Maximize Your Black Friday Sales: The Ultimate Creator-Led Playbook for Outdoor, Adventure and Travel Brands

Are you holding off on planning for Black Friday? Well your competitors aren’t.

If you’re waiting until November to plan your Black Friday strategy, you’ll be late. The sharpest outdoor, adventure, and travel brands are locking in creator partnerships, mapping content calendars, and building affiliate funnels right now. The biggest shopping moment of the year is coming in hot. 

Where most see chaos, we see creative opportunity. This is your playbook for getting Black Friday-ready with a strategic timeline that sharpens your competitive edge. This comprehensive, step-by-step guide is built on research from key platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, as well as the boots-on-the-ground perspective we live daily at Popfly.

This Black Friday Demands Different

Today’s consumer expectations demand a new playbook. Black Friday 2025 is longer, noisier, and more omnichannel than ever. The adventure brands breaking through are those that understand shoppers don’t stay siloed, they move fluidly from discovery on social to adding to cart. Authentic creator content is the connective tissue through these journeys, blurring lines between entertainment, inspiration, social proof, and sales.

What’s Different About Black Friday, Cyber Monday 2025:

• Consumers will be more cautious with spending. Shoppers are approaching the holidays with practicality, with 63% of people being more selective about what they splurge on. This shift has prompted some to begin their holiday shopping earlier than usual with a stronger focus on essentials. [Pinterest]
• Shopping starts earlier than ever: Consumers are engaging with holiday content earlier than historically seen with traditional retail cycles. And they’re making purchase decisions through organic discovery rather than planned shopping trips.
• Personalization is expected: Brands can tap into AI ad optimization on platforms like Meta and TikTok to find the right shoppers at the right moment as well as make tailored product recommendations. 
• People shop where they scroll: The bulk of holiday shopping occurs on mobile, with platforms like TikTok Shop and Instagram Checkout making shopping seamless. [eMarketer]

Why Your Brand Needs To Prioritize Creators:

• Creators drive product discovery and purchase: 86% of people make purchases inspired by influencers. [Sprout Social] 
  
  • Pro tip: Authentic content from real adventurers captures attention. It doesn’t look or feel like an ad, so people stop scrolling, lean in, and engage. In this noisy world where attention is everything, that’s a serious advantage.
• Online content consumption translates to in-store sales: 50% of Black Friday retail shoppers do their planning online. [Tribe] Omni-channel approaches drive results with efficiency.
• Creators aren’t a niche play anymore, they’re the new mass media. Leading brands are heavily investing in creators (some allocating up to 50% of total spend, eMarketer), tapping into the speed, agility, and relevance that they bring. 

Here’s your step-by-step guide defining key milestones, actionable tactics, and content inspiration:

📆 8 Weeks Out: Laying the Strategic Foundation (September)

Why start so early? The highest-performing Black Friday creator campaigns begin now, not in November. Creators are approached for more brand deals this time of year given the powerful combination of increased consumer spending, heightened marketing budgets, and the emotional resonance of the season. 

Getting ahead of creator outreach means lower rates, more meaningful collaborations and a whole lot less of “sorry we’re booked.” 

Your Checklist For Success:

• Lock In Your Hero Products: Dig into your sales data to surface what’s resonating, then prioritize products with strong storytelling potential. When creators feel genuinely excited to share about that innovative new puffer, performance follows. 
  
  • Pro tip: Don’t let high inventory numbers drive your selects, choose the products that spark authentic stories.
• Set Campaign Goals: Use the SMART framework and ensure your KPIs are aligned to your objectives. Focus on fueling your brand’s future growth, not just chasing short-term sales in a year of economic uncertainty.
  
  • Specific: Clear and well defined.
  • Measurable: Able to track progress and outcomes.
  • Achievable: Ambitious but within the realm of possibility.
  • Relevant: Aligned to larger business priorities.
  • Timely: Target date for completion.
• Segment Your Creator Audience: Use creator audience insights to reach different buying personas. Build messaging that’s specific for each segment to truly resonate.
  
  • Moms make up to 83% of purchasing decisions for households, including adventure gear and travel destination choices [Forbes]. Consider partnering with creators that resonate with her.
  • TikTok found that 87% of holiday shoppers are actually buying gifts for themselves during Black Friday, Cyber Monday. Perhaps a “gift yourself” message makes sense for your brand.
• Build Your Dream Creator Roster: Consider top-performing creators from past campaigns or use Popfly’s curated database to source outdoor, travel, and lifestyle talent.
• Define Paid Advertising Creative Needs: Creator content outperforms brand produced assets in paid media because it offers greater authenticity, relevance, and credibility. Set your campaign up for success by licensing creator content beyond just organic media.
  
  • Pro tip: For every $1K you invest into paid ads, match it with 1 creative asset. Spending $100K this holiday? Aim for 100 unique pieces to avoid ad fatigue.

📆 6 Weeks Out: Lock Partnerships & Incentives (Early October)

With the strategy set, now it’s time to operationalize your campaign.

Your Checklist For Success:

• Create a Compelling Promotional Offer: Remember, the market will be flooded with promotions, so ensure yours stands out. According to new research from Boston Consulting Group, “shoppers expect at least a 30% discount.”
  
  • Pro tip: If steep discounts aren’t in the cards this season, consider offering a free gift with purchase, or activity related gift sets (gift for campers, skiers, travelers, etc.). 
• Send Out Black Friday Creator Campaign Invitations: Dial in a solid brief that clearly communicates your brand’s goals, product differentiators and promotional offers. 
  
  • Pro tip: Use Popfly’s “Playbooks” feature to give creators the context they need to tell your brand story. Share your brand guidelines, visual style, tone guidelines and inspiring past work. 
• Lock in Affiliate Links and Discount Codes: Assign unique, trackable affiliate links for every creator to track success. Create and send codes in two clicks with Popfly. 
• Get Gifting: Send creators a link to your brand shop, where they can select their favorite festive gear. 
  
  • Pro Tip: If you’re sick of all the back and forth fulfilling product seeding manually, Popfly automates the process end-to-end so you never have to follow up. Get centralized shipping info, delivery tracking, and unboxing content all in one dashboard. 

Creator Content Ideas You Can Steal For Your Brief:

What compels consumers to purchase? Honest reviews that share both the pros and cons of the product, detailed product info and demos as well as entertainment. 

Based on this data, here are 9 creator content ideas to inspire your Black Friday brief:

1. Trail-Ready Test Drives. Creators hit the trails with your gear in tow, think GoPro footage, on-screen Strava metrics (distance, elevation, pace) and live commentary on durability and comfort.
2. Unboxing Adventure. Put a twist on traditional unboxing videos and have influencers talk about an upcoming trip or trek they’ll be using your product for. 
3. Styling From the Outdoors to Everyday. Creators are naturally remixing their trail staples into everyday fits, blending durability with aesthetic. Have them show a single item and how they wear it for a hike, date night and even to work. 
4. Myth-Busting Gear Challenges. Put product claims to the test. Have creators wear those waterproof boots on a rainy day hike and record their honest reviews.
5. Gear Demos. Your audience craves the details (fit, function, feel), but they don’t want a sales pitch. Have creators show how your gear handles the wild, the weather, and whatever the trail throws at them.
6. Scroll Stopping Sketches. Content that provides value in the form of entertainment does more than just inspire engagement, it converts. Just look at Matt Lyons: his relatable skits don’t just rack up views, they drive action.
7. Holiday Gift Guides. Remember those personas you built in the planning phase? Use them to build out segmented gift guides: Gifts For Outdoorsy Moms, Gifts for Travelers, Gifts for Adventure Seekers.
8. Community Choose Your Adventure. Gift creators a trip of a lifetime, the catch? Their audience gets to pick the destination by voting in the comments.
9. The 10 Essentials. Rapid-fire reel of creator’s go-to gadgets or apparel for any adventure.

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📆 4 Weeks Out: Go Live & Start Testing (Late October)

Starting early means more time to test, learn, and optimize. 

Your Checklist For Success:

• Creator Content Starts to Roll Out: Get ahead of the noise by having creators share your Black Friday campaign early. That could mean simply communicating the offer that’s to come or giving them custom affiliate links to share to their audience doesn’t have to wait.
  
  • Pro tip: One post won’t cut through the holiday noise. Build in multiple touchpoints with each creator across the season like unboxings, gift guides, last-minute deals, and festive recaps.
• Launch Paid Early to Take Advantage of Lower Costs: With all the holiday competition, ad costs spike in November. Launch your campaigns early so you’re already dialed and delivering strong ROAS.
• Optimize For Social Search: Caption content with intent. Use phrases like “best Black Friday deals for hikers,” “camping gifts under $50,” or “best travel destinations for winter escapes.”

📆 2 Weeks Out: Optimize & Prepare (Mid November)

Prepare for the main event. 

Your Checklist For Success:

• Check The Pulse: Identify what’s resonating, flag what’s falling flat, and tweak your plan while there’s still time to move the needle.
• Prep Your Social Shops: When a creator tags your gear or a shopper stumbles on your reel, they expect to tap, browse, and buy in seconds. If your product feed is broken, laggy, or missing key SKUs, you’re leaving money on the table. Make sure discounts, bundles, and holiday offers are reflected in your feed.

📆 Black Friday Week: Go Live, Go Everywhere (Late November)

It’s finally here! This can be the moment that makes or breaks your year so don’t leave anything on the table. 

Your Checklist For Success:

• Double-Down on Affiliate Commissions: Announce a “Black Friday Weekend Boost” with higher commissions and special perks for top-performing affiliates.
• Spark Top Performing Sponsored Posts and UGC: Leverage authentic creator and organic content, which feels more like native posts than traditional ads.
• Extend Creator Content Beyond Social: Turn high-performing influencer content and UGC into email campaigns, add to your website or even run as Connected TV spots. 
• Run Omnichannel Ads: A customer may see an Instagram ad, browse your website, and later walk into your store to buy the product. An omnichannel campaign will attribute and optimize for that journey. Target saw a 51% higher return on ad spend when they ran omnichannel ads [Meta].

Don’t Miss Small Businesses Saturday 

The creator economy has leveled the playing field for small businesses with 82% of people saying they have discovered a small business on TikTok before seeing them elsewhere. [TikTok]

• Tap Local Creators: Partner with influencers who live near your HQ, flagship store, or key retail partners to host an in-store event. 
• Shop Small Messaging: Gift creators gear ahead of Small Business Saturday and have them post unboxings day of to keep the momentum going. 
  
  • Pro tip: Drop a “Small Biz Saturday Exclusive” to drive re-engagement with your brand.
• Values Driven Content: Ask creators to share why supporting small outdoor brands matters, tapping into sustainability and community. These emotional posts resonate deeply with audiences who care about conscious consumption.

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📆 Post Cyber Week: Keep the Momentum Going (December)

Don’t make the mistake of going so hard for Black Friday, Cyber Monday that you forget to tap into all the momentum going into December. Shift from discount-led content to deeper storytelling that taps into the emotional connection consumers have with the holidays. 

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The Future Of Holiday Marketing Is Creator-Led

Don’t rely on ads alone, empower a growing network of creators to drive buzz, trust, and conversion. Start early, go deep with creators, optimize every touchpoint, and turn each moment into momentum. 

Pressed for time? Popfly is your shortcut to scaling content, locking in affiliate partners, and getting your product out there in time for the holiday rush. We streamline every step of your brand‑creator collaborations so you can focus on the big wins.