Here’s wishing your Black Friday injuries aren’t so severe that you can’t click a mouse on Cyber Monday. ~Author Unknown
We at Blue Moon Digital, hope that you enjoyed your day with your family on Thanksgiving. We hope you ate too much, enjoyed the stuffing that only Mom can make, savored the pumpkin pie, and gave thanks for the blessings you have in your life. There is always a little something to be thankful for.
Being an email strategist, one can only try to imagine the number of emails I have in my Gmail inbox. Luckily I don’t let the overflow of emails bother me. Otherwise, I would be in big trouble. It seemed that as soon as I had deleted 5 emails, 10 more arrived in my inbox these last few days. The email team dug as deep as they could, to pick our favorite emails from the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. We may have shopped a bit along the way…. Some deals were just too good to pass up!
A few things we noticed:
- Many brands launched their Black Friday sales up to a week before Thanksgiving
- We saw a lot of 25% off sales (on select items or site wide)
- Many brands sent multiple times a day, vying for everyone’s attention and trying to get back to the top of the inbox
- Lots of animated campaigns, but who doesn’t love a good animation?
- The term “gobble” was used quit a lot….
- Gobble up the savings
- Gobble up these deals
- Gobble up early access
- Gobble up great savings
- Gobble, Gobble!
- Gobble up to XX% of savings
- And our favorite… Gobble til you Wobble
- Most brands extended their Cyber Monday deals until Tuesday
Here are our top picks:
Create Excitement
Subject: Are You Ready? Something BIG Is Coming…
Chosen by Vicki Campana, Sr. Email Strategist & Project Manager
Coach Outlet was one of the many brands that sent out an email before the sale had begun. They wanted to create excitement, as well as suspense on what their holiday deals may be. I enjoyed the animation that featured multiple prints, as well as the excitement they created about what could be coming. They also did a great job by including links to store hours, as well as a link to check out the current gift guide to add to the excitement of what may be on sale the next day.
Keep it Playful
Subject: ???? 1 more day. 2 can’t-miss sales. ❄
Chosen by Robin Glanz, VP of Operations
American Eagle went playful with their subject lines this year, which caught my attention right away in the inbox. They created a sense of urgency by calling out “1 more day” in their subject line and included a live countdown clock in the body of the email; emphasizing that the sale would not last forever. They also updated their navigation to include a fun GIFTS category that is slightly animated and catches your eye when you open the email. Both the images showed a playful side of the brand and spoke to the fun of the holidays. Overall, this was a standout email campaign.
Keep Them Curious
Subject: Game On! Cyber Monday Deals All Day Long
Chosen by Danny Taylor, Senior Email Solutions Specialist
While the subject line speaks to Cyber Monday, it doesn’t say what the deal is, so my curiosity forced me to open. Once I did, the arcade game animation made even more sense with the “Game On!” Pulling at my nostalgic side, in a fun way that makes me like the brand even more. Additionally, the promotion from my email is 30% off, but on the homepage, the generic offer is 25% off. It sure makes me feel like I’m benefiting from being on their list now!
Go for the Big % Off
Subject: Our best deal of the year: Up to 60% off site-wide.
Chosen by Julianna Renaud, Sr. Email Strategist & Web Analytics Strategist
I like this simple, clean approach to promoting a site-wide sale. The animation was simple, but caught my eye. The timing was appropriate for making it easy to read while the paper “scrolled” and the final visuals were the promo code and then the CTA. The use of color made the promo code and CTA stand out from the rest of the creative. The subject line spoke to up to 60% off, even though the sale was 30% off, you could have a total savings of 60%. This approach works well to grab the shopper’s attention.
Give them the Best Sale You’ve Got
Subject: The only Monday that matters: Get cyber my friends
Chosen by Brittany Pettrone, Team Lead – Email Solutions
Lucky Brand took full advantage of Cyber Monday’s playfulness. They called it the only Monday that matters, which is what caught my attention in the subject line. Once I opened the email, they included a paper airplane flying through the page and spoke to the fact that they were “wired” for Cyber Monday. Then I realized they were offering 60% off all sale styles which really prompted me to shop.
For the Love of Nature
Subject: Get the Best Deals on the BioWare Store All Year
Chosen by Stefan Denev, Email/Digital Media Specialist
This email appealed to me because not only am a fan of BioWare, but the structure and design were clean. They offered a great sale with 25% off and free shipping over $50. This is the biggest sale of the year for them, and probably why I liked this campaign the most. They featured real products that I could easily shop, as well as a beautiful introduction image.
Keep it Light and Funny
Subject: Psst. 40% off your purchase is still going strong… Get in there.
Chosen by Merissa Smith, Email Solutions Coordinator
This is my favorite Black Friday/Cyber Monday email because the creative caught my attention as I was quickly skimming through my overcrowded inbox. Then I see the line, “Is your family driving you nuts?” and as I’m laughing, and saying yes, I found myself reading more. (plus 40% off is a pretty good deal!)
Honorary Mention for the Best Subject Line
Subject: Celebrate National Shopping at Work Day
Well done, Uncommon Goods!
We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving festivities and all the great holiday sales! Happy shopping, everyone.
