From Promo-Heavy to Brand-Building: Why Top DTC Brands Are Using Black Friday to Cement LTV

Every brand shows up on Black Friday with a deal.

Most race to the bottom with blanket discounts, chasing revenue spikes that rarely outlast the weekend. 

But the ones who are actually pulling ahead? They’re not just chasing transactions.

They’re building a pipeline of customers who stick.

Instead of asking, “How much revenue can we squeeze out of BFCM?” these brands are asking, “How many high-value customers can we onboard for the year ahead?".

That shift is what separates promo-heavy players from the brands using Black Friday (and Q4) as a springboard for long-term growth.

The Old Playbook: Deep Discounts, Shallow Returns

Deep discounting worked when CAC was cheap and attribution clear. Neither is true today. Rising acquisition costs, thinner margins, and privacy-driven signal loss make a pure “stack ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap” strategy unsustainable.

According to Bluecore (2023), 83% of BFCM buyers never come back. That means four out of five “new customers” are ghosting you before they can make a second purchase.

The short-term sugar high leaves most brands waking up in January with thinner margins, bloated ad costs, and no durable growth engine.

The LTV-First Q4 Strategy

Top brands are rewriting the playbook. They’re shifting the success metric from weekend revenue to customer quality.

Most notably, they are watching CAC-to-LTV ratios more closely than ROAS because the lifetime margin profile defines whether those November dollars compound or evaporate.

A 4:1 CAC : LTV ratio will beat a short-term 5x ROAS every time. That shift shows up in how leading brands approach both promotions and media:

• Tiered offers that segment intent — Entry-level incentives for deal hunters, curated bundles for high-intent buyers. 
• Brand-led storytelling — Offers are framed within loyalty programs, mission-driven campaigns, or exclusivity plays that reinforce positioning.
• Owned-channel acceleration — Every transaction is also a growth lever for email, SMS, and loyalty ecosystems, compounding in value with every campaign.

Creative and Offer Strategy That Filters for High-Intent Buyers

Here’s the real shift: Discounts don’t define the brand — the story does. 

Leading DTCs are curating offers that reinforce their brand DNA — and putting creative weight behind credibility, not just urgency. 

Instead of blasting 50% off across every SKU, they’re curating bundles that reinforce their value prop or tying promotions to brand pillars. Some gate their most attractive deals behind loyalty signups or SMS opt-ins, ensuring they capture more than just a one-time purchase.

The creative follows the same pattern. The most compelling ads aren’t screaming urgency — they are showing the founder’s face, amplifying UGC, or leaning into social proof. 

It’s not about the loudest discount. It’s about reminding customers why the brand deserves a spot in their lives, not just their cart.

Three Media Tactics to Maximize Retention, Not Just Reach

It’s not just what you sell on BFCM, it’s how you buy the attention. Smart brands are shifting media dollars to lower CPM environments and build momentum before the big weekend even hits.

1. Pre-BFCM list-building to fill retargeting pools when CPMs are cheaper, ensuring they have warm audiences ready to convert.
2. Sequenced storytelling campaigns that introduce the brand, then highlight hero products, then the offer – ensuring that by the time discounts drop, buyers already believe.
3. Post-purchase retargeting that makes the second order almost inevitable. Because the second order is where loyalty begins.

This isn’t mass reach for reach’s sake. The goal is depth — building a relationship that translates into a year of repeat orders, not a one-off spike.

BFCM Should Be the Start of the Relationship, Not the Peak

For sustainable DTC brands, Black Friday isn’t the high-water mark of the year. It’s the opening move in a 12-month retention strategy. That’s why the real winners are those who view Q4 as the moment to onboard their next high-LTV cohort, not just to unload inventory.

The brands separating themselves in 2025 are the ones aligning promotions with long-term brand health, not sacrificing it.

Let’s talk about your Black Friday strategy — and we’ll show you where margin meets loyalty.