The best Black Friday strategy? Investment in your brand.

As Black Friday stretches into Black Week, Cyber Monday, and now what feels like Black November, a question emerges: are we optimising for transactions or eroding brand equity?

Early and lengthy promotions don't necessarily drive incremental sales. They pull demand forward, train customers to wait for discounts, and chip away at pricing power. The result? Promotional fatigue, operational chaos, and a race to the bottom that leaves both staff and shoppers exhausted.

But some brands are rewriting the playbook. Using Black Friday to build brand equity rather than cut their value, and show customers their principles.

Rewriting the Playbook: 5 Brands That Chose Value Over Volume

While the market zigged toward discounts, these brands zagged toward identity, proving that the strongest Black Friday strategy is often counter-intuitive.

Sometimes the strongest Black Friday strategy is often the one that upholds brand integrity, rather than looking for a quick sale. 

REI took a massive risk in 2015 when they closed all 143 stores on the biggest shopping day of the year and paid 12,000 employees to spend the day in nature. The #OptOutside campaign became a core brand facet, solidifying REI’s position not just as a retailer, but as a genuine partner in the outdoor lifestyle. Ten years later, it remains a brand tradition that money simply cannot buy.

Famously, in 2011 Patagonia famously ran a full-page ad in The New York Times breaking down the environmental cost of their best-selling fleece and explicitly asking customers not to buy it. By rejecting hyper-consumption, they paradoxically drove sales higher. The move positioned their product as an investment in longevity rather than a disposable commodity, attracting a loyal customer base willing to pay a premium for integrity rather than waiting for a discount. This advert and positioning resonates just as much, 14 years later.

Cards Against Humanity took a different approach, repeatedly choosing satire to build community. In 2016, they mocked the absurdity of the holiday by asking for donations to literally dig a hole in the ground for no reason. They raised over $100,000. In 2015, they offered an exclusive deal: give them $5. Nothing in return. Whilst unconventional, discussions around the yearly black friday prank cuts through, making the real return brand equity. The stunt cut through the noise and reinforced their voice as the ultimate counter-culture game, strengthening their bond with a demographic that actively dislikes traditional marketing.

In the beauty sector, Deciem (the "Abnormal Beauty Company") boycotted the panic-purchasing entirely. They shut down their website and stores on Black Friday itself, opting instead for "Slowvember", a month of modest, consistent discounts. This approach removed the anxiety of flash sales and protected the customer experience, framing skincare as a thoughtful ritual rather than a frantic impulse buy.

Finally, Finisterre turned the day into an activism event with "Blue Friday". Rather than slashing prices to compete with high street giants, they maintained full pricing and donated proceeds to ocean conservation charities. By acknowledging that their customers care more about the ocean than a cheap deal, they converted a day of consumption into a day of contribution, deepening emotional loyalty with their community in a way a 20% off coupon never could.

What connects these brands? They stopped optimising for transaction volume and started investing in brand value.

Each campaign cost something, from donated revenue and closed stores to organisational complexity. But that cost was strategic. When consumer fatigue is at its peak and attention is fragmented across endless promotions, brand strength becomes the differentiator. These brands maintained long-term pricing power by reinforcing what they stand for, not discounting it away. 

Most companies still split the budget between brand, marketing, and sales as if they're competing priorities. The best ones fund them as a single growth engine, and turn Black Friday into a brand showcase, not a margin killer.

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At Propellant, we help organisations build this kind of strategic alignment - where every touchpoint, from sales to marketing, reinforces rather than undermines brand value.