Going back to the unwritten rules to move forward.
It’s 2016, you are a fast-rising e-commerce brand in Greece and competition is fierce. Black Friday is still new. Most brands are either doing it wrong, or not at all. You neither did it nor did not.
Confused? Read the story of how TopShoes partnered with my agency Weeroot to do it their way.
Year: 2016Client: TopShoesIndustry: RetailTHE ASK
In 2016, the e-commerce industry was getting tougher. Bigger players were trying to out-discount the competition, dragging the market to a sales race. TopShoes couldn’t afford to compete on endless shallow discounts, but they couldn’t stay completely away either.
At the same time, Black Friday had become a global trend. However, in Greece, it had just started to emerge, with most brands-especially the e-commerce ones, hesitating to fully embrace the trend or misapplying it-too many products, smaller discounts, longer duration, no concept. I knew that if we had to follow, at least we will do it our way.
THE ANSWER
We battled sales… with a sale. Instead of seeing Black Friday as another discount event, I saw it as a cultural phenomenon to carve out a space in a market flooded with generic discounts.
THE APPROACH
I pitched the idea of a multi-channel digital campaign that broke away from the typical Black Friday clutter. Focusing on a select range of black products, I offered real discounts. The campaign ran for a short, impactful duration, creating urgency and excitement. Through social media, email marketing, and targeted digital ads, we ensured the campaign reached the right audience with a clear, compelling message: Black Friday at TopShoes was different—it was exclusive, bold, and done right.
The key to break away from the clutter, was understanding the unwritten rules that make Black Friday work globally—short duration, big discounts, limited products. So, I decided to do it right.
After some convincing (the client was reluctant to go big with the discounts), I developed a multi-channel digital blitz across social media and email, highlighting a select range of black products, with real discounts—up to 50%, and short duration. No fluff. Just the best deals, done right. Amplified by the tagline 'Black enough?', I drew a line between low-quality Black Friday sales and our bold, “real” offer.
By respecting those cultural codes, we didn’t just join the trend, we stood out, carving out-even for a short time-a unique space in a market swamped with generic sales.
And we did not stop there. We followed up with a Cyber Monday offer too, complementing the Black Friday campaign and wrapping up a 4-day promotion that took the market by storm.
THE IMPACT
Sales increased by 55% during the Black Friday weekend, while engagement spiked at 140% with zero negative comments.
TopShoes created a moment. By being one of the first brands to do Black Friday differently-right, the impact created lasted beyond the short campaign period. I created long-term recognition, positioning them as a modern, forward-thinking brand, that knows how to disrupt the norm and do things in style.
Work completed as part of my role at Weeroot agency.