<< I’ll take “Holidays?” for $1,000.
>> The answer is: It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.
<< What is Black Friday?!
Yes. Black Friday is now celebrated on Thursday, formerly known as Thanksgiving. Have we, as consumers, so dramatically invoked the gift giving spirit that we don’t fully get to enjoy the onset of a turkey-induced coma?
As consumers, I think we need to accept the fact that stores are opening earlier and earlier on a national “holiday” and family traditions are getting lost in the shuffle. As marketers we need to address the shifting marketplace, the intense retail competition and, perhaps the most important, avoiding consumer overload. The general public is inundated with DOOR BUSTER SALES, SPECIAL OFFERS, EXTENDED HOLIDAY HOURS, GUARANTEED IN-STOCK ITEMS, etc… It’s our job to get a single message to standout above the others without adding to the noise of the holiday sales.
When we help establish brands and their unique position in the market, we always start by looking at the industry competition. This not only tells us what the competitors are doing but what they’re NOT doing and what space is available to us. By taking advantage of this open space, we can create something truly unique and meaningful for our clients. I would suggest the same thing to those retailers that are exhausting their efforts for a piece of the Black Friday market share. By finding the open space in the market, retailers can set themselves apart and have a more meaningful impact on consumers. Oddly enough, a shift to the days of yore and going back to traditional holiday hours, could be enough to make that impact.
With every retailer involved in the Black Friday hysteria, the easiest way to stand out is to get out of the crowd.
