Standing Out in the Crowd: Why Black Friday Is a Test of Distinctiveness

Every November, inboxes flood with Black Friday hype. Feeds blur with discount tags, and whole categories disappear into a haze of “can’t-miss deals.” It’s chaos – and the ultimate marketing stress test. 

In answer to our recent LinkedIn poll: What’s the hardest part of delivering a Black Friday campaign? The winning answer was clear: standing out in the crowd.

These days, it’s not about who yells the loudest, but who can figure out a way to cut through the noise. Marketers across industries, from video games to pharmaceuticals, retail to business development, all reported feeling the same pressure. And it’s not hard to see why.

The Scale of the Challenge

The numbers tell the story. Black Friday generates 38% more revenue than any other day of the year. Q4 accounts for 31% of annual ad spend, and last year CPCs rose by 23%. Thousands of brands are chasing the same eyeballs in the same 72-hour window.

For consumers, it’s overwhelming. For marketers, it’s a battlefield. The easy move is to keep cutting prices – but there’s always someone willing to go lower. You can’t out-Amazon Amazon. 

That doesn’t mean avoiding discounts, they’re the price of entry. The real challenge is how you use them. Pairing discounts with loyalty rewards, bundling, exclusivity, or brand-led creativity gives people a reason to choose you over the next ‘30% off’ banner in their feed.

The answer isn’t just shouting louder or slashing deeper. It’s about making your offer feel different, staying true to your brand, and creating something consumers recognise instantly as yours.

5 ways to stand out on Black Friday

1. Lead with brand, not discounts. Showcase your story, values, and personality as much as your offers.
2. Build exclusivity. Create members-only drops, early-bird perks, or insider access that feels special.
3. Invest in creativity. Ditch generic discount banners. Use bold copy, fresh visuals, or unexpected formats to surprise people.
4. Prioritise customer experience. Test your checkout flow, clarify delivery times, and make returns seamless to win trust.
5. Think long-term. Plan your post-sale nurture: personalised emails, loyalty perks, or follow-up offers that keep customers engaged beyond November.

How Boots Balance the Flash Sale With Brand Value

One brand that consistently rises above the noise is Boots.

Rather than relying on FOMO tactics and last minute panic, Boots takes a different approach. Its Black Friday messaging is about helping customers spend wisely and their Advantage Card sits at the heart of this. Every purchase, even during sales, earns points that can be saved and spent later. That reframes Black Friday from an impulse-buy frenzy into something that delivers lasting value.

The typical Advantage Card member spends their points twice a year, with almost half (40%) choosing to redeem them between November and December – a clear sign that customers see their points as a meaningful boost to festive spending and a reward worth holding onto. It’s a snapshot of loyalty in action with shoppers’ banking value throughout the year.

Boots also leans heavily into Price Advantage and member-exclusive offers. Instead of competing on lowest price alone, the brand rewards loyalty and gives customers another reason to choose them over the competition.

The result is something that feels measured and trustworthy. In a market where many brands scream about urgency, Boots quietly reminds people that their money goes further with them. That’s a distinctive and refreshing position, and one that builds long-term equity as well as short-term sales.

Giving Iconic Boots Brands a Bold New Look

When Boots were ready to take to of their iconic brands global, we gave them a fresh, standout presence to match. Bold, accessible assets delivered at lightning speed – all in time for an NYC debut.

Read more about our work with Boots.

Diageo – The Bar

Black Friday isn’t the only time brands face the challenge of being heard in a crowded, competitive space. We see the same pressures across sectors, from retail to drinks.

A great example is our work with global drinks brand Diageo on The Bar. The brief was to create content that could educate, inspire, and engage consumers around Diageo’s world-class drinks portfolio. The challenge was to deliver a content experience that didn’t just blend into the noise of generic cocktail content.

Within just five days of launching our first video, The Whiskey Sour, the average time spent on the page soared from 11 seconds to over three minutes. That’s a 1545% uplift in time spent on page.

The lesson? Distinctiveness pays off. Distinctiveness pays off. When you create something unmistakably you, people don’t just notice it, they spend more time with it.

It’s the same philosophy we apply to Black Friday campaigns: don’t dilute your brand to fit the season, amplify it to own the moment.

Read more about our work with Diageo.

Key Takeaways for Marketers

If you’re planning your next Black Friday campaign, there are a few principles worth keeping front of mind.

• Compete smart, not cheapest. You can’t undercut Amazon, but you can make your offers feel more compelling with bundles, loyalty rewards, or value-adds.
• Discounts with a difference. Yes, you have to discount. But package them in ways that feel unique — early access for members, limited editions, or stackable rewards.
• Make it unmistakably yours. Your Black Friday assets should still look and sound like you, not a generic sales template. The strongest campaigns are recognisable even without the logo.
• Think long term. Don’t just chase transactions. Use the traffic spike to capture data, grow your loyalty base, and build relationships that last into the new year.

Get ahead of the Black Friday rush

Black Friday is the ultimate marketing test: crowded, noisy and high-pressure. But it’s also a stage. The brands that thrive are the ones who resist the urge to discount harder or shout louder, and instead choose to show up smarter, more creatively and more distinctively.

At Ride Shotgun, we help brands cut through the chaos with strategy, creative and activation designed to make your brand stand out.