumption. The campaign allowed customers to return unwanted used furniture to store, in exchange for a voucher based on the condition of retuned items. The used furniture was then resold by the chain, and anything that couldn’t be sold was recycled.
The lead up to Black Friday can feel overwhelming with promotions and offers, so IKEA really set itself apart from the crowd by offering something a little different that would appeal to the eco-conscious masses.
The Ordinary
Skin-care experts The Ordinary are next on the list. Deciem, the parent company of The Ordinary, has been well known to take a strong stance against the rampant consumerism encouraged by Black Friday by closing its stores and website for the day. The Ordinary might not be being quite as drastic but for the whole of November is offering 23% off all products. The campaign they’ve named ‘Slowvember’ aims to promote sustainable shopping habits and allow customers to make conscious buying decisions at their own pace.
Pantee
Again choosing to focus on changing shopping habits and customer behaviour, UK based sustainable underwear brand Pantee launched Blackout Friday in 2021. The aim was to combat overconsumption by encouraging customers to avoid impulse purchases and rethink their buying choices. To put this into practice, on Black Friday the Pantee website was closed to everyone except those on the mailing list who had received an access password. Limiting access to only their engaged customers. The campaign was an amazing success which led to a rise in social engagement as well as their mailing list growing by up to 33% in the week leading up to Black Friday.
The campaigns that have proven to be the most successful are the ones that acknowledge the issues surrounding Black Friday and the problems with overconsumption, especially in today’s world where people are dealing with the personal impact of the cost-of-living crisis paired with the global climate emergency.
We’d love to hear about any Black Friday campaigns that have stood out to you this year, or previously, so make sure you send us some examples via our social channels – Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
