Black Friday is an essential highlight in the marketing calendar. Every year, more than 70% of consumers make purchases on this occasion, taking advantage of the promotions offered by retailers.

Imported from the United States, this trade festival is becoming popular in France and abroad. It is very important for brands to position around this important time and create a Black Friday marketing strategy that will enable them to recruit and convert customers.

In this article, we take a look at the issues that companies need to prepare for in order to succeed with their Black Friday campaigns. We also share some effective and original ideas to boost sales and prepare offers for the festive season.

SUMMARY

• The marketing challenges of Black Friday
• 3 marketing campaign ideas to boost sales during Black Friday

Black Friday is no ordinary trade fair. It offers companies an opportunity to hire new prospects and re-engage their existing customers (in the same way as sales). But the special feature of the Black Friday is that is takes place at a strategic time of year.

It is indeed the last weekend of November the final stretch before Christmas shopping. Generally speaking, the 4th quarter of the year (October / November / September) is a strategic time for companies, who generate 20 to 30% of their annual sales during this period.

Black Friday’s marketing challenges are unique and brands have the opportunity to implement a strategy that will enable them to target the following four marketing objectives.

Stand out from the competition

An increasing number of companies are offering Black Friday deals. Brands must redouble their efforts to make their campaign visible to their target audience

To capture attention, they’ll have to rely on levers of visibility, such as originality and interactivity. Companies can set themselves apart by organizing a marketing competition, for example.

Engaging consumers at the right time

Brands are tending to communicate their Black Friday offers earlier and earlier. By spacing out their marketing campaign over several days, they can create a teasing effect and manage consumer expectations.

Its also an effective approach to staying top of mind the big day and guide shoppers towards the offers/products that meet their expectations. The key is to strike the balance to avoid advertising fatigue by offering a variety of advertising formats that maintain engagement. A multi-channel approach will be essential to reach consumers wherever they are.

Propose relevant offers based on customer preferences

To convert, Black Friday marketing campaigns can’t just play on discount percentages. They can precisely target consumers’ product preferences, offering them a recommendation of items or services they are likely to buy.

This means collecting, in advance of Black Friday, relevant customer data on favorite product categories, but also on the marketing channels, payment methods and delivery options that buyers prioritize. To achieve this, brands can rely on marketing games such as Battle or Gift Finder.

Collect opt-ins and build loyalty to boost repeat purchases

Black Friday is the start of an intense period for consumers. The shopping extravaganza takes place just before Cyber Monday (the following Monday) and Christmas.

To boost sales throughout this period, it’s very important that brands take advantage of Black Friday to collect opt-ins. Black Friday marketing formats can be used to this end (via a simple opt-in form).

Brands can take advantage of this opportunity to collect customer preference (with a survey or swiper) to optimize campaigns. They can encourage engaged prospects to create a customer account or download their application to boost their re-purchase rate.

Gamification is a lever to meet the challenges of a Black Friday marketing strategy. Depending on the brand’s objectives, these formats can help to achieve the following goals:

• Recruit qualified leads and optins to develop your customer database.
• Engage existing customers using games to showcase products and support promotions.
• Increase sales by encouraging consumers to make a purchase in-store or on the e-commerce site.

1. Recruit leads with an instant win

Simple mechanics such as Instant Wins are ideal to recruit new leads and collecting optin. Red By SNCF relied on the One-armed Bandit to boost the visibility of its Black Friday campaign.

The principle of the game (aligning three identical patterns to unlock a gift or discount) is indeed perfect for engaging a wide audience. Prospects are attracted by the prospect of finding out immediately whether they’ve won a reward or not.

What’s more, the interactive, fun aspect of this Black Friday marketing campaign helped the operator stand out at this busy time of year.

2. Engage your community during Black Friday with a Shopping List

To engage existing customers during Black Friday, brands can rely on gamification mechanics highlighting their products. The idea here is to discover its offer in a fun way, the aim is also to collect customer preferences in order to offer targeted product. The challenge is also to offer prizes that capture the audience’s attention and make them participate.

Gifts offered its community the chance to win an exceptional basket made up exclusively of items that participants had already selected using a shopping list. Throughout the week leading up to Black Friday, shoppers could try their luck and win their wishlist in a prize draw.

3. Boost Black Friday sales with coupons

For Black Friday marketing campaigns to bear fruit, brands need to find effective levers to redirect their audience to their website (or in-store for a drive-to-store campaign).

Oui SNCF, took advantage of its Black Friday gamification campaign (a one-armed bandit) to distribute 15-euro e-coupons. Participants could then win a voucher, to be used on the company’s website or app for their next booking.

With more than 2K clicks driven to its site, Oui SNCF boosted sales over the period. But as well as generating sales for Black Friday, the company also took advantage of the opportunity to collect email addresses and opt-ins to enrich its CRM.

Conclusion

Gamification is one of the most effective strategies for creating an impactful marketing campaign. By choosing a playful, interactive mechanism to animate your audience, you can not only present your discounts more effectively, but also significantly boost your sales. Discover our catalog of playable formats to boost your Black Friday marketing strategy.

Promoting a product requires a distinctive marketing strategy of a classic brand awareness campaign. Indeed, the brand will need to focus its content on a very specific item, to highlight its features and make its audience want to buy it.

But a campaign to promote a product can also serve other strategic objectives for the company. It can be an opportunity to :

• gain notoriety,
• recruit new leads (especially if the brand extends its product range),
• retain existing customers,
• collect opt-in,
• or attract the public in-store (with product demonstrations, for example).

In this article, we propose 6 effective ideas for gamified marketing campaigns to promote a product.

SUMMARY

• 1.Offer an exclusive preview of your product
• 2. Answering customer questions with an interactive quiz
• 3. Share UGC to promote a product
• 4. Product launch: 100% winning coupons
• 5. Present the benefits of the new product
• 6. Immerse customers in your brand universe with a treasure hunt

The launch of a new product is a major event for brands. Some brands use the occasion to organize a physical event to present the new product to their audience. This is the case, for example, with Apple and its famous Keynotes.

Live shopping also offers a digital alternative to this product presentation, giving buyers an exclusive look at the item being used (or worn, for example, in the case of fashion marketing).
Les marques peuvent elles aussi en profiter pour répondre aux questions des internautes et présenter ainsi les caractéristiques et la valeur ajoutée de leur produit de manière beaucoup plus interactive et pertinente.

This product presentation, whether physical or digital, can take place before the launch. In the case of a digital product (such as software or a video game), the company can create a form of teasing by presenting a demonstration of its service, or by having its most committed users test an MVP (for Minimum Viable Product, i.e. a beta version). This is an excellent way of collecting feedback to improve the final product, and also of rewarding loyal customers.

The main added value of a new product, and what will make it stand out from its competitors, is its ability to respond to the problems faced by consumers. To encourage the audience to take an interest in a new product, and make them want to buy it, the brand can present its main features and what makes it unique, through an interactive quiz for example.

Consumers can discover the product interactively, through a gamified format at the end of which they can win a voucher or discount. This is what Savencia did to promote its 2 brands Giovanni Ferrari (mozzarella) and Islos (Feta) during the summer. The company shared a Mediterranean-themed quiz in which participants could test their knowledge while discovering the products.

Participants can ask question via a shared form at the end of the quiz. The company can then keep the most frequently asked and/or most relevant questions to organise a Q&A and thus respond to the concerns or expectations of its prospects.

What better way to promote a product than to share visual testimonials of the value it already offers your existing customers. In marketing, this is called UGC, i.e. buyer-generated content.
These could be photos or videos of your customers using (or wearing) your product.

This authentic content is highly effective in converting new customers, all the more so when shared with a dedicated hashtag on social networks. To collect UGC, brands can organize a contest (again, video or photo). Customers will be encouraged to enter for a chance to win an attractive prize fund and the chance to be rewarded on their favorite brand’s account.

This is what GoPro does, for example, to highlight the quality of its cameras.

Companies can also organize a promotional campaign to give visibility to a new product and boost sales at launches. Visit 100% winning instants, which distribute e-coupons, is particularly effective in this case.

All participants can win a discount (by a greater or lesser percentage depending on their result in the marketing game). The brand can do this via an interactive mechanism such as the A slot machine, for example, with motifs representing his new product, or a pinata, again in the shape of the item in question.

Many brands promoting a product tend to focus on its features and functionality. However, a much more effective marketing strategy is to present the advantages of a product and the added value it can bring to users. Users are thus encouraged to imagine themselves with the product in their hands, and better visualize what it can do for them.

An excellent gamification mechanic for presenting the added value of your product or offering is the Memory.
In fact, it makes it possible to showcase promotional content in an original way and informs consumers and maximize the time they spend with the brand.

Shuttle Freight, for example, has opted for this marketing game to highlight the benefits of their loyalty program. and recruit new members. By clicking on a new card, participants could discover the rewards to which they would have access according to the number of points accumulated (birthday gift, free crossing, etc.).

The game was followed by an instant win to earn loyalty points, a particularly engaging mechanic, since prospects knew exactly what these points would unlock.

When brands promote a product, they often use static formats that don’t engage consumers. Gamification allows you to create interaction and to encourage customers to interact with the product. They are no longer the passive spectators of a classic ad or tutorial video presentation, but the actors in the campaign, discovering the product from every angle and even in action.

The treasure hunt is a very interesting format for creating this interaction between customer and product. Participants are immersed in the world of the brand and can discover the product in a gamified environment linked to the article. This may involve a classic hidden object, in which the user searches for the object in a virtual world.

The brand can also opt for a more complex version, in which the user has to assemble the various components that make up the product. (like the ingredients of a beauty care product, for example). The customer discovers for himself the full potential of the product, its different functionalities/properties and use cases.

Conclusion

With the explosion of e-commerce and digital marketing, one of the challenges facing retail brands is to encourage their online prospects to visit their stores. Moreover, e-couponing is among the most effective marketing levers of the distribution of discount coupons and vouchers.

Indeed, by digitizing coupons, brands can boost their sales not only online, but also in their physical points of sale. In this article, we’ll take a look at the benefits of e-couponing, particularly in terms of converting and building loyalty, increasing in-store traffic and maximizing ROI.

Also, we’ll introduce you to a particularly effective gamified format for distributing coupons to your audience: the 100% win rate game.

SUMMARY

• What is web couponing
• Why opt for e-couponing?
• Organize a 100% win rate game to give away discount coupons

Web couponing (or e-couponing) is quite simply the digital equivalent of the classic discount coupon. Rather than distributing paper coupons (after a checkout, via a catalog or by mail), brands can now digitalize their couponing.

Coupons can take many forms, such as a QR code or a barcode. Moreover, it can be printable, distributed via email or in the form of mobile coupons (known as m-couponing). The discount code is sent directly by SMS or MMS to the customer’s phone, or via the brand’s application.

Like any discount coupon, the main aim of this lever is to encourage consumers to make a purchase, buy more or buy again from the company.

While digital coupons were originally used by e-retailers to offer their customers a digital alternative, web couponing is now a popular tool in retail. In fact, it enables brands to increase traffic, boost sales in their physical stores and to build customer loyalty. It has thus become a highly effective web-to-store lever.

Finally, at the checkout, customers with a digital coupon present the QR code or barcode. The discount is applied immediately via the store’s computer system. It can be used online (in which case it takes the form of a unique discount code).

Web couponing offers many advantages for brands. Before implementing a strategy, it’s worth understanding what results a company can expect when distributing digital coupons to its audiences.

1. Acquire new customers

Offering discount coupons, whether digital or paper, is always a good way to attract new customers. For example, the brand can offer exclusive discounts valid only on a first purchase. It can also send a promotional code when a customer subscribes to its newsletter. In general, the opportunity to take advantage of a discount can convince prospects who have never purchased from the company to place a first order.

2. Boost in-store traffic

A recent study conducted by CPA revealed that over 90% of Internet users say they are ready to use a discount voucher found online. In order to make a purchase in a physical store. Offering digital coupons is therefore an excellent way of increasing in-store traffic and converting online-activated prospects into retail customers.

To maximise its drive-to-store strategy, the brand can offer coupons that are only valid in-store, or only on offers available at its points of sale.

3. Build customer loyalty and increase repurchase rates

Coupons can also be a way of rewarding loyal customers. In fact, this will encourage consumers to return to the store or buy from the brand. The coupon can be integrated into the company’s loyalty program, or sent by SMS at a strategic period in the marketing calendar.

To make the most of the loyalty-building benefits of coupons, the key is to personalize campaigns. The brand can distribute discounts on customers’ birthdays or when they reach a new level in their loyalty program.

4. better track and maximize campaign ROI

Measuring the performance of retail campaigns can be more complex. Couponing enables brands to better target their efforts and track their ROI in-store, as each coupon can be encoded in the checkout system.

This marketing strategy is therefore agile and easier to implement than printing and distributing paper coupons. Companies can therefore test different approaches  (triggers for distributing a new coupon, discount amounts, etc.).

After analyzing the results of each A/B testing campaign, companies can adjust their strategy and maximize their results.

5. Increase your customer’s average shopping basket

A survey carried out by LH2 reveals that 67% of French consumers have already added a product to their basket in order to take advantage of a discount. 25% have even postponed a purchase in order to use a discount coupon.

E-couponing is therefore an excellent way to increase the average shopping basket of in-store shoppers (both physical and digital).

6. adopt more ethical maketing

One of the main disadvantages of physical coupons is that they are printed on paper. Even if it is printable, the e-couponing allows you to reduce the ecological footprint and adopt a more eco-responsible approach.

6. Improve your shopping experience

It’s also a good way to improve the customer experience by avoiding the risk of customers losing or forgetting their discount voucher before going to the store. Coupons can be accessed anytime, anywhere. Companies can even send reminders by SMS, email or via a notification on their app to ensure that consumers don’t miss their discount deadline.

However, to achieve these results the company must identify effective levers for distributing its coupons. It can rely on its application or loyalty program to achieve average basket increase objectives. Gamification and competitions will be effective in attracting and converting new prospects.

Marketing games, broadcast on social networks or in the form of pop-ups on your online/in-app store, are excellent levers for spreading an e-couponing campaign. This is particularly true for instant wins, which enable participants to find out whether or not they’ve won a gift (and the nature of the reward).

As part of a web couponing strategy, the brand can even opt for a 100% win rate competition. As the name suggests, this mechanism promises all participants the chance to win a prize. The prospect will be able to launch a wheel of fortune or play the one-armed bandit and find out how much your discount will be (-30, 40 or 50%, for example).

Showroomprive & Rituals example

Showroomprivé’s strategy for boosting engagement and sales of the Ritual brand on its app. In this in-app game, participants were invited, through a Flip&Win, to choose their favorite product. After clicking on it, they automatically received a voucher to be used on any order over 45 euros.

In addition to boosting the conversion rate of its campaign and increasing the average shopping basket, this 100% winning game was also an excellent way of collecting customer preference and promoting products.

Conclusion

Launch a 100% winning game with instant win contests to boost your e-couponing strategy and achieve the results your brand has set itself (conversion, loyalty, customer knowledge, etc.). Easily organize your own instant win campaign thanks to our interactive mechanics!