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Black Friday, the greatest sales campaign

2 months and 8 days until the Black Friday launch!

Learn more about the history and different traditions of Black Friday around the world: But when is Black Friday 2024, and why is it called Black Friday? Taking place on Friday, November 29, it is the day of deals, bargains, and discounts. Black Friday is a term that has been used to describe several events before the invention of the famous sales... Show more

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Black Friday ideas and resources to increase your sales

Symbols

Black Friday symbols and their effects on consumers

Black Friday Color Palette

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  • HEX rgb(207,15,14)
  • RGB rgb(207,15,14)
  • CMYK rgb(207,15,14)
  • HSL rgb(207,15,14)
Download color palette

File available in .ASE format

Rosso corsa, one of the most powerful international motor racing colors

Rosso Corsa is a very bright red that is full of energy and life. This is the international motor racing color of the Italian teams. In fact, rosso corsa means racing red. Many different types of cars have shown this color in history: Ferrari, Abarth, Maserati, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo. Red is the perfect color for racing cars, as it’s a color of action and energy, and it also represents power, confidence, intensity, and vitality, a perfect mix for your Black Friday colors. Using rosso corsa as part of the Black Friday color palette is a good idea, as it encourages impulsivity too. This is simply perfect for marketing campaigns, as the target is to increase sales always.

  • HEX rgb(230,72,71)
  • RGB rgb(230,72,71)
  • CMYK rgb(230,72,71)
  • HSL rgb(230,72,71)
Download color palette

File available in .ASE format

Imperial red, the color that represented Napoleon Bonaparte

Imperial red has a striking name, almost as striking as its history. It was part of the Imperial Standard of Napoleon Bonaparte. This standard combined an imperial eagle framed by imperial red and a shade of deep blue. This remarkable hue captures the power and magnificence of the Napoleonic empire. Imperial red is the color of winners and athletes, and also the color of danger, passion, life, and love. Use such a mesmerizing hue of red in your advertisements, posters, and banners to create a feeling of urgency in your customers. Get ready for Black Friday adding tons of imperial red to your designs and feel like Napoleon himself.

  • HEX rgb(242,158,56)
  • RGB rgb(242,158,56)
  • CMYK rgb(242,158,56)
  • HSL rgb(242,158,56)
Download color palette

File available in .ASE format

Take action with carrot orange, the color of enthusiasm

Carrot orange is a beautiful shade of orange with a reddish undertone. It appears in carrots because of a red orange pigment known as beta-carotene, which is found also in fruits or other plants, for example. This type of tint is used to express practicality, enthusiasm, action, extravagance, and generosity. Of course, it suits very well the spirit of Black Friday. Thanks to carrot orange, you can convey to your clients that what they are about to buy is handy, but also that they can afford to buy luxurious things with a price reduction. As it is the color of action, carrot orange encourages them to buy more.

  • HEX rgb(242,227,12)
  • RGB rgb(242,227,12)
  • CMYK rgb(242,227,12)
  • HSL rgb(242,227,12)
Download color palette

File available in .ASE format

Creating powerful messages using titanium yellow

Titanium yellow is one of the brightest shades of yellow. It is a fine pigment that can be used for ceramic glazes, paintings, and also for giving color to plastics. Its luminosity is caused by the combination of nickel oxide, antimony oxide, and titanium dioxide. This yellow tint can change your mood easily. This shade is also about energy and positivity, and it’s also notable for its warmth and originality. If you want to launch a successful Black Friday campaign, titanium yellow is a must in your color palette. Convey powerful messages to your future customers using it in combination with shades like manatee gray.

  • HEX rgb(151,157,173)
  • RGB rgb(151,157,173)
  • CMYK rgb(151,157,173)
  • HSL rgb(151,157,173)
Download color palette

File available in .ASE format

Manatee as the color of sobriety, balance, relax, and compromise

What color is manatee? It’s a rich gray that resembles the tone of the skin of this mammal. Gray is the result of black and white, so it’s the shade of balance. It’s also a neutral hue that represents security and comfort. Add a little touch of manatee in your life to get a stabilizing and relaxing feeling. Manatee is related to the stability of rocks. It’s also a mature hue that can convey compromise and sobriety. Undoubtedly, companies want their products and services to represent those values, so it’s not strange that businesses choose this color for their logos. Would you dare to use it too?

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Black Friday history, a story of conspiracy, financial events, and Thanksgiving!

The story of the Black Friday origin is quite intriguing and fascinating. It has not always been a happy date when you can get that computer you wanted at a lower price. This term was used to describe a series of historical events, sometimes not very happy ones. The first Black Friday took place in the 19th century, when a couple of businessmen organized a gold conspiracy. The second Black Friday occurred in 1929: Wall Street crashed after a period of financial bonance during the roaring 20s. This name was also applied to a series of turmoils that were seen in Philadelphia in the 50s and 60s. It wasn’t until the 1990s that the Black Friday sales campaign began and the term was given some more positive connotations.

September 24, 1869

The very first Black Friday

The New York gold conspiracy

As incredible as it may seem, the first Black Friday took place because of a conspiracy–although it didn’t have to do with a massive sales campaign. The Civil War and the Reconstruction afterwards resulted in a very problematic debt. This amount escalated quickly, so it required a series of financial strategies to reach a more auspicious point. President Ulysses S. Grant devised a plan to heal the already battered economy: repaying US bonds in gold to reduce the number of greenbacks. Three speculators, Jay Gould, Jim Fisk, and Abel Corbin, organized a conspiracy to corner the gold market. This way, they could enrich themselves even more. This scheme led to a financial turmoil that continued for a few months.

October 29, 1929

Black Tuesday

The Wall Street Crash of 1929

The halo of prosperity of the roaring twenties ended on October 29, 1929. This sad day was known as Black Tuesday, and it was preceded (and announced) by the crash of the London Stock Exchange: it was the beginning of one of the worst economic periods of the 20th century, the Great Depression. The speculation during the 20s, the high unemployment rate, politics, a new tariff, and some oversupply issues created the perfect breeding ground for a financial crisis that had a huge impact on the world economy. Black Friday was created as a positive counterpart of Black Tuesday. Black Friday means an increase in sales, and a positive inflection point, economically speaking, each year.

1950s

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Football games, shoplifters, and the failure of “Big Friday”

Army-Navy football game was a huge event in Philadelphia in the 1950s. It took place the Friday after Thanksgiving. Every single year, tourists, shoppers, and football fans crowded the city center before the match. This day was a nightmare for cops, as they needed to work many extra hours to deal with the chaos. On top of that, shoplifters made the situation even worse. By the 1960s, “Black Friday” was widely used to refer to this day in Philadelphia. In an attempt to increase sales and to get rid of the negative implications of Black Friday, shop owners tried to turn it into Big Friday, although they didn’t succeed. By the mid 1980s, the term spread to the rest of the country and its connotations changed to more positive ones.

1990s

Black Friday since the 1990s

Queues, deals, and shopping sprees

The “Black Friday” of Philadelphia turned into a major retailer event in the rest of the country by the 1990s. Many shops offered tempting discounts, and the one-day campaign slowly became a 4 or 5-day event. Opening hours also changed, as shops started opening earlier (sometimes, as early as 5 or 6 am). Black Friday has changed a lot since 1990, although this day is (and will be) about deals, sales, and discounts. Most clients prefer online shopping over the traditionals queues, as they can compare different prices and choose the cheaper retailer. Apart from that, online shopping saves a lot of time! This new tendency became more popular during the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s still the main option for buyers.

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What countries celebrate Black Friday, travel the world as we find out!

Black Friday is one of the most important sales campaigns in 60% of the world, that’s a lot! Each country is different because of its own history and peculiarities: for example, in Ireland they have created a counterpart called Green Champion and its aim is to promote local stores. Discover more amazing details about it and the world Black Friday campaigns here.

United States of America

Black Friday was born in the United States and it is a huge (or even the biggest) commercial event in the country. This sales campaign is very well known around the globe, and it has been copied by many other countries and areas like Mexico, Canada, Ireland, or Spain. Their profits are considerable, as the campaign is intensive and very effective. In fact, the idea of extending Black Friday to Saturday and Sunday failed: one-day discounts create a sense of urgency and a pressing need to buy, which does not apply to this type of extension. In addition, Black Friday coincides with the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Retailers open earlier each year, and the crowds gather in front of shops waiting their turn to get the best deals. Countless shop owners increase their sales and encourage consumerism on Black Friday.

United Kingdom

At the beginning, Black Friday wasn’t about buying in the United Kingdom. The Friday before Christmas was a difficult date for the police and for the National Health System: parties and turmoils took the streets. In the 2010s, some retailers such as Asda or Amazon UK introduced Black Friday to the general public in the UK. This campaign was seen as Americanism, so it wasn’t really easy to implement. Particularly, the Welsh refer to Black Friday as Silly Spending Friday! Although Boxing Day has always been the typical shopping day in the UK, Black Friday has become more and more popular. Still, many incidents take place during this day, so many people prefer buying goods during other sales campaigns, and not on Black Friday.

Canada

The first Black Friday sales in Canada took place during the early 2000s, twenty years ago. Before that date, Canadians wanted to take the opportunity of getting a lot of discounts and bargains buying in American shops, so cross-border shopping was a very common activity for them on Black Friday. Although they got the best deals, this practice entailed some economic losses for Canada: all the money that the Canadians spent remained in the United States. Because of that, in 2008 and 2009 many shops decided to try a Canadian version of Black Friday to prevent people from crossing the border and buying massively in the US on that day. Today, Black Friday is a very important sales campaign in the country, together with Boxing Day.

Australia

For Australian people, Black Day refers to some bushfires that took place in Victoria in 1938-1928. The bushfires were active for the whole summer, which entailed a lot of harm to the flora and fauna of the country. The fire was so big that the ashes fell in New Zealand. It wasn’t easy to start a Black Friday campaign in the country because of a series of reasons. First, because Australians made a connection between Black Friday and the famous bushfires. Second, because Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Australia, so a shopping sprint after that day seemed unnecessary. Apart from that, Australians have their own deal days, so they don’t need to wait until Black Friday. In the 2010s, several Black Friday campaigns were launched: Twitter, Apple, and other companies announced discounts, promoted online shopping, and so on. Since then, Black Friday has gained a lot of popularity and many people are looking forward to shopping on that day.

Ireland

Black Friday was introduced in Ireland in 2014, just a few years ago. This campaign is relatively new when compared to other countries such as the United States or Canada. Multinational companies and retailers promoted each year Black Friday campaigns: it actually worked, so now the Irish are huge fans of the black deals. The establishment of Black Friday in Ireland has a lot to do with the Internet too. After the COVID-19 crisis, local shops have been trying to turn Black Friday into Champion Green. This alternative was launched as an effort to recover the Irish economy after the pandemic. Businesses, industries, the general public, and even the government encouraged people to buy locally.This green campaign is designed to create a more sustainable community, and to protect local retailers.

Spain

Before the 2010s, Black Friday was not celebrated in Spain. If you were looking for the best deal, you’d need to wait until January or July, the official sales campaigns in the country. It was because of the American influence that Spanish shops started their own Black Friday version. During the first years of the 2010s, some Black Friday campaigns emerged in Spain. Those first sales campaigns were so successful that stores and retailers kept this tradition. Every single year, shops increase their sales so much that they even decided to transform it into a whole week of deals and discounts. But why has it become so popular in Spain, if it is an American event? Although Spain doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas is a very important tradition in Spain. The white season means going shopping and buying gifts for your loved ones. Black Friday pushed the Christmas campaign and helped consumers to save a little bit of money.

Mexico

The first El Buen Fin took place in 2011. The chosen date for this buen fin is the weekend before Mexican Revolution Day, celebrated the third Monday of November. The main aim is quite similar to the American version of Black Friday: retailers try to get an increased number of sales, so they encourage people to buy more and more. President Felipe Calderón has urged the establishment of El Buen Fin as a tool to improve the Mexican economy. The event is organized by many different companies and associations, such as the Bancos de México, the Council of Business Coordinator, the Mexican Internet Association, or Iniciativa México. Consumption is promoted not only by shops offering discounts and bargains: banks offer interest-free credits on El Buen Finde.