4 Fresh Alternatives to 2024 Black Friday Campaigns

As the festive season approaches, many of us find ourselves scrambling for the perfect gifts for our loved ones. While brands often start promoting their holiday shopping deals months in advance to prevent shipping issues and stock shortages, consumer expectations around these events are shifting. Essentially, people are looking beyond the typical Black Friday discounts in 2024, seeking alternatives that align with their values.

Increasingly, shoppers demand more from brands, wanting them to stand up for meaningful causes. In fact, 89 percent of consumers would remain loyal to a brand they associate with a good cause, provided the price and quality are comparable. Recognizing these evolving sentiments, some companies are rethinking their strategies for Black Friday, moving away from its traditional frenzy and exploring new approaches that embody social responsibility.

Highlighting Small Businesses: An Alternative Black Friday Strategy

Rather than focusing solely on offering Black Friday discounts, several businesses choose to promote small enterprises, thereby supporting community values and curbing excessive consumerism. For instance, Ocean Bottle, known for reusable bottles, leveraged social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to showcase other small businesses. Their goal was to emphasize consumer power as a force for good by spotlighting brands that positively impact society.

These highlighted companies align with Ocean Bottle’s mission to ‘do good.’ A prime example is From Babies with Love, a brand that donates all its profits to orphaned children globally. Similarly, DAME, a producer of sustainable period products, went the extra mile by crafting gift guides promoting small businesses while educating consumers on sustainability. They particularly drew attention to the fact that a large portion of Black Friday clothing purchases ultimately end up in landfills, urging a shift to more sustainable shopping habits.

Let’s not overlook collaborative efforts like those by Sproos Home, which teamed up with small businesses to showcase social media posts featuring potential holiday gifts. Such collaborations help mutual growth and encourage audiences to seek unique options beyond the mainstream market.

Aligning Black Friday Campaigns with Social Causes

Another effective Black Friday alternative is for brands to use this shopping season to amplify social causes. This strategy allows brands to support initiatives and raise awareness while maintaining customer engagement. An example is Misfits Market, a sustainable grocery provider. Instead of typical Black Friday promotions, they collaborated with Feeding America, facilitating donations through their ‘skip-your-box’ initiative.

Similarly, Grove Collaborative and Stasher Bags opted to skip Black Friday entirely and support charitable activities directly. These brands either switched to Giving Tuesday or made year-round commitments, like Stasher Bags’ ongoing 1% profit donation to the Surfrider Foundation.

Supporting environmental conservation, AYM Studio integrated giving into their strategy with a 10 for 10 campaign, offering discounts while donating to preserve animal habitats, achieving substantial impact and customer participation.

Embracing Innovation: Unique Campaigns as Black Friday Alternatives

Certain brands choose to bypass Black Friday altogether, introducing fresh campaigns like ‘Green Friday’ or ‘Do Good Friday’ to prioritize sustainability. Rubies in the Rubble promoted ‘Green Friday’ by encouraging purchases from eco-conscious brands, while Paynter closed shop to oppose traditional Black Friday shopping, emphasizing conscious consumerism.

Moreover, This is Unfolded, a brand specializing in made-to-order clothing, devised campaigns to promote sustainable practices and responsible consumption by offering eco-friendly choices. Companies like Kai Collective and Wild leveraged creative campaigns that combined limited-time offers with sustainable goals, encouraging thoughtful shopping practices.

One unique move came from EYO Active, a fitness wear label that tripled their prices during Black Friday to protest waste, reflecting the founder Lucie Halley-Trotter’s mission to address unnecessary consumption while inviting consumers to reassess fast fashion habits.

While not all brands will completely reject traditional Black Friday sales, the ways in which these companies are innovating demonstrates that it’s possible to align business goals with values that customers are increasingly seeking. Have you explored alternative campaigns or witnessed similar trends?

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