Don’t wait for the starting gun, start preparing for BFCM now

"Half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."  

These famous words of John Wanamaker, one of the world's original pioneers of advertising, still resonate in today's digital marketing landscape. As marketers start to plan for Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) season, marketers face the same challenge: how to ensure every advertising dollar counts. 

BFCM has become a make-or-break moment for many brands. The importance of this shopping event is clear from the numbers: online sales hit $9.8 billion on Black Friday 2023, up 7.5% from the previous year. Cyber Monday 2023 saw even higher spending at $12.4 billion, a 9.6% increase from 2022. 

These figures underscore why brands can't afford to miss out on BFCM. But success in this competitive landscape depends on more than just showing up - it requires strategic planning, smart marketing, and, crucially, the ability to measure and optimize campaign performance.  

In other words, solving Wanamaker's century-old dilemma. 

Warming Up – Building Interest at the Top of the Funnel 

Approaching BFCM without a solid upper funnel strategy is like hitting the gym without a proper warm-up. You might see some initial gains, but you're setting yourself up for subpar performance. Here’s where paid social media comes into play, helping attract new customers and keep traffic flowing. TikTok stands out for reaching younger fitness fans. 

Take Represent, a streetwear brand, for example. Fospha reports that Represent increased TikTok spending by 277% from June to November 2023. This move boosted direct results and made their Meta ads work better too.  

These wins highlight that maintaining investment in higher-funnel activities can contribute to better overall ROAS due to lower competition. For athleisure brands, this could mean creating engaging content about new products, fitness challenges, or collaborations with sports and wellness influencers on channels like TikTok, Snapchat, Meta, and more. 

This approach ensures you're not only capturing immediate demand but also creating it for sustainable growth. By balancing conversion-focused activities with top-of-funnel efforts, brands can achieve better overall performance during BFCM and in months that follow. 

The HIIT of Marketing – Measuring Success During Busy Seasons 

Creating demand is key, but athleisure brands can also struggle to measure how well their marketing works during busy times like BFCM.  

Brands use many strategies to boost performance in these peak periods, but tracking results remains hard. It’s like trying to track your heart rate during a HIIT session – there's a lot going on, and it’s easy to lose focus. 

This problem gets worse during high-demand periods like BFCM when there's so much marketing and customer activity happening at once. 

Fospha's Black Friday report stresses that accurate measurement is crucial to nail the season and keep business strong. This matters a lot because athleisure brands often make a big chunk of their yearly sales during BFCM.  

Given these challenges, there is a need for high-quality cross-channel and cross-funnel data to succeed during BFCM.

Conclusion 

Using comprehensive data and advanced analytics helps athleisure brands get a full view of their marketing performance, much like how fitness trackers provide insights into overall health and workout effectiveness.  

This allows them to understand the real impact of their strategies and make data-driven choices for success during peak seasons and beyond.  

As you start to prepare for BFCM, remember that a successful campaign involves maintaining spend in higher funnel activities during the period, while also effectively capturing demand during peak times. It also involves accurately measuring and improving your efforts. 

In the world of athleisure marketing, as in fitness, there’s always room for improvement and growth.