Neither the usual creative nor the themed one: on Black Friday, combining the two delivered a CAC almost 6 times lower

B2C subscription · Series A

On Black Friday, advertisers usually pick one of two paths. Either they keep the usual creative, which already converts but ignores the date, or they swap everything for themed ads, which ride the date but lose what was already working.

Don't choose between the two: test the usual creative combined with the date's offer, alongside the two traditional options.

• We split the acquisition campaigns into three creative lines: the usual one, a themed Black Friday one, and the usual creative combined with the Black Friday offer.
• We measured CAC and opportunity-to-sale conversion for each line over the same period.

The combination had a CAC almost 3 times lower than the usual line and almost 6 times lower than the themed one, and the highest opportunity-to-sale conversion of the three. For the same money, it brought in almost six customers for every one the themed line brought in.

• The best result wasn't in either of the two options most advertisers choose. It was in combining them.
• The usual creative had already proven it converts, and the date's offer added urgency without throwing away what worked.
• The flashiest creative was the most expensive. Attention is not conversion.

1. Before your next promotional date, set up three lines: your usual creative, a themed one and the usual one with the date's offer. Use the same budget and the same audience for each.

2. Compare CAC and conversion through to sale, not clicks. After one to two weeks, concentrate the budget on the winning line.

3. Ask an LLM:

   I have a usual creative that works well [paste the copy] and a Black Friday offer [paste the offer]. Write two variations: one that keeps the usual creative and only adds the offer, and one Black Friday themed version. Then suggest how to split the budget in a test across the three versions and which metrics to compare.

   Copy