What day in November includes getting together with family, watching football, and eating your way to a tryptophan induced coma? You guessed it, Black Friday Eve. Though technically Thanksgiving on all of our printed calendars, once midnight approaches, consumers will rush out, wait in line and even camp out to score great deals on all types of products both in stores and online.

Many consumers will rely on catalogs, circulars, and the Internet to find or discover the items that they want at the best prices. Some retailers even “leak” their Black Friday deals in advance. If you haven't already, you will notice emails, TV ads, e-commerce sites, social media, etc. promoting holiday spending after Halloween. Retailers compete to grab your attention and ultimately your dollars.

So what exactly is going on here?

As consumers, we take advantage of these resources to plan the best way to spend our time and our money. We compare item prices and retail locations. We see which ones are available online or in-store only. We know when sales start and if there is limited quantity on hand. Using information provided by marketers, we make informed decisions.

What does this in turn mean for the Advertisers and Retailers running these promotions?

Digital marketers can take advantage of smarter and savvier consumers. Setting up offers in advance of Black Friday and Cyber Monday will help optimize campaigns and find the right channels to maximize ROI. Impressions and clicks can indicate what mix will be successful. In addition, these marketers can make “in flight” decisions to change the direction of their campaign or retarget it for increased conversions. For more helpful tips on how to make the most out of your Black Friday Advertising efforts, reference an earlier post here! Remember the most important thing is to have a strategy so that you can measurably improve your ROI!