Updated Oct 2026
Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) is one of the loudest times of the year. Every brand is running a sale, ad costs go up, and shoppers scroll past most of it. We dug into how BFCM challenges performed on Kale to see what gets customers talking about your sale, and what you can borrow for yours.
Is UGC worth it during Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
Yes. Around this busy time, competition for consumer attention is at an all-time high. While ad costs skyrocket, the cost to activate BFCM on Kale doesn’t. That gives brands a cost-effective channel to market their promotions, one that isn’t fluctuating just because of the season.
Here’s why it works. The average cost per engagement for Kale's BFCM challenges is ~15% lower than platform benchmarks. Feeds are packed with sale ads that week, and it’s hard for any one brand to stand out. A real customer holding up what they bought, or showing what’s in their cart, reads like a recommendation from a friend.
Which Black Friday and Cyber Monday challenge type works best?
On Kale, a challenge is our version of a brief: a short, open prompt that tells customers what to post and leaves the how up to them. The best type for BFCM depends on your goal: engagement or reach.
Challenge type | Wins on | Result | Compared with |
|---|---|---|---|
Green-screen challenges | Engagement | 6.9% engagement rate | 5.2% for other BFCM challenges |
In-store holiday shopping run | Reach | Nearly 1.6x reach per video | Online BFCM sale challenges |
Green-screen challenges win on engagement. The customer stands in front of your sale or online store page, so viewers can see the products described by someone they relate to. This challenge type resulted in a 33% higher engagement rate than other BFCM challenges.
In-store runs win on reach, at about 1.6x the reach per video. A trip to the store comes with a built-in story: the drive, the aisle, the item in hand. It also tells viewers exactly where they can get the deal today, which matters when they’re deciding where to shop.
So which should you pick? Green screen is great for the lead-up, to build buzz and get your sale on people’s radar before it starts. If you sell through retail partners, an in-store run gets your deal in front of more shoppers once it’s on the shelf. If you can, run both and let each do its job.
Case study: Anthropologie’s Black Friday Wishlist
Anthropologie paired a green-screen challenge with a wishlist, asking customers to “use the green screen filter to share your Anthro Black Friday wishlist (for treating others and for yourself).” The challenge went live in late October 2024 and ran into December, so wishlists were already in feeds before the deals dropped, and kept showing up while the sale was on.
The “for others and for yourself” framing covered both gift shoppers and people treating themselves. The challenge drove 2,150 engagements, including 625 shares, at $0.93 per engagement, well under our $2.50 benchmark. A wishlist is basically a hint, making the content easy to share.
What should your Black Friday and Cyber Monday challenge say?
These are four challenge prompts that work best for BFCM on Kale. Use them as a starting point: swap in your brand, retailer and products, and add the details of your deal.
Challenge type | Challenge copy | Best for |
|---|---|---|
Green-screen sale shoutout | “Use the green screen filter to show off the [brand] Black Friday sale and share the products you’re adding to your cart.” | Building buzz in the lead-up to your sale |
In-store holiday shopping run | “Bring us along as you head to [retailer] to grab [product] while it’s on sale. Show us the deal on the shelf!” | Retail partners, BOGO and rollback deals |
Sale haul / top picks | “Show us what you picked up in the [retailer] sale and share your top [brand] picks before the deals are gone.” | Retailer sale events and big product ranges |
Black Friday wishlist | “Share your [brand] Black Friday wishlist: the gifts you’re buying for others, and the ones you’re treating yourself to.” | Gifting and holiday shopping lists |
Whichever you pick, the best BFCM challenges have three things in common:
They state the deal plainly. The discount, the dates and any code, so customers get the details right.
They give people something to show. The sale page, the shelf or the cart. Showing the deal beats describing it.
They add a reason to act now. “Before the deals are gone” gives viewers a nudge while the sale is live.
UGC vs influencers vs paid social: what works best for BFCM?
Each one does a different job, and most brands use a mix during BFCM:
Your own account is your brand voice: how your sale looks and sounds, and where people go to learn more after seeing the sale mentioned somewhere else. Reach is up to the algorithm, though, and feeds are packed that week.
Paid social gets you precise targeting and lets you retarget shoppers who already visited your site. Holiday ad costs tend to climb, and ads still look like ads.
Influencers bring a big audience in one post, which is great for a hero launch or a gift guide. Expect a higher cost per post, early booking, and one voice carrying the message.
Kale gets your real customers posting about your sale on Instagram and TikTok, each to their own friends and followers.
And it doesn’t stop on Cyber Monday. Your customers keep posting through holiday gifting and into the new year, so Kale works as an always-on channel, not a one-week spike.
When should you launch a Black Friday challenge?
Earlier than you think. Challenges perform best when they can run for at least two weeks, so customers have time to see them, post and share.
Numbers come from our internal proprietary data on sale-related Kale challenges during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. Results vary by challenge type, copy and timing.
