BFCM didn’t “work” because we got lucky. It worked because we treated it like a war room.

Every year I see the same thing.

Brands do a “BFCM plan” that’s basically:
Set the discount.
Schedule a few campaigns.
Hope the traffic shows up.

Then the aftermath hits. (You’re here now)

Performance swings.
Inventory gets weird.
CPMs spike.
Someone panics and starts yanking budgets around with no plan.

It’s not your fault.

Most teams treat BFCM like a campaign.
It’s not a campaign.

It’s an operational event with a timer on it.

On this call, the big driver behind beating projections was not a magic creative idea. It was preparation, fast communication, and constant optimizations all weekend.

Budget changes. Pacing changes. Late nights. All hands on deck.

Here’s the simple playbook I’d actually run next year:

1. Write the “war room rules” 10 days before
Who is watching spend?
Who can approve budget moves?
What’s the threshold for action? (CPA up 20%, MER down, CVR drops, etc.)

2. Build a pacing sheet for the weekend
Hourly targets.
Daily spend caps.
A plan for “we’re ahead” and “we’re behind.”

3. Create one channel for decisions
Slack channel.
No side DMs.
No “quick calls.”
Every decision logged.

4. Make changes in tight cycles
Check performance.
Make 1–2 changes.
Wait.
Repeat.

BFCM rewards the teams who treat time like inventory.

You don’t need a bigger discount.
You need a tighter operating system.

If this looks like where you’re heading in 2026, drop me a line, let’s get you started on the right foot next year.