BFCM Breakdown: How Top Brands Won Black Friday with Strategy, Not Just Sales
eCommerce Evolution
· with Bill Cover, Luba, Barry Bowman, Nick Flint
· December 29, 2025
· 54 min
Summary
To win Black Friday and Cyber Monday, ecommerce brands must prioritize omnichannel strategies, building brand equity beyond Amazon, and leveraging SMS marketing for immediate engagement. Leaning solely on traditional Meta ads or last-minute promotions will leave significant revenue on the table.
Key takeaways
Diversify ad spend beyond Meta into platforms like YouTube and Google to reduce auction pressure and unlock new customer segments. Some brands saw CPMs on YouTube's demand gen campaigns drop by 40% during BFCM, indicating less competition and more efficient ad spend.
Cultivate brand equity outside of Amazon. Brands performing well on Amazon during BFCM had invested in off-Amazon marketing and brand building, highlighting the diminishing returns of an Amazon-only strategy.
Integrate SMS marketing as a primary revenue channel, as it outperformed email in revenue and engagement for many brands during BFCM. Consumers are more likely to see and act on last-minute SMS promotions.
Pre-plan and ramp up marketing efforts in the weeks and months leading up to BFCM. This allows for more conservative spend during the actual event due to lower inventory pressure, resulting in better ROI.
Recognize that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still the strongest sales days, but Saturday and Sunday are growing significantly year-over-year. Optimize campaigns for sustained performance across the entire 'Cyber Five' weekend.
Black Friday just got more interesting.While most brands were bracing for skyrocketing ad costs and fierce competition, something unexpected happened during BFCM 2025—and it's reshaping how smart brands should approach next year's holiday season.In this jam-packed episode, OMG Commerce CEO Brett Curry sits down with four of the agency's top strategists—spanning Google, YouTube, Amazon, and retention marketing—to dissect what actually worked (and what flopped) during one of the most surprising Black Friday weekends in recent memory.You'll also get the 2026 prep checklist, including why AI is about to eliminate every excuse you have for not planning year-round promos, how to break down channel silos that are costing you sales, and the exact timing strategies that separated winners from everyone else.Whether you crushed it this BFCM or are wondering where you went wrong, this episode gives you the data, insights, and tactical playbook to make next year your best yet.Featured experts:Bill Cover, Google & YouTube DirectorLuba, Amazon ABM StrategistBarry Bowman, Amazon Ads SpecialistNick Flint, Retention Marketing Director—Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!—Chapters: (00:00) Intro(02:06) Meet the panel(05:52) Google/YouTube: weekend “plateau” + CPM/CPC drops and why it happened(08:50) Amazon: expanded event length, strong YoY, and the “off-Amazon” halo effect(12:28) SMS surpasses email + why brands still underuse it(13:47) What worked across all channels</p
Frequently asked about this episode
What does this episode say about brand strategy?
Diversify ad spend beyond Meta into platforms like YouTube and Google to reduce auction pressure and unlock new customer segments. Some brands saw CPMs on YouTube's demand gen campaigns drop by 40% during BFCM, indicating less competition and more efficient ad spend.
What does this episode say about customer retention?
Cultivate brand equity outside of Amazon. Brands performing well on Amazon during BFCM had invested in off-Amazon marketing and brand building, highlighting the diminishing returns of an Amazon-only strategy.
What does this episode say about omnichannel marketing?
Integrate SMS marketing as a primary revenue channel, as it outperformed email in revenue and engagement for many brands during BFCM. Consumers are more likely to see and act on last-minute SMS promotions.
What does this episode say about paid advertising?
Pre-plan and ramp up marketing efforts in the weeks and months leading up to BFCM. This allows for more conservative spend during the actual event due to lower inventory pressure, resulting in better ROI.
What does this episode say about brand strategy?
Recognize that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still the strongest sales days, but Saturday and Sunday are growing significantly year-over-year. Optimize campaigns for sustained performance across the entire 'Cyber Five' weekend.
