Case 03 / Behavioral Commerce
2024
Only 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The shortest holiday window since 2019 — and the noisiest.
Client
Ray-Ban · Oakley · EssilorLuxottica
Role
Research & Insights Lead
Duration
10 weeks · Sep – Dec 2024
Team
Creative Hub · CRO Team · Performance Marketing
Problem
The 2024 holiday season compressed peak shopping into 27 days while macro uncertainty made consumers warier. Across Ray-Ban and Oakley, internal language ('Cyber Week') diverged from the language customers actually used, and creative complexity was hurting performance.
Objective
Identify the behavioral, linguistic, and creative levers that move the needle during compressed peak periods — and codify them into reusable guidelines.
Methods
5 in combination
Research Process
Phase 01
Mapped the 10 major shopping events of the season — from Singles' Day through Super Saturday — to identify under-leveraged moments beyond Black Friday.
Activities
Phase 02
Surfaced what customers say versus what brands say. 'Cyber Week' is company speak — users say 'Black Friday' and 'Cyber Monday'.
Activities
Phase 03
Triangulated A/B tests, paid media performance, and organic social to compare creative styles against each other under peak load.
Activities
Phase 04
Distilled findings into three reusable principles and a set of detailed CRO guidelines for the next campaign cycle.
Activities
Key Insights
Insight 01
Customers don't search for, talk about, or recognize 'Cyber Week'. They know Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Holiday Deals. Adopt their vocabulary.
Insight 02
Early Access sign-ups convert when the benefit is concrete. Vague exclusivity loses to a clear list of what you get and when.
Insight 03
Across paid media and social, the simplest black creative outperformed busier visual treatments. ER lifted from 1.90% to 3.14% in the head-to-head.
Insight 04
When 'Up to 50% Off' lives next to a category page that mixes sale and full-price items, users hesitate. Differentiation beats coverage.
“You have up to 50% promotions — that's all the sunglasses currently on sale. And then there's a dedicated page that has both sale and non-sale items.”
Outcomes
27
Days of peak season instrumented
10
Shopping events mapped beyond Black Friday
3
Reusable creative principles codified
+65%
Engagement-rate lift on the winning creative direction
Strategic Recommendations
01
Replace internal 'Cyber Week' nomenclature with customer-facing language across all surfaces.
02
Re-architect the sign-up form to lead with benefits, then ask for email.
03
Default to high-contrast black creative for peak periods; reserve color for narrative campaigns.
04
Clearly separate sale and full-price taxonomies — a single 'Sale' entry point, not overlapping promotions.