Black Friday 2025 was extremely strong for our client Pražírna Ignác. Compared to the previous year, it managed to increase sales by 320%. This result was not driven by a higher discount (which remained the same as the previous year) or a significant increase in advertising costs, but by smart work with Meta Ads, an emphasis on diversity of creative work and the involvement of UGC content that worked even without direct discount communication.
The period of November and December has long been one of the most important parts of the year for Pražírna Ignác. The high season starts in September, sales naturally increase and other factors also come into play as the weather gets colder – seasonal limited editions, Black Friday and Christmas shopping. Coffee and gift packages with coffee are a frequent choice during this period, which is also reflected in increased customer interest.
That is why we did not treat Black Friday as a one-off event, but as a strategic highlight of the whole season, for which it is necessary to be prepared in advance. The client was satisfied with the results of Black Friday in 2024, so we decided to build on the functional foundation again this year. “The basic approach remained similar, but we expanded the marketing mix to include UGC creators and put even more emphasis on creative work,” explained Kristýna Férová, Head of Social Media and Influencer Marketing at Foxy.
Performance built on strategy, not a higher discount
Following the example of the previous year, we worked with increased budgets for Meta Ads, which acts as the main performance channel. However, higher investment is also positively reflected in other areas – the brand is more visible, people search for it more often and better performance is evident in brand search and Google Ads.
The Black Friday special offer remained the same as the previous year – 20% off coffee. The difference was how we worked with the campaign. The result was revenue growth of 320% year-on-year, while advertising spending grew by only 26%. This shows that the key was not the discount itself, but the method of communication, the structure of the campaigns and work with content.
“We were very pleasantly surprised by the Black Friday results. We honestly did not expect such significant year-on-year growth in the e-shop. At the same time, something we have wanted to work with for some time was confirmed, namely the involvement of content from UGC creators. It turns out that authentic content works very well, and that’s why we want to work with this type of cooperation in the future,” added Kateřina Vaňková, a marketing specialist at Pražírna Ignác.
Creativity as the basis for performance
“One of the main reasons for its success was the breadth and variability of creativity in Meta Ads. We didn’t rely on one format or one type of message, but we worked with a combination of tried-and-tested and new variants, which we continuously tested and optimized,” said Férová.
The campaigns featured:
- recycled creative ideas from the previous year
- new visuals
- catalogue ads with different frame variants
- reels videos, carousel and static formats
- simple authentic visuals and graphic banners
In addition, this year we also tested AI generated variants directly in the Meta environment for the first time. For one of the creative ideas, the variants generated brought in 77% of all purchases, surpassing the original version of the banner.
UGC drove performance
Content from UGC creators also contributed significantly to the results. During the increased budget period (8 November – 4 December), about a third of all purchases from Meta Ads were achieved using UGC creative ideas. This confirmed that authentic content can also work very well in performance campaigns – even without directly communicating the discount.
“We are very positive about the use of UGC creators. The creators could go directly behind the scenes at the roastery and see how it works there, see the whole roasting process and also have the opportunity to roast their own coffee. The atmosphere was great and, according to the feedback, the creators themselves enjoyed the event. We have established long-term cooperation with some of them, which we perceive as a great added value of the whole event,” said Vaňková.
Although most of the videos did not directly mention Black Friday or Christmas, they often outperformed discount creative ideas. “Authentic content is just attractive. People trust people, not companies,” added Férová. In addition, Pražírna Ignác established long-term cooperation with some of the creators, thanks to which content focused on specific products, gift packages and website features such as the coffee configurator is now being created.
Summary
Black Friday for Pražírna Ignác showed that significant growth can be achieved without increasing discounts or excessive boosting of the budget. A combination of good preparation, thoughtful strategy, creative work and authentic content is crucial. It was this combination that drove year-on-year sales growth with minimal spending increases – and it is the foundation on which we build other seasonal campaigns.
“It confirmed to us how large a role good preparation, work with content and properly configured communication play. The involvement of UGC creators and wider work with creativity in campaigns were also of great value to us. We see the results of the campaign as very successful and a good basis for further campaigns,” concluded Vaňková for Pražírna Ignác.
