Better & Stronger · Client guide

Get Ready for the Sales

The setup, the best practices and above all the lead times to respect, to make the Sales a strong, well-prepared period rather than a last-minute scramble.

Best-practice guide · Sales

BETTER & STRONGERLyon · Zurich · Göteborg · Los Angeles

Context: guide to send to the client about one month before the Sales launch.
Opening line: "The Sales are won ahead of time." On launch day, all we do is go live.
Flag that the core section is lead times (backward plan + who does what).

Agenda

What this guide covers

1The Sales in 4 phasesPre-Sales, launch, core period, end

2What to prepare aheadScoping, assets, activation, bidding

3Lead timesThe principle, who does what, the backward plan

4The brief & the assets expectedWhat the client must provide, and when

5Platform best practicesGoogle Ads & Meta Ads

6During the SalesBudget, creatives, urgency, steering

BETTER & STRONGERAgenda

(20s) A breather slide. Emphasise point 3, born from the need to align lead times on both sides.

1 · The calendar

The Sales play out in 4 phases

Pre-Sales · D-30 → launch

Prepare

Demand is rising, competition and costs are still reasonable. Time to get ahead.

Set the revenue target and plan budgets
Collect leads (exclusive early access before the official date)
Prepare assets & campaigns, lower tROAS

Launch · 1st markdown

The peak

The first Wednesday, then the first weekend, drive most of the sales. Competition peaks.

Maximum budget from the first Wednesday, then the weekend
Launch very early, ideally ahead of competitors
Creatives already approved by the algorithm (paused since D-3)

Core · Weeks 2 & 3

Sustain

Demand cools and the audience tires. Successive markdowns revive interest.

Refresh creatives to avoid fatigue
Push the new markdowns (deeper discounts)
Keep budget for peak moments and weekends

End · Final markdown

Close out

Final stretch to clear stock. Urgency becomes the main lever.

Play urgency: "last days", end of the Sales
Highlight the deepest discounts
Clear remaining stock

BETTER & STRONGERThe Sales in 4 phases

(1 min) The peak is concentrated on the first Wednesday and the first weekend. Everything must be ready before, not during.
Note that successive markdowns are mini relaunches: adjust budget and creatives at each step.

2 · Ahead of time

What to prepare ahead

🎯Scoping with the client

Define the Sales revenue target together
Plan budgets based on last year, ideally uncapped (if ROAS beats the target, we can invest more)
Brief the client on our needs one month ahead and flag the lead times

🎨Assets & creatives

Dedicated Sales assets: at least 2 images, 2 videos (e.g. a GIF of the discounted products) and 1 carousel, in square and story, ideally with the discount % shown
List last year's best creatives to reactivate
Add custom labels to the feed to build product sets (Merchant Center & Meta)

🧲Upstream activation

Meta Lead gen campaign to collect emails via exclusive early Sales access before the official date
Use this campaign to test creative angles
Build the ads 2 to 3 days ahead and leave them paused (algorithm approval, very early launch)

⚙️Budget & bidding

If possible, lower tROAS or raise tCPA to capture the extra demand
Favour open budgets over capped ones
If possible, launch a few days ahead of competitors to train the algorithm

BETTER & STRONGERPrepare ahead

(1 min) The throughline: anything that can be done ahead should be. Upstream lead gen also doubles as a live creative test.

3 · Lead times

Anticipate, don't scramble

The rule: all assets and copy must be ready and approved 2 to 3 days before launch. It's a shared responsibility, and every day of delay cascades down the chain.

Client side

Deliver assets to B&S at least 2 weeks before launch
Review and approve copy within 24h of receipt
Provide product labels / tags without blocking the rest of production

Better & Stronger side

From the assets, deliver copy 1 week before launch
Start copy production as early as possible, without waiting for the Shopify tags
Build the campaigns and pause them 2 to 3 days ahead

→Copy content doesn't depend on the Shopify tags: we don't wait for them to write. Previews are only a final visual check.

BETTER & STRONGERLead times · principle

The key point of the guide. It came out of a late asset delivery on a private sale, flagged as a shared failure on both sides.
The concrete unblock: start copy independently of the Shopify tags, because content doesn't change with the tags.
Each step has a minimum lead time: 2 weeks (assets) + 1 week (copy) + 24h (approval) = one month of lead time.

3 · Lead times

The backward plan, from brief to launch

D-30

Scoping

Needs brief, revenue target, budget plan, this guide sent.

Client + B&S

›

D-14

Assets delivered

The client sends all Sales assets and product labels.

Client

›

D-7

Copy delivered

B&S delivers copy and previews for approval.

B&S

›

D-7 → D-3

Approval & build

The client approves within 24h, B&S builds the Google & Meta campaigns.

Client + B&S

›

D-3 / D-2

Everything ready

Assets and copy approved, ads built and paused (algorithm approval).

B&S

›

D-Day

Launch

Go live very early on the first Wednesday, maximum budget, then the first weekend.

B&S

BETTER & STRONGERLead times · backward plan

(1 min) Read the plan backwards from launch day: that's what justifies briefing one month ahead.
Stress it: one late asset shifts the whole chain (copy, approval, build, algorithm approval).

4 · Brief & assets

The ideal brief, client side

The more complete the brief and the earlier it lands (ideally at D-30), the stronger the launch. A good brief fits in 8 points.

01 · Frame

Context & objectives

The target period and goals: sales, engagement, branding.

02 · Offer

The offer

The discount level (e.g. up to -50%), the dates, the products included.

03 · Targets

Audiences & phases

The funnel logic: awareness, consideration, desire, action.

04 · Channels

Channels & formats

The channels activated (Meta, Google Ads) and the formats expected.

05 · Timing

Dates & go-live

Start, end, and the exact go-live time on launch day.

06 · Destination

Landing page

The URL of the Sales collection to drive traffic to.

07 · Products

Custom labels / tags

The product labels to build the sets (e.g. "X Sale").

08 · Content

Assets & links

The visuals folder by phase + the YouTube links (9:16 and 1:1).

BETTER & STRONGERThe ideal brief

(1 min) A brief template to share with the client. A complete brief upfront is what secures the backward plan.
Audiences are framed by funnel phase: we don't address awareness and action with the same message.

4 · Brief & assets

What we need for every launch

Strategy

🎯Audience

The target segments, ideally by funnel phase.

Creative

🎨Assets

Images + videos, all formats (detail on the next page).

Destination

🔗URLs

The landing pages / Sales collections.

PMax

▶️YouTube links

Videos hosted on YouTube, essential for PMax.

Targeting

🏷️Product tags

Shopify tags / custom labels to target the right products.

Message

✍️Copy

The key messages (copy can start without the tags).

Launch

⏱️Go-live time

The exact go-live time on launch day.

Everything by D-14 at the latest

To hold the launch date, these must reach us no later than 2 weeks before.

BETTER & STRONGERWhat we need

(45s) The input checklist, to run through for every launch. Miss one item and the launch slips.
Often forgotten: videos must be hosted on YouTube to be usable in PMax.

4 · Brief & assets

Asset requirements, in detail

Ideal list per creative angle (to be declined by funnel phase if several phases run). Technical minimum: photo ≥ 2000 px, video 1080p (4K ideal), sRGB profile. For the Sales, show the discount % on the visuals where possible.

📱Meta · per creative angle

2 square images 1:1 (1080 × 1080 px) + 2 story images 9:16 (1080 × 1920 px)
Ideally also in portrait 4:5 (1080 × 1350 px)
2 square videos + 2 story videos — e.g. a GIF of the discounted products
1 square carousel (5 slides) + 1 story carousel (3 slides)
1 product collection created in the CMS and synced with Meta
Respect story safe zones (keep key content centred)

🔍Google Ads · per campaign

8 landscape images (1200 × 628 px), no text or logo
8 square images (1200 × 1200 px)
4 portrait images (1200 × 1500 px)
2 landscape videos (16:9) + 2 square videos (1:1)
Videos hosted on YouTube — essential for PMax
1 custom label on the discounted products (Merchant Center)

The minimum for the SalesAt least 2 images, 2 videos (e.g. a GIF of the discounted products) and 1 carousel, in square and story, ideally with the discount % shown.

BETTER & STRONGERAsset requirements

(45s) Separate the ideal (the full format list) from the minimum viable (the gold box). Due by D-14.
Remind them of all-formats (1:1, 4:5, 9:16, 16:9) and YouTube hosting for Google videos.

5 · In the platforms

Platform best practices

🔍Google Ads

Ads & extensions

Add "Sale" headlines and descriptions in Search & PMax
Create assets: sitelinks, callouts, promotions

Feed & products

Create a discounted-products segment in PMax / Shopping
Add the promotions in Merchant Center

Budget & bidding

Lower target tROAS to capture demand
Lower the budget or pause less important campaigns

📱Meta Ads

Catalogue

Create product sets with the discounted products
Create catalogue ads (DPA) on these products

Creatives

Create collection ads with these products and the supplied visuals
Add custom labels to highlight the Sales (discount %)

Upstream & budget

Lead gen to collect emails (VIP access before the date)
Lower the budget or pause less important campaigns

BETTER & STRONGERPlatform best practices

(1 min) Same logic on both sides: push the discounted products into the feed, add the Sale messaging, concentrate the budget.

6 · In-period

During the Sales

💸Budget

Allocate more budget at the start of the Sales: the first Wednesday (launch), then the first weekend
Keep a reserve for the next peak moments (successive markdowns, weekends)

🔄Creatives

Swap the ads mid-period to avoid tiring the audience
Adapt the visuals to each new markdown

⏳Urgency

Add a sense of urgency by signalling the end of the Sales
Highlight "last days" and "final markdown" towards the end

📊Steering

Track ROAS vs target throughout the period
If ROAS comfortably beats the target, open the budget to capture more

BETTER & STRONGERDuring the Sales

(45s) The period isn't on autopilot: reallocate budget, refresh creatives, ramp up urgency at the end.

In short

The Sales are won ahead of time.

Brief one month ahead, assets two weeks ahead, copy one week ahead, everything ready and paused 2 to 3 days ahead. On launch day, all we do is go live, early and with the right budget.

"Anticipating means launching early, not scrambling at the end."

BETTER & STRONGERThank you · any questions?

(30s) Loop back to the backward plan and offer to set the key dates together for the next Sales period.