Black Friday 2024 falls on 29th November. Are you ready?
Its younger cousin, Cyber Monday, follows three days later on 2nd December. Both have long been major annual sales events in the United States—an opportunity for some serious post-Thanksgiving spending—but since the early 2010s, thanks to retailers such as Amazon, they’ve taken off in Britain as well, quickly becoming one of the busiest shopping periods of the year behind the pre-Christmas “Super Saturday”. During its early years, the British Black Friday sadly became synonymous with viral videos of crowds brawling over big-screen TVs. Thankfully, however, tempers have long since cooled, and Cyber Weekend, as the whole period is known, has become an increasingly valuable addition to many people’s calendars. With significant discounts and flash sales on all kinds of goods, from tech to lifestyle to e-commerce, it offers shoppers on a budget the chance to not only secure deals on big-ticket items for themselves but also potentially save money on Christmas presents for their children and/or partners.
What’s more, Black Friday-related spending is still increasing, with 2023 being a record year for sales on both sides of the pond. According to Adobe, customers spent almost £3.5 billion across Cyber Weekend in the UK alone, a 5.6% rise from 2022. Indications are that 2024’s sales are going to be bigger still, as inflation tentatively eases and people start feeling a little more able to spend their hard-earned money on something other than necessities. Although there are always plenty of in-store offers available, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are mainly driven by online shopping, and research by Finder shows that the biggest customer base is Millennials and Gen Z—those born between 1980 and 2012 and who generally have more access to online shopping. Over 80% of both groups intend to buy something over Cyber Weekend and have an average budget of more than £180 at the ready. That’s a lot of money and a lot of potential customers actively looking to grab a bargain, but it also means there are a lot of companies competing to be heard through the noise. So how can businesses get their offers in front of people when there are so many competitors doing the same thing at the same time? With paid ads often scrolled past, skipped, hidden by ad-blockers, or made redundant by subscriptions, one brilliant tactic is to partner with influencers.
ENTER THE INFLUENCERS
It’s common knowledge that getting the right person to endorse a product or service can increase sales. Such marketing strategies date back to the 19th century, making them almost as old as advertising itself. This of course led to well-loved, relatable celebrities regularly appearing in ad campaigns and becoming brand ambassadors—be it Chevy Chase and Twinkly or Michael Van Wijk Hormann UK for a new campaign.
With the rise of the internet, customers started searching for user reviews to guide them, and so smart brands began paying bloggers to post favourable content about their wares. When social media came along, this practice evolved to give rise to professional influencers.
Generally speaking, influencers aren’t traditional celebrities, but by showcasing their aspirational lifestyle on social media, the most successful at it build a personal brand and grow large, often highly engaged online audiences for their content. They regularly collaborate with brands and services on sponsored posts too, endorsing products and offering companies a perfect route to potential customers and clients.
Professional influencers are a great way of getting your product or service in front of your target audience in a more organic, naturalistic way, but we can think about influencing more broadly too, such as people who aren’t full-time influencers but play a role in shaping public opinion. For example, we all have at least one personality we follow on social media whose opinion we respect. They might be a blogger, vlogger, TV expert, or an actor, but if they say something’s worth checking out, we’ll be more likely to check it out. For example, popular podcasters and content creators will often be sponsored by companies who offer listeners exclusive discounts on their products and services. Such James Buckley, best known for his role in The Inbetweeners. Buckley, featuring Ronseal products in his popular YouTube vlog series At Home With The Buckleys.
IT’S ALL ABOUT TRUST
What influencers and the like offer their audiences that simple paid ads can’t is trust—something that’s grown more difficult to build through traditional methods in recent years. Audiences become invested in the journeys of the people they follow and are ready to listen to them. Research suggests that millennials are far more likely to trust a review on a blog than they are an ad.
Like Cyber Weekend, influencer marketing is also continuing to grow. Even though it barely existed 20 years ago, it’s now a major industry worth billions and can offer a huge ROI. Put simply, the way audiences behave is changing fast and brands need to keep pace.
This is where MN2S comes in. We’ve got an incredible roster of influencers, tastemakers, and trendsetters, and we’re in the business of partnering amazing brands and companies with the right talent to help get what they offer in front of the right audience in the most impactful way.
Recent examples of our brilliant brand partnerships have included booking renowned vlogger and gamer Leah Ashe (5 million+ YouTube subscribers) to help launch an anime-inspired digital pet for Spin Master and facilitating a collab between beauty influencer Jessica Vu (2 million+ subscribers) with makeup brand Soo Ador.
@leahashe Unbox my brand new Punirunes with me! A never before seen way to interact with a digital pet in their world! There are 55 characters to collect and each character has 3 evolutions! They're so cute! Punirunes are now available at all major retailers so don't miss out! #ad #Punirunes @spin master @Punirunes ♬ original sound – Leah Ashe
Are you ready to join Spin Master, Soo Ador, and many others in letting MN2S pair you with the right talent this Black Friday? If so, now’s the time to do it! With many companies already starting to introduce their sales ahead of the 29th, you’ve got to act fast if you want to take advantage of this potentially lucrative marketing stream.