Inboxes and social feeds overflow every Black Friday with the same promotions: massive savings, limited time, heavy markdowns. For small to medium-sized businesses, competing with major brands during the holiday season can feel impossible. 

Most of it gets ignored.

The campaigns that succeed don’t just push a price—they create experiences that are intentional, exciting, and unmistakably on-brand.

Here are eight Black Friday campaign ideas to inspire your holiday design assets, complete with creative directions and the visual tools to bring them to life (with a little help from Design Pickle, of course).

Who doesn’t love a good surprise? Mystery deals and surprise boxes create instant engagement because they make shoppers feel like they’re part of something bigger than a simple sale. This has the potential to create a lasting impression on the shoppers from the get go. 

With mystery discounts, the magic lies in anticipation. Build excitement with a waitlist before the sale, drop subtle hints in your emails, and let the first few buyers unlock mystery rewards. Keep the buzz alive by revealing winners or prizes through social content throughout the weekend.

This approach thrives on curiosity and great design is what sustains it. With Design Pickle, brands can craft teaser visuals, motion graphics, and landing pages that spark excitement and keep the audience guessing in style.

Design assets to bring it to life:

• Animated “Unwrap Your Mystery Deal” graphics
• Countdown banners to build anticipation
• Teaser carousels showcasing hints or partial reveals
• Dedicated landing page with a strong hero image
• Playful yet premium visual style
• Intentional design that elevates the sense of mystery

How to run it:

1. Generate hype with a waitlist leading up to Black Friday.
2. Reward the first group of customers or subscribers with mystery discounts or boxes.
3. Announce winners and reveals during the sale to keep momentum going.
4. Encourage customers to share their unboxing or prize moments on social and tag your brand.

Black Friday doesn’t have to be static or predictable. Gamified campaigns turn engagement into participation, and participation into conversion. When done right, they entertain, educate, and drive repeat interactions long after the initial click.

Gamified promotions work especially well for online retail brands with multiple product tiers, beauty, lifestyle, or consumer goods brands, and companies with active social media communities that thrive on interaction. If your audience loves playing, sharing, or competing, this strategy taps straight into that energy.

Design assets to bring it to life:

• Motion graphics to animate game elements and build excitement
• Branded email headers and campaign visuals for clear communication
• Reels or short videos explaining how to participate
• Prize mockups to showcase rewards on social media
• Custom illustrations and story templates for a cohesive look across channels
• Designed backgrounds and landing page visuals for a polished, intuitive experience

How to run it:

1. Choose a game format that aligns with your audience and platform (trivia, bingo, or social challenge).
2. Announce participation rules clearly through your website or email.
3. Offer rewards like exclusive discounts, early access, or limited-edition gifts.
4. Share progress or winner highlights to sustain engagement throughout the campaign.

In a season dominated by consumerism, generosity is the standout strategy to build a connection that goes beyond the season. Give-back campaigns don’t just inspire feel-good moments, they also  build emotional loyalty and long-term trust.

Whether it’s donating a portion of sales or running a “buy one, give one” model, this approach works when your audience can see the impact. That’s where your visuals matter. Impact infographics, campaign trackers, and testimonial-style graphics all help the story feel tangible and real.

We can create branded templates and data-driven visuals that bring transparency to your campaign, ensuring your message feels as authentic as your intention.

Design assets to bring it to life:

• Infographics that clearly show donation impact
• Branded social posts to highlight your cause and campaign updates
• Animated progress bars to visualize giving milestones
• Campaign announcement banners for your site and emails
• Purpose-driven, transparent design that communicates impact and builds trust

How to run it:

1. Choose a charity relevant to your audience or seasonal theme.
2. Promote the donation amount or impact clearly in emails, social, and on-site banners.
3. Share stories and results during and after the campaign to drive authenticity. 

Partnerships multiply attention. When two brands collaborate, they not only share audiences but also bring freshness to each other’s creative narrative.

The key to success is design consistency. Merging two visual identities is tricky. Here, the details matter the most because each brand has its unique brand identity. You have to find a sweet spot. Think shared typography, balanced color palettes, and joint visual storytelling.

Brands align these collaborative visuals with speed and precision, ensuring both partners look seamlessly integrated across social, email, and web. 

Design assets to bring it to life:

• Dual-branded product mockups showcasing both identities
• Joint email banners featuring shared typography and color harmony
• Co-branded social templates for consistent visual storytelling
• Carousel graphics highlighting both brands and the collaboration narrative
• Polished layouts that make the partnership look seamless and effortless

To run this campaign:

1. Select a complementary brand for a co-branded offer.
2. Create joint promotional graphics for email, social, and landing pages.
3. Launch during high-traffic sales events to maximize attention.

Not every gift ships in a box. Digital gifts like wallpapers, printable art, or AR filters let your brand live beyond the sale. These assets are low-cost, high-impact, and highly shareable. Digital gifts give your audience something to download, display, and post. That’s like leading with your audience backing you. 

They’re especially useful for subscription-based or digital-first brands that want to engage audiences without adding logistical complexity. With Design Pickle, you can produce branded illustrations, digital wallpapers, or motion pieces that feel personal and polished.

Design assets to bring it to life:

• Custom illustrations tailored to your brand style
• Branded wallpapers designed for mobile and desktop
• Teaser videos or motion graphics to preview the gift
• Promotional social templates to drive downloads and shares
• Thoughtfully designed assets that turn simple downloads into lasting impressions

How to run it:

1. Create digital assets your audience can download or interact with.
2. Promote the experience via social, email, and your website.
3. Encourage sharing to boost engagement and brand awareness.
    

UGC campaigns transform customers into creators. They work because they celebrate community and not just consumption.

Encouraging followers to share photos, videos, or stories gives your brand authenticity and reach that paid media can’t match any ordinary campaign. It also provides an endless source of social content long after the campaign ends.

We help brands set up these campaigns visually with clear instructions, branded entry templates, and easy-to-share announcement graphics that make participation effortless and fun.

Design assets to bring it to life:

• Contest landing pages with clear participation details
• Branded story templates for easy user submissions
• Winner announcement visuals to celebrate participants
• Submission highlight carousels showcasing community content
• Consistent, engaging visuals that make participation feel fun and effortless

How to run it:

1. Define contest rules and prizes.
2. Ask customers to share content on social media, tagging your brand.
3. Showcase submissions in stories, reels, or galleries to amplify reach.

Great storytelling creates connection. Interactive storytelling keeps that connection alive.

Instead of one big reveal, consider a series that unfolds in chapters, like an email sequence or social narrative that builds anticipation over several days. Each piece can unlock new deals, products, or insights that reward your audience for staying engaged. 

Design Pickle helps you create visual continuity for these multi-part stories through motion graphics, carousels, and animations that make each “chapter” feel cohesive and cinematic.

Design assets to bring it to life:

• Sequential social carousels that reveal the story in chapters
• Animated email headers to maintain visual continuity
• Motion snippets that connect each chapter seamlessly
• Downloadable story sets for multi-channel consistency
• Cohesive, cinematic visuals that turn promotions into storytelling experiences

How to run it:

1. Plan a sequential story for email or social channels.
2. Release new content daily or weekly leading up to Black Friday.
3. Include a call-to-action for each chapter to drive engagement.

Offering a Choice is a powerful strategy. Letting customers build their own bundles gives them control while increasing perceived value. It feels personal and premium, the two things that stand out during Black Friday.

But clear visuals can make or break this idea. Bundle graphics should make selections easy and exciting, guiding customers toward what feels like “their perfect set.”

We simplify this process with flexible design support for mockups, product carousels, and interactive landing page visuals that make even complex bundle options feel intuitive.

Design assets to bring it to life:

• Product mockups showcasing bundle options
• Combination carousels to help customers visualize pairings
• Visual pricing guides for clarity and confidence in selection
• Interactive email graphics or landing page visuals for easy customization
• Clean, intuitive design that simplifies choices and drives conversions

How to run it:

1. Define the bundle options and pricing.
2. Promote each bundle visually on social and in email.
3. Use interactive or carousel graphics to make selection easy.

If you want to run discounts this year, that’s totally fine! But if you want to be memorable instead of just another deal in the inbox, putting time and energy into creating an engaging experience for your audience is way more fun (for them and for you).

If you need a hand getting your holiday campaigns off the ground, we recommend Design Pickle. Even a 2-daily-hour plan can go a long way, and in a week you could have a solid set of blog graphics and ads ready even when budgets are tight.

Get onboarded today!