LOS ANGELES — As the unofficial marking of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday — and the subsequent Cyber Monday — has consumers clamoring for deals … and retailers and brands closing deals.
But participating in these events isn’t a given, especially in the food space. It comes with benefits and drawbacks, and understanding each will help baked goods brands — especially those new to the game — gauge if it’s the right strategy and also know how to execute.
During a small group mentoring session for Emerge CPG network members, Jessyca Dewey, digital marketing strategist and founder of The Y Collective shared some critical questions younger brands should ask themselves when creating a Black Friday strategy. She also shared best practices to ensure the best bang for a brand’s buck.
After all, discounting products is an investment. And while these shopper holidays require a deeper discount than any other time of year, it’s important for a brand to understand the implications that come with those discounts, especially for a premium product. On one hand, it can drive awareness and urgency; on the other, a brand must overcome concerns that it could imply devaluation.
“Oftentimes brands feel obligated to participate in Black Friday, and that can create a lot of noise,” Dewey said. “For some, it might not even make sense.”
The first, most logical step is to look at the margin, which typically should allow for a 20 to 30% discount. If the margin doesn’t allow for that, these sales are likely not the right strategy. One exception might be product trial campaigns where the revenue hit is already built into the budget.
Timing is also a key factor, and it must be considered strategically. The holidays are a noisy time for consumers, so the timing must support a brand standing out from the noise rather than just participating in it. Much of that has to do with the level of overall digital marketing and how often the brand does sales or promotions.
“For those who almost never do discounts or promos, this is an opportunity to impress upon your consumers the urgency, scarcity or exclusivity of the campaign,” Dewey suggested. “In that case, it’s important to communicate that it’s a once-a-year sale and that your brand isn’t discounted outside of it. That way, you can keep the product and the brand in an elevated position.”
That said, brands that offer regular promotions can cut through the noise — not only with other brands competing for attention but also with their own sales tactics — through deeper discounts or specific messaging.
Standing out is especially important when Black Friday deals are starting earlier and earlier, often before Thanksgiving. For many smaller brands, waiting for promotions through Small Business Saturday might be the ticket.
“Black Friday is a short timeline that should last about 24 hours,” Dewey said. “If you promote on Cyber Monday, you probably need to start early and go through Monday or even Tuesday. And you can always take a Main Street approach with Small Business Saturday, where you’re competing with fewer people but still using some of the language associated with Black Friday or Cyber Monday.”
“For those who almost never do discounts or promos, this is an opportunity to impress upon your consumers the urgency, scarcity or exclusivity of the campaign.”—Jessyca Dewey | founder, The Y Collective | Emerge CPG mentor
Putting the plan in motion first requires locking in the objectives. Is it to drive sales? Test market a new product? Broaden consumer reach or drive brand awareness? Committing to an objective will reveal not only understanding what, if any, sale is the best fit but also the marketing strategy behind it.
Regardless of which sale holiday, it’s important to remember that promoting through different channels requires a specific approach for each one. They can complement one another, but they also need to be optimized for their specific formats.
“It should flow so that when a consumer clicks from an email to a landing page, the site matches what they expect to find,” Dewey said. “For Black Friday promotions, it’s even better to have the links click through to a specific Black Friday landing page.”
Segmenting the audience for email marketing is another strategy that can work for bakery brands to cut through the noise during these big promotional seasons.
For example, creating holiday gift guides in addition to pitching a product to publications’ guides can be formatted to fit specific consumer targets. It’s also an opportunity to personalize the message.
“The great thing about gift guides is the more granular you get, the more of them you can do,” Dewey said.
She also noted that tribal language brings authenticity to each segment, as well, especially for geographic targets.
“Speak to the nature of things that makes it feel really personal and relevant,” she said. “Those gift guides should be things that speak specifically to a tribal level.”
Targeting can also funnel into exclusivity in terms of what products to promote and when.
“Is there something you could offer to people who haven’t yet purchased your product, or only purchased once or twice, as opposed to those who you consider to be your ‘best’ customers?” added Julie Pryor, CEO of Emerge CPG who hosted the call. “Who do you want to deepen the relationship with?”
In those instances, creating “exclusive” offers for the VIP customers is another way to participate in Black Friday and still keep the brand just outside the “discount product” zone.
As many emerging bakery brands focus on not only healthy attributes but also every angle of sustainability, Black Friday becomes an opportunity for giving back, rather than simply discounting the product.
While give-backs are qualitative on the surface in terms of the price point, they can also have a quantitative impact in terms of what a product or brand contributes to society. For example, using resources like upcycled ingredients or sustainable packaging creates a message that reminds consumers how they support a cause through supporting the brand, beyond just snagging the discount.
