DO NOT DO THIS for your Black Friday Strategy

It’s November 1998.

My parents are driving me to our local Toys ‘R Us store in our purple Ford Windstar.

I unlatch the sliding door. Jump out of the van. Run into the toy store.

I was blessed.
I was the happiest kid on Earth.
I was getting an early Christmas present.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time… for our new Nintendo 64.

But, this isn’t just any ordinary Legend of Zelda game cartridge.

It’s the Gold Collector’s Edition:

• Gold cartridge

• Gold packaging

• Gold game manual

Gold everything.

I never felt cooler in my life.

Fast forward to 2024. Tables have turned.

Instead of people lining up, stampeding in for their flatscreen TVs deals…

Online retailers are beating each other to people’s wallets.

They want people to spend money on their products before they have a chance to shop elsewhere.

Every single year, ‘Black Friday’ comes earlier and earlier.

This year, I saw Black Friday deals starting on November 1st! C’mon! This is just getting too absurd.

I’m sorry. But, I HATE this strategy.

Please… DO NOT do this to your brand.

Because you’re killing your brand’s reputation.

Don’t just start discounting because you think that’s the only way to drive sales.

I mean, everyone else is doing it… so it MUST be working, right? … Bueller? Bueller?

Your Black Friday strategy can be (read: should be) more creative.

In 2016, Cards Against Humanity built a giant "Holiday Hole,” digging a hole funded by donations, raising over $100,000 with no clear purpose other than to dig and fill the hole. And yes, they had a live cam. I was watching it… it was hilarious.

In 2020, Allbirds, a sustainable footwear brand, raised prices across its entire collection by $1 on Black Friday. CRAZY, right?! This additional dollar was matched by Allbirds and donated to Fridays For Future, a global climate strike movement that emerged in August 2018, initiated by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.

As for me? I’m going back to my childhood.

To recreate that magical moment that my 12-year old self had… when I held that gold ’Legend of Zelda’ box in my hands on our way home in our Ford Windstar.

Yes, call me a copycat… I’m taking a page out of Nintendo’s playbook from 1998…

…by releasing a limited supply of our best-selling product, the Urban EDC F5.5 in an all-black model for Black Friday.

And no, I’m not discounting it. I know, call me crazy.

But instead of following the crowd, I’m doing something different.

Zig, when others zag.

That’s how you stand out from the crowd.

Have you heard of any other creative Black Friday strategies? Would love to hear them.

Reply back and let me know! 🖤

'Til next time,
Yong-Soo

P.S. I’ve been experimenting on Threads and the opportunity here is massive. If you’re a content creator, don’t sleep on Threads!