Brands can offset rising Black Friday advertising costs through earlier campaign planning, stronger creative execution and closer channel alignment, according to new research from Lebesgue.
The company’s latest BFCM Advertising Benchmark Report found that the cost of reaching shoppers on Meta rose by 51% during Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) week compared with September. However, the median cost of acquiring a new customer fell by 15%, suggesting advertisers can still generate stronger returns during key trading periods despite increased competition for attention.
For brands investing in Black Friday advertising across retail media, social and search channels, the findings highlight the importance of understanding category benchmarks and shopper intent when allocating advertising budgets.
Timing is of the essence. Lebesgue found that 39% of the fastest-growing brands began increasing advertising spend in October rather than waiting until Black Friday approached. Brands that increased activity between late September and mid-October reported a 159% uplift in BFCM-week revenue compared with September, while those that delayed until mid-to-late November achieved growth of 95%. Brands that did not increase spend recorded revenue growth of just 22%.
Creativity matters more than discounts
The report also suggests creative effectiveness matters more than deeper discounting. Brands in the top 20% for revenue growth offered average discounts of around 23%, roughly the same as weaker-performing brands. However, the highest-growth retailers increased new ad launches from an average of three a week in September to 5.5 a week ahead of Black Friday.
Lebesgue also found that brands achieving stronger results typically aligned paid advertising and email marketing activity more closely, with 56% launching promotions across both channels within seven days of each other.
Understand your own numbers
Josip Begić, founder and CEO of Lebesgue, said: “Brands that do well during Black Friday and Cyber Monday tend to understand their own numbers. In BFCM week, the cost of winning a new customer fell 15% for the median brand compared with September, and 34% for the strongest growers.
“Part of that difference may come from knowing when to run ads, understanding what your category looks like and keeping your creative fresh. A bigger budget only takes you so far if you don’t factor in how your own results compare with similar brands.”
The report draws on more than $10bn of ecommerce advertising spend data, alongside Meta and Google benchmarks and competitor ad and email activity.
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