BFCM Paid Ads Playbook for 2025

Hey, it’s Arik.

If you’re gearing up for Black Friday / Cyber Monday and thinking “we’ll figure the ads out closer to the weekend,” I want you to hit pause.

If there’s one piece of advice I can give you, it’s to get ads live TODAY.

I’ll be walking you through how top eCommerce operators are thinking about paid ads this BFCM, why it’s working, and how you can still take action.


Why launching ads early matters more than ever:
There are 3 key reasons why so many brands you follow (and your competitors) are already running their BFCM ads right now:

#1 - Ad costs get brutal the closer you get to Black Friday
The moment Black Friday hits, every brand piles into the auction at the same time. And because CPCs are rising too, you’re often paying 1.5x more just to get the same eyeballs on your offer.

Running your ads early means you’re building performance data while the costs are still manageable.

#2 - Shoppers are buying earlier
Last year, over 50% of online shoppers said they started holiday shopping before Black Friday. The myth of the “deal frenzy weekend” is dying.

This year, people want less chaos, and more value, peace of mind, and time to think.

#3 - Meta and Google reward learning phase momentum
This is a technical advantage, but one that makes a massive difference in performance.

If your ads start earlier, you give the algorithm more time to optimize, meaning it has passed through the learning phase, collected quality signals, and refined its targeting, and is more likely to convert at a lower cost when the peak window hits.

If you launch on November 28 with a brand-new ad set, no retargeting pool, no proven offer, and zero creative data… you’re not “live,” you’re paying more to play catch-up.

By starting your ads early, you:

✔️ Build Awareness: Warm up your audience before the competition floods their feeds.
✔️ Prime Your Pixel: Give platforms like Meta and Google time to optimize your campaigns.
✔️ Capture Early Shoppers: Many consumers are shopping earlier to avoid stockouts or shipping delays.
✔️ Test and Learn: Use the weeks leading up to BFCM to test offers, creatives, and audiences so you can scale what works during the main event.


The anatomy of a BFCM ad offer
Now, let's talk about ad offers, the different types, and when each makes sense.

1. Pre-BFCM / Early‑Access / Teaser Offers
These are run for a narrow list (warm audiences, email segments, previous buyers) before the full sale.

‣ Purpose: build your retargeting pool, get data, warm audiences, test creative.
‣ Example: a brand will offer “VIP early access – 30% off” two weeks before Nov. 24, collecting both clicks and conversions that help feed the algorithm when the public sale hits.

2. Public Launch / Main BFCM Offers
This is your main event. The offer needs to be strong enough to compete, but you don’t want your best deal here if you’re running an early VIP tier.

Paid ads here should use your strongest creative variants (based on early data), target your core segments, and have a clear conversion path.

3. Extension Offers (Cyber Monday / Post‑Sale)
After the main sale, you’ll make a final push.

‣ Purpose: capture the audience that didn’t convert yet, but is still in holiday shopping mode.
‣ Example: Your offer might shift from “30% off” to “Free shipping + gift” or “25% off for the next 24 hours.”
‣ Pro tip: Tiered offers (where the reward increases based on cart value (e.g. “$20 off $100, $50 off $200”) are trending this year because they drive AOV up without needing to slash prices sitewide.

4. Retargeting / Value‑Adds
These look less like “sale” and more like “we noticed you” ads.

‣ Purpose: These ads often run throughout the season, using audiences built from the earlier phases.
‣ Example: “You viewed product X, here’s gift‑wrap + expedited shipping” or “Bundle deal just for you.”


How to structure your ad timeline
(Even if you're late).

Phase A: Build momentum
• Build/pull warm audiences: past buyers, email list, website visitors.
• Launch teaser or VIP ads to your warmest audiences
• Keep creative simple: announce the sale, highlight the value, and push urgency

Phase B: Early access offer
• Go live with your BFCM deal to VIP segments
• Collect performance data fast (CPAs, CTRs, thumb-stoppers)
• Use this data to inform the broader BFCM push

Phase C: Public BFCM ads
• Public offer kicks in: Ramp budget on best-performing creatives
• Use urgency-based messaging: countdowns, expiring deals, final hours
• Let your early audience data guide who to hit and how hard

Phase D: Cyber Monday follow-up
• Smaller, punchy offer with a simple CTA
• Tap your warmest retargeting segments
• Focus on last-minute urgency + shipping incentives

A few extra tips to win with your ads:
• Run fewer creatives, but test variations: same layout, different headline or CTA
• Lean into bundles and product pairings to increase AOV without steep discounts
• Watch frequency closely, especially in Week 3 and 4
• Always pair your ads with a high-converting landing experience

What you can do right now
If you’re feeling behind, here’s how to catch up:

1. Launch Teaser Ads Today: Start building awareness and warming up your audience with early access or “coming soon” campaigns.

2. Test Offers: Run small-scale tests to see whether your audience responds better to % off, $ off, free shipping, or bundles.

3. Focus on Retargeting: Prioritize warm audiences like past purchasers, website visitors, and email/SMS subscribers.

4. Simplify Your Campaigns: Don’t overcomplicate your ad account. One campaign with a few strong ad sets is better than 10 campaigns with scattered budgets.

5. Plan Your Calendar: Map out your ad schedule from now through Cyber Monday to ensure you’re hitting every stage of the funnel.

See you next Thursday,
Arik

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