Media Selection for Black Friday Advertising

Transcription

1 Fall 10 Media Selection for Black Friday Advertising Allison Meurer BUS 333: Marketing

2 2 The term Black Friday was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. Black refers to stores moving from the red to the black, back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. Ever since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season. 1 When mentioning Black Friday to any American, most would call it one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Taking place the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday involves getting up out of bed before the sun rises, waiting in long lines to battle over the most- wanted items and most importantly, saving money. With stores offering door- buster deals and incredibly low prices, many consumers cannot resist the opportunity. Spending on Black Friday has, in recent years, been around $450 billion, as seen in the chart to the right. 2 Because of the vast amount that consumers are willing to spend on this day, advertising for this huge event has always been incredibly important for every company. A core goal for firms is to differentiate themselves from the offerings of other firms. One of the ways a company can attempt to stand out is through media selection, or choosing which kind of 1 friday- history 2

3 3 advertisements will best reach their target consumers. Media selection for Black Friday advertisements has drastically shifted over the course of its existence. Traditionally, consumers were informed about what they could find at the lowest prices of the year through newspapers, television advertisements, and radio commercials. Nevertheless, these types of advertising are still used today. From personal experience, the newspaper that was delivered this year to my household on Thanksgiving day was packed full of advertisements and I saw endless commercials on television, many repeated multiple times in the same half- an- hour or hour- long show. However, much more focus has been placed on online advertising. The reason for this is that America is becoming increasingly technologically focused; many Black Friday purchases involve electronic items that have internet access. Historically, the first online advertisement appeared in 1994, and this strategy has really taken hold in the business world. According to an article written in 2009, Since 2004, we have witnessed rapid adoption of the online medium by advertisers and an increasing sophistication of the agencies and advertisers in using the Web as part of an overall marketing campaign or even as the central focus of the campaign. 3 Of course, many companies utilize their own websites; but they also use multiple online shopping sites other places on the Web to advertise. Given that America has become 3 articles/digital- media- history- of- online- advertising html

4 4 increasingly technological, retailers are specifically embracing social media sites to reach consumers because of their popularity. For example, this year Target used Twitter and Facebook to push along its Black Friday ads to ensure that everyone knew about their special deals. 4 Many companies have taken full advantage of this opportunity as well. They have created their own Pages on Facebook that users can Like. According to an article written by Ronald Ladouceur, In the 10 days leading up to Black Friday, the biggest retailers on Facebook those with the most Likers grew their fan bases by an average of 10%. But more aggressive retailers on Facebook grew their fan bases at twice that rate! 5 Facebook and Twitter are not only popular with teenagers and college students, but both sites are now attracting people of older and younger ages as well. It is obvious that retailers see this continuing trend as an opportunity to reach out to their consumers in as many ways as they possibly can. Another approach in which companies are using this focus on technology to their advantage is by advertising through consumer s mobile devices. Though the economy has been tough with rising food and gas prices, it is hard to imagine that Americans will rid of their cell phones or other mobile devices. In my opinion, they 4 black- friday- ads promoted- on- twitter- facebook- w- blackfriday.htm 5 promotions/retail- social- promotions- for- black- friday/

5 5 have been much more likely to cut out spending on things such as going out to eat or luxury items. According to the article titled Retailers Turning to the Web to Promote Black Friday Sales, Some retailers are even setting up a system that will allow consumers to sign up to receive up to the minute specials through text message. The idea behind using these new tactics is to provide consumers with the information they need about potential savings as quickly as possible. 6 A great example of this mobile device advertising is the iphone. Apple is using a new app or application that helps consumers find all of their important deals on Black Friday morning and into the rest of the big shopping day. Not only does the application only give one retailer s price for an item, but it also gives the price for over forty other stores. 7 Using social media sites and mobile devices to advertise are only a few examples of ways in which companies are utilizing technology to keep up with societal changes. With an ever- changing American, businesses must keep their advertising strategies up to date to be able to be successful. Black Friday is simply just one example of the ways in which media selection has drastically shifted over the course of its existence. This transformation could be applied to any type of advertising. The focus shift in advertising has gone from mainly radio and newspaper mediums to primarily television and online. Selection of media is vital for companies when advertising, especially for such large events similar to Black Friday. 6 commerce/retailers- turning- to- the- web- to- promote- black- friday- sales/ 7

6 6 Differentiating themselves from other firms is a core goal, and they can achieve this by getting to consumers from as many angles as possible and standing out. Beyond that, they can then provide quality products and customer service to build customer s trust, which is also key in a company s objectives.

7 7 Works Cited Avalos, Regina. "Black Friday iphone App: Deals From Top Retailers Straight To Shoppers." Gather. N.p., 23 Nov Web. 5 Dec < "Black Friday History." BlackFriday.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec < friday- history>. "Black Friday 2010 Gets A Thursday Start." TopSecretPennyStocks.com. N.p., 25 Nov Web. 5 Dec < "Digital Media History of Online Advertising." Articlesbase. N.p., 8 Dec Web. 5 Dec < articles/digital- media- history- of- online- advertising html>. Ladouceur, Ronald. "Black Friday Promotions Drive Big Facebook Numbers for Aggressive Retailers." Media Logic. N.p., 29 Nov Web. 5 Dec < promotions/retail- social- promotions- for- black- friday/>. Mackey, Joel. "Target Black Friday Ads 2010 Promoted On Twitter & Facebook w/ BlackFriday." USA Live Headlines. N.p., 17 Nov Web. 5 Dec < black- friday- ads promoted- on- twitter- facebook- w- blackfriday.htm>. "Retailers Turning to the Web to Promote Black Friday Sales." Prager Microsystems, Inc.. N.p., 25 Nov Web. 5 Dec < commerce/retailers- turning- to- the- web- to- promote- black- friday- sales/>.