Black Friday (November 24th) and Cyber Monday (November 27th), offer massive opportunities for brands on Amazon to drive sales, increase visibility, and leverage holiday shopping trends. Competitive brands will have started implementing their Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) strategies by now (3 months prior to the event) for optimal results.

The first half of the year has, undoubtedly, been overshadowed by the economic situation and threat of recession rippling across the globe. If we were to analyze the past 6 months based purely on news headlines, it would be a sobering affair with geopolitical uncertainty, rising inflation, climate instability and the dark side of AI commandeering our peripheral.

Some of you might have heard the phrase “Shiny object syndrome”, it’s used to describe when people focus too much on something that is new and trendy but then forget about it when the next sexy thing comes along.

Taking the entertainment industry by storm even before its official release on the 21st July, Barbie has won the crown as the biggest blockbuster of the year – surpassing the $1 billion mark at the global box office in August. A substantial part of this success can be attributed to the impressive marketing strategy orchestrated by the Barbie team in the lead-up to the film’s launch (not to mention the budget of over £150 million  – it’s no wonder our social feeds have been extra pink recently).

As the much-awaited Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and festive shopping season approaches, retailers are flexing their marketing muscles to seize sales opportunities using discount offers, free deliveries, bonus deals, and more. Amidst the excitement lies a lingering uncertainty about the spending capacity of local consumers this year, as a sizable portion of South Africans have weathered financial challenges. With the local economy showing modest growth in recent months, there’s no denying that the road to success may not be as straight as it seems.

In the realm of data analysis, Winston Churchill once remarked, “I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself,” illustrating the potential for data manipulation to support certain arguments, distorting reality and the underlying facts. Unfortunately, many brands fall into the trap of using data merely to affirm their preexisting biases rather than using it as a compass for guidance. When this happens, the motivation to empathize and understand people’s perspectives dwindles, as they are only reinforcing their assumptions.