Black Friday is one of the most hectic and exciting times when shopping centers are jam-packed, and people are busy shopping. Many stores give huge discounts and other tempting offers during that time.
*Updated 7/17/2024
But over time, people have transitioned year over year to shopping online rather than in-store on Black Friday. It's just become more convenient and easy to do.
For example in 2021, 88 million shoppers made purchases through devices, while 66.5 million chose to shop in stores. Black Friday 2022 did even better with over $9 billion in online purchases.
So how can you best position your business to get in on this digital gold rush? Terrific videos for your Black Friday campaigns.
Creating Black Friday videos for campaigns becomes necessary to attract audiences and turn them into customers.
However, creating a winning Black Friday video has never been easy. I compiled seven effective Black Friday video examples from big companies.
(Click above to skip to the one you want to see)
Or skip down to: How to Make Your Own Black Friday Videos
Your Black Friday video must stand out in the sea of content to grab the audience's attention right on the bat. Visuals, audio, plot, content, and other video elements must be on point to win audiences and get the upper hand over competitors.
Some create simple videos, while others make more vibrant videos. You can also consider using motion graphics, stop-motion, or animation videos to level up your Black Friday video campaign.
Big companies like Amazon, Target, and Walmart always come up with video campaigns during Black Friday. Their sales are most likely to skyrocket during that time, except for Walmart, which showed a slight decrease last year.
To help you craft an effective video campaign, below is a list of winning Black Friday videos from big companies that you should consider studying.
The first you notice about Amazon's video ad is its simplicity. The video emphasizes an employee and a running-over-to-you cardboard figure. You can tell that nothing much is happening in the video.
Amazon wants to convey that busy workers don't need to trouble themselves buying goods in stores. They can order online, and Amazon will deliver their packages before their doors.
Besides, the voiceover tells audiences that Amazon has a notification feature where users can find good deals immediately. What could be a better idea than deal notification for the busy bees?
Watching old ads will always be great if you need more inspiration. This video campaign from Target holds up well and remains one of the most iconic Black Friday video advertisements.
Maria Bamford, as the actor, shows how she counts days, trains, wraps presents, and sprints to the store to shop. The plot implies that Target sales and deals are something to take advantage of now.
With 30-seconds long, Target's 2010 Black Friday video is simple. You hear little voiceover throughout the video. But, in the end, Target emphasizes the dates to note for the Black Friday shopping event.
JCPenney also has a fun and exciting Black Friday video campaign that can be your inspiration. Amazingly, its marketing team can squeeze in the offers in a 15-seconds video.
They make the video more vibrant, lively and packed with information. Moreover, they use stop-motion and motion graphics to point out offers, such as discounts and cashback.
Smaller businesses should also consider using motion graphics to complement their Black Friday video campaigns to highlight deals, benefits, or regulations.
AussieBum perhaps has one of the most iconic Black Friday video campaigns. They present a movie-like advertisement that gives audiences the feeling of watching 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, and Marvel movies.
They focus on showing the Black Friday deal to audiences which is a 50% off discount. They also create a FOMO by mentioning limited stock and periods. At the end of the video, AussieBum put a clear CTA to make people buy their products.
You can also use this concept to create your Black Friday video campaign. Think of popular movie openings and adjust the idea to your video. However, keep in mind not to violate copyright law.
As a department store retail chain, Kohl's shows various products from many brands sold on its site. They showcase products through high-quality graphics and background music that leave an appealing impression.
If you look closely, they make the video in various tempos, including slow motion. Nonetheless, the overall video is simple yet enticing.
Smaller businesses can also implement similar concepts to highlight their products and add additional information such as discounts, cashback, or other deals. Don't forget to add a CTA to drive audiences to do more actions.
The Black Friday YouTube video campaign by Dorothy Perkins is significantly distinct from the others. They focus on informing audiences of discounted products and removing a video storyline.
Dorothy Perkins shows ten of their products along with their discount price. They also include the places where customers can get them.
At the end of the video, Dorothy Perkins mentions some customer benefits, such as shipping and packaging regulations during the Black Friday campaign.
Another exciting sight of the video is that Dorothy Perkins uses an interactive video. They add a link where customers can make purchases using the "click here" button.
This particular Black Friday video campaign from Dorothy Perkins is a sight for small businesses. McLendon creates a budget-friendly video campaign that relies heavily on the storyline.
They use Christmas-related decorative products to imply that the big day is coming. If you think the video could be more engaging, consider adding more elements such as motion graphics, illustrations, typography, and more.
To make the best of Black Friday, you should know the steps to create a winning video campaign. Planning and executing are both vital to attract potential buyers and driving them to spend some money on your product.
Moreover, the Black Friday event is perfect for raising brand awareness and growing your leads. Below are some points you should consider when making a Black Friday video and adjusting it to your marketing funnel.
For business owners, planning is everything. Start to identify your target audience by studying their demographic and psychographic aspects. Understanding your target audience's behavior allows you to make an accurate movement to approach them.
Besides, plan for what kind of offers you want to give to Black Friday customers and what types of videos you want to use to deliver your deals. Comprehensive planning helps you prevent loss and approach potential customers accurately.
Other things you should plan are budget allocation and event promotion. It would be best if you evoked audiences' interest by promoting offers ahead of time.
It would be best if you were all out when running a Black Friday campaign. As it becomes the most profitable moment of the year, you should make exclusive offers for audiences. Make your brand stand out to win more customers.
Offers such as free shipping and easy return can be great options for online stores to attract customers. Moreover, provide various payment options to make the purchasing process accessible for customers.
You can get more benefits by promoting early. Promoting offers is critical to zero hours. Allocate some budget to support the marketing team to expose your brand and campaign to a mass audience.
Start promoting your offers two to four weeks ahead. Promotion will allow audiences to prepare by sparing time and saving money. You can also evoke and maintain audiences' excitement.
Being creative is key to allowing your brand to stand out from the crowd.
Create your videos to be distinct by employing an engaging beginning and excellent visuals. The Black Friday video example from AussieBum is a great inspiration.
You can do a similar concept by adjusting famous movie scenes or lines.
Another choice is to make exclusive products that only last during Black Friday. Offering shopping-addicts limited products will always be a good idea.
Splurging some money for making Black Friday video advertisements will always be worth it. Invest in creating high-quality videos to deliver your deals and showcase your products flawlessly.
To do so, you may hire a video production company to help you out. A video production company will always be flexible in receiving your additional request.
They will also help you choose the best video type that matches your brand and target audience.
Creating a Black Friday video campaign can be challenging, as many other businesses may do the same. Without robust planning and strategy, you may miss your opportunity to take massive advantage of the Black Friday event.
The above Black Friday video example can be handy for marketers or business owners to develop theirs. They can take inspiration and adjust similar concepts with new ideas.
Last but not least, keep your Black Friday video campaign short and sweet to generate optimum results.
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video production company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order). Twitter: @breadnbeyond, Email/Gravatar: andre@breadnbeyond.com, LinkedIn: Andre Oentoro