Psst! Wanna know how to crush your Black Friday Sales? Stick around ‘til the end

November is here and the sales-season chaos is already tap dancing on my last nerve. Everywhere I look it’s “FINAL HOURS!” and “BIGGEST SALE EVER!!!” like… babes, it’s November 26th. Breathe.

But honestly? I kind of love this time of year. The energy. The drama. The inbox meltdowns. The marketers collectively losing the will to live. It’s when strategy matters most — and when reactive chaos hits its peak.

So buckle up, butter cup. It’s time to grab your beverage of choice (I’m on my third), get cozy, and let’s talk about the real villain of Q4: panicked, “let’s just send another email” marketing.

Soo, hands up, it’s been a minute. Again… Whoops.

Did you miss me? (Don’t lie — I know you did.)

Buuut I know you’ll forgive the lack of je ne c’est quoi in your inbox, because I’m BACK BBY! And boy, oh boy, do I have some thangs to share with you… 

ICYMI, there’s a little somethin’ somethin’ that’s put a pep in NAM’s step, and it requires 0 caffeine. 

“What’s that, Nat?” I hear you ask. Oooh, I dunnooo, maybe that…

🎉 We launched Marketing Buddy AI! 🎉

Screeeaming. Crying. THROWING UP!!!

*Gets up from falling off chair* Sorry… Lost myself for a mo there. 

But I am SO excited for the +1,000 future-preppin’, forward-thunkin’ biz owners who have already signed up for early access because they KNOW this is going to be the shiiiiit.

I’m still giddy from the WorkTech StartUp Pitch Night, where we got to share our baby with other amazing founders. The dopamine still hits every time a sign-up notification pops up, and when I say I couldn’t be prouder of my team. Dayum, bunch 👏of 👏 legends 👏

But what is Marketing Buddy AI? Another ChatGPT? Oh no, my dear, sweet, dunno-which-viral-hook-to-post-next amigo. This is your do-it-all marketer that fits nice ’n’ easy into your back pocket. 

Strategy, content, execution, optimization, and analytics, all in one place. No more jumping from ChatGPT to whichever AI platform is boppin that week, to write you a shaky AF Black Friday campaign. Wham bam, nooo thank you, m’am. 

Now, I know I haven’t been in your inbox because of said biz building. But I have been a lurkin’ on LinkedIn like the Nosferatu of marketers, and I gotta tell ya, the Black Friday blackhole is a hungry beast. All these campaigns from everyone trying to make Q4 their ‘biggest sales month’ yet are insatiable. 

Poor, poor consumer, not knowing where to turn or whose pocket to lace with their hard-earned cash.

It’s story time, ppl.

Listen, I had been eyeballing a Little Beast Co dog purse carrier for two years. TWO YEARS!? And the other day, I finally pulled the trigger. 

Do I regret it? No. 

Does my heart hurt re: price? Fuck yea! 

Did the cute-ass weenie dog pics convince me? *nods enthusiactically*

But what in the Helly R made me buy it now rather than two years ago? Well, after being consistently served ads, emails, and countless social media posts, I bought the bag because *timing*. 

The moment I receive another one of their cute AF emails, I'm carrying a 19lbs 🌭 for 5+ miles because her teenie weenie legs are toast after walking 2-3 miles, which SUCKS. Little Beast were always in the back of my mind and spoke to me when I needed them most.

The Starbucks Bearista cup sitch is both brilliant and a cautionary tale.

A $30 glass bear cup sold out in hours, hit resale markets at $1,000+, and sparked literal fights in stores. Walmart and ALDI dropped dupes within 48 hours, turning Starbucks' moment into merch madness.

But why? Was this little glass bear conjured by the goodliest witch, herself?

(I am HERE for Lady Cynthia right now)

It’s all about creating demand.

“Should you replicate this?” I hear you ask.

Maybe—but carefully. Real scarcity creates real urgency, but the earned media and social frenzy matter more than sales.

So before you start hammering ‘limited edition’ banners all over the place, this strategy comes with a warning label.

Starbucks had to apologize because customers felt burned, employees were accused of hoarding stock, and the chaos overshadowed the brand magic.

BUT, they clawed it back with Red Cup Day, where they gave away a free reusable cup with every holiday drink to spread a lil holiday cheer (and no doubt to keep off the naughty list).

Scarcity marketing works when it feels exclusive, this came across a lil manipulative. If your customers end up angry instead of excited, yikes.

Based on a true story… I got this message from one of my clients last month 

“You can be honest with us—we don’t know what we’re doing. We’re just executing whatever comes to mind half the time.”

Honestly? Obsessed with this level of self-awareness.

Let’s be real (because you know I’ve got you boo), this attitude is exactly how most early-stage startups operate. Build. Launch. Panic a little (OK, A LOT). React. Repeat.

And look—I get it. When you’re in constant “oh shit, ship it” mode, you feel busy, but I need to tell ya, your consumers? They’ve got shtuff to do, and guess who’s got their mitts on their inbox, your biggest competition. 

As soon as you get reactive, you lose the delicious slow-burn build that actually leads to 💰💰💰.

You’re not doing anything “wrong”, you’re just not giving your systems the space to shake their thang.

So here’s the plan I tippity typed back to this client.

1. Auditing what automations already exist

2. Mapping the key audience segments (free trial, churned, upgraded, etc.)

3. Planning drip series and triggered flows that nurture each stage of the funnel

4. Creating a calendar of one-off campaigns that support the automation, not replace it

5. Aligning it all to sales, product, and marketing goals

Now, would ya look at that 😎

A scalable system that warms your people up before you sell to them. We’re gonna nudge, nurture, and convert without getting on their nerves or having to sprint to this week’s latest trend. B-E-A-UTIFUL.

*Slightly disappointed*. I gave ChatGPT the easiest job—take two lists and give me the overlap. That's it. Just the matches. Simple.

AI's like: "Perfect! Here are three different lists you didn't ask for—plus some bonus hallucinations for funsies."

Me: "No, no... just the overlap."

AI: "Got it. Here's everything BUT the overlap."

At this point, I'm basically arguing with Clippy from Microsoft Word 2003. Twenty minutes of back-and-forth, and I finally give up, open Excel, and do it manually. 

Fifteen minutes later? DONE. And I'm standing there like I just invented fire.

I've been prompting AI for 5+ years. This was supposed to be the mundane task that gets taken off my plate so I could focus on big-picture strategy. Instead, it turned into a full sparring match with a chatbot that couldn't follow a basic instruction.

Moral of the story—Sometimes the fastest "AI automation" is still you, caffeine, and a spreadsheet.

But am I going to stop using AI? FAHK no. It’s cool AF. Helloooo, Marketing Buddy AI.

I commented "Does it taste like cottage cheese?" on a recipe video and got an auto-DM like: "Hey, lovely! 💕 Welcome to my little space on the internet! I've sent you a PDF with all my cooking tips!"

UHM... WHAT? I asked a yes/no question, and you're making me download a PDF that probably doesn't even answer it?

↑ Me still raging because DOES IT TASTE LIKE COTTAGE CHEESE?!

I think what’s happened is that automation got so "connected" that it's now completely disconnected. Ohh the irony.

The second someone sees "hey lovely!" or "I've sent you the link!" we instantly know that the message is there, but no one’s home. And we peace out ✌️

I get it—you want to capture leads, build your list, seem responsive. But you gotta make sure your auto-reply actually answers a question or be on hand to manually comment (gawd forbid). Otherwise, you've just turned a potential customer into someone who now thinks your brand is annoying (if only they knew you like I do).

If you’re shifting in your seat like ‘Nat, I’ve heard all this before’, then get comfy because I have ANOTHER story that you’re gonna wanna hear.

So, I was on a check-in call with a B2B SaaS client (let’s just say they like to ask a lotta questions 🫠), their BDR stopped me mid-review and asked, 

“If our CTR is so good, then why aren’t we getting leads?”

Erm, ex-squeeze me… but the ads have been live for two weeks. Week one was awareness, week two was traffic—no offers, no conversion tracking, no GA4, no optimized landing page, no aligned creative, and no full-funnel strategy connecting paid to social selling, inbound email, or outbound sales. 

That’s a lot of lack-off if ya catching what I’m throwing 👀

Listen, imma shoot a lot of numbers at you now, so buckle up, buttercup. 

Enterprise buyers need 12–15 touchpoints and 9–12 months before converting (mid-market still needs 8–12 touchpoints and 3–8 months). 

AKA no one is buying enterprise software off a two-week ad sprint, hun. 

The wild part? Their LinkedIn CTR is 4.82% when the platform average is 0.45–0.65%. The ads are doing just swell, thank you very much. The system around the ads isn’t built yet. 

Now, is this thing on? *Clears throat and stands on table*

📣 YOU DON’T NEED MORE ADS OR FASTER RESULTS 📣 

You need better systems that actually support conversion.

I said what I said. 

And on that note…

Most brands are so OBSESSED with tracking every single conversion that they forget the actual point of marketing. 

Getting people to care. 

Vibe.co spent $50K sending people to ChatGPT instead of a landing page, and everyone lost their minds. 

"Where's the conversion tracking?!" "What if ChatGPT picks a competitor?!

But listen, they got 32K+ impressions, press coverage, and cost per scan at $20 vs $100-300 per demo. More importantly? They shifted the conversation around CTV advertising. Clever little marketers.

Safe marketing gets ignored. Bold marketing gets remembered and recalled. Most of the time, your job isn't closing the sale, oh no. You want to be at the top of very frantic, frazzled minds.

Now, the one you’ve all been waiting for. Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I got some thoughts (are we shocked? Nope).

So everyone's hitting me up like, "What's the secret to a blowout Black Friday/Cyber Monday campaign?"

Here it comes. I don’t think you’re ready…

There's something I like to call, actually doing the groundwork 🙃

Everything I'm about to tell you works for literally ANY campaign, any time of year. BFCM just forces you to get your act together because the stakes are higher and the timeline is tighter. But it ain’t no overnight cure.

You wanna know what separates campaigns that make money from ones that flop? Three things working together like Destiny’s Child: messaging, offer, and design. Not one. Not two. ALL THREE. (lolz DC is such a bad example, each of those queens slay solo).

I recently saw a boosted post do $179K in revenue on $177 in ad spend. 

Let those numbers massage your brain for a sec.

Noo, before you start, it’s not a typo. It also wasn't luck—it was creative that stopped the subconscious scroll, targeting the right people at the right time, and an offer that aligned with what the brand stands for. Oof, those harmonies are singing to me.

Sooo, how do we get these numbers for ourselves? The way I see it, most "underperforming" campaigns are usually focusing on one thing and expecting sales overnight. 

Which ain’t gonna happen bbe.

When you pop together your holiday campaign or Black Friday push, are you focusing on content for all seasons? Be honest, because what you do in Q4 is going to have a huge knock-on effect on how your sales look in Q1.

I want to alter your content brain chemistry a little.

Smart brands don't just chase December sales—they're setting up Q1 wins before the tinsel comes down (or goes up if they’re real organised).

Last year, a CPG client came to us in late October after 10+ months of radio silence. They wanted holiday revenue and Q1 momentum. So we built an integrated campaign with baked-in retargeting and loyalty triggers.

Challenge accepted. PLEASE. 👏 SAY. 👏 LESS. 👏

Q4 revenue jumped from $50K to $242K, followed by +13% MoM growth in Q1 and +19% YoY growth overall (we did gooood, if I do say).

Believe me when I say, holiday campaigns aren't just for December. The best ones compound long after the lights come down. 

Q4 is the setup. Q1 is the payoff.

Your customers are literally telling you what they need. 

One home goods brand tracked convos about sustainable living, noticed everyone was OBSESSED with reusable kitchen supplies, and adjusted their whole Black Friday strategy. Oh hellooo, 30% sales increase. 

A tech brand saw people complaining about shipping delays and led with "free shipping on everything." 25% conversion boost. 

A fashion retailer heard customers were pitchfork MAD about customer service, so they hired more support staff and added live chat. Cart abandonment dropped 20%.

None of them guessed. They listened, adjusted, and CRUSHED it.

And the best part, this is all at your fingertips.

What are you waiting for? Go stalk your comment sections. Read your reviews. Mine Reddit. Track what your competitors are getting roasted for. Your audience is giving you the playbook—you just have to pay attention.

Then test everything. 

Your headline. Your offer (20% off hits different than $20 off). Your send times. Your button colors. ALL OF IT. And make sure every single channel is saying the same thing, because if your email, ads, and social are all doing their own thing, your customers are going to be just as confused as when Jake Paul beat Mike Tyson…

Gen Z Facebook users in the US are expected to jump from 34 million to over 40 million in the next couple of years. 

Because they're adulting now (half of Gen Z is over 18 😭), and they need Facebook for the boring-but-necessary stuff — event planning, community groups, and Marketplace. Three-quarters of them bought something on Marketplace last year, which... honestly tracks.

While in the blue and pink corner, TikTok is hitting saturation with young people and growing among Boomers instead, with a projected 10% rise in that demographic over the next year. 

Turns out, Boomers want to keep up with trends and connect with their grandkids, and TikTok's easy breezy approach makes it less intimidating than we thought 💅

So, if you’re still boxing platforms into age demographics like it's 2019, that’s a lil awks.

Your audience is wherever they need to be for what they're trying to do. Gen Z isn't on Facebook to doomscroll — they're there to get shit done. Boomers aren't on TikTok ironically — they're vibing with it.

Gen Z is wearing Nirvana tees without knowing a single line from Come As You Are, Thrasher hoodies without touching a skateboard, and Bass Pro Shops hats without ever setting foot near a lake.

And honestly? I live for this.

These brands have figured out what others are still sleeping on: you don't need to be your target audience's "type" anymore. 

Gen Z treats brands like aesthetic Lego blocks — mixing irony, nostalgia, and affordability into the vibe of the day.

Bass Pro went from niche fishing gear to TikTok phenomenon at $6 a hat. Not because they repositioned. Because Gen Z decided they were cool 😎

Your brand doesn't need permission to be trendy. Sometimes the culture just... picks you.

Speaking of TikTok... they're throwing cash at brands to make TikTok Shop HAPPEN.

TikTok is offering retailers up to $20K in incentives, covering delivery costs, and basically bribing everyone to sell in-app this holiday season. 

They're desperately trying to replicate what Douyin (TikTok's Chinese equivalent) did—$490 billion in sales last year. Yup, billion with a capital Buh.

It's kinda working. TikTok Shop jumped from $1.1 billion in GMV to $2.5 billion year-over-year, which sounds impressive until you realize that's still a fraction of what Douyin pulls in. 

Western users just aren't as into the whole "shop where you scroll" thing. We like our entertainment separate from our credit card info, ta very much.

I reckon this has left TikTok's management frustrated that Western work culture is slowing them down, it's not a work culture sitch—it's a lack of trust. 

There’s still a bunch of us out there who still only do ‘big purchases’ on our laptops (obvs not me, I’m cool heheh).

Whereas Chinese consumers are used to super-apps that do everything (well). Western consumers? We've been burned by too many impulse buys and sketchy drop-shippers to commit to shopping on our For You Page.

But if you're a brand and TikTok's literally paying you to sell on their platform? Take the money and test it. Just don't bet your entire Q4 strategy on it becoming the next Amazon overnight. 

TikTok Shop is growing, but it's not there yet.

Ah, the battle of heartstrings has commenced. Which ads will sleigh this season? 

The nostalgic nod that reflects in rose-tinted glasses? 

The tear-jerker that has you thinking 'I really should call grandma'? 

Or the chaotic energy of Bryan Cranston as the cranberry-stealing Cranpus? (Ocean Spray is unhinged and I'm here for it.)

It works because it’s familiarity wrapped in a bow. Coca-Cola's red trucks rolling through the snow? They've been doing that since 1995, and people still lose it every year. 

M&M's Santa fainting? Classic. 

Hershey's Kisses playing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"? If you don't get a little emotional, we can’t be friends (jk jk jk).

These ads work the best because they show up year after year and deliver all the feels. You expect them. You want them. And when they arrive, the festive season has OFFICIALLY started 🎁

Then there's the nostalgia train running at full speed. Capital One brought back John Travolta with Saturday Night Fever hips, Twinkly got Chevy Chase to recreate National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation carnage. These ads aren't really selling products, are they? They're giving "remember when" vibes that make you want to buy something… and then go and hug your mom.

We can’t help ourselves when it comes to characters we care about. The Pillsbury Doughboy. Kris K., Target's viral "Hot Santa." Planters, Mr. Peanut guiding us through his Willy Wonka fever dream. 

We can rely on the brands that give us someone (or something) to root for year after year.

The ads that sleigh are the gifts that keep on giving.

Listen, my partner and I have spent the last few years hosting Thanksgiving (rookie mistake), but this year we’re like "nah, we're good" and booked flights to New Orleans. 

Fingers crossed we don't end up living out Four Christmases, but I'll take the chaos of NOLA over hosting duties aaany day.

Before I dip—if you're looking at your Q4 campaigns like "girl, help," I've got a free 60-minute strategy call with your name on it. We’ll tailor a 30-60-90 day play and a project plan tailored to your biz so you can kick 2026’s ass. 

Dayum, it's good to be back 😎

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have beignets to dream about ✌️

Natalie xoxo

‍

CEO & Founder,

Nouvel Âge Media