What’s Your Black Friday Narrative?

Black Friday used to stand for Door Buster deals and store stampedes. But no more. Retailers are changing the very nature of Black Friday in a few major ways:

• It’s digital. During the Covid-19 pandemic, more shoppers want to stay home this holiday season. Retailers are responding. For instance, weeks ago, Walmart announced a series of Black Friday events online throughout November, and several other retailers such as Home Depot are doing the same. By November 27, the actual Black Friday, many consumers may have exhausted their shopping. The virtual focus on Black Friday in 2020 is no surprise – after all, during the pandemic, consumer spending has shifted online dramatically as people go online to shop more safely. A recently published IBM report says that Covid-19 accelerated a shift to eCommerce by five years.

• It’s not just about deals anymore. In recent years, retailers have become more purpose-driven with their Black Friday narrative as they become more aware of the impact of consumer spending on the environment. For instance, as reported in The Drum, Mobile carrier firm GiffGaff has launched an intriguing Black Friday campaign that discourages wasteful consumption. GiffGaff wants to get people thinking more about creating a circular economy. GiffGaff reckons that in the United Kingdom, consumers likely own 55 million mobile phones sitting unused in drawers. The campaign urges consumers to check their drawers and recycle or refurbish their phones. GiffGaff joins a number of companies such as retailer REI that have shifted the narrative about Black Friday away from consumerism and toward more mindful living. REI famously closes hits stores on Black Friday to encourage people to do something outside, which REI has branded #OptOutside.

The changing nature of Black Friday has a number of implications for businesses:

• We’re living in a digital-first world now. As our CEO Don Scales blogged earlier this year, digital is at the center of lives and will be for quite some time. With so many consumers now forming relationships with businesses online, it’s no longer enough for brands to do a good job managing relationships with people with digital. They need to do an excellent job uniformly creating relationships. Digital is the connective thread for every relationship.

• Consider the role that meaningful content plays in your brand narrative. As our Global Vice President of Marketing Kristen Kalupski noted this year, amid the tumult of 2020, people want businesses to make a difference. According to a study by Kantar, more than three-quarters (77 percent) of the general population say they would like to see brands talk about how they’re helpful in managing everyday life under COVID-19.

Connect.IQ Report

We recently issued research to help brands understand how to create more compelling narratives in a digital-first world. Our Connect.IQ Report ranks companies across five areas: narrative, content mix, channel mix, optimization, and amplification. The report assesses many aspects of a company’s narrative, such as the strength of its sustainability story and the effectiveness of the business’s outreach to job seekers, investors, and news media. In short, the report helps businesses understand how effective their digital communications are against an ever-changing landscape. Download the report and learn more.

And have a happy holiday season!