Your small business guide to making Black Friday more colourful
Bring Joy Shop Small
29TH NOVEMBER
Well, I’m proud to say it’s been four years now that we ’ ve been turning Black Friday on its head and celebrating the wealth of colour, creativity and craftswomanship that small businesses bring to the UK and we ’ re about to do it again!
It’s time to shine a light on our rich and vibrant community (both online and on our high streets) that are the backbone of this nation. The independent businesses like yours that strengthen our society, truly showcase originality and treat our planet thoughtfully. And we really need to shout about it from the rooftops to encourage the nation to support small with us this Christmas.
That’s why we ’ re giving you free tools, assets and tips to help get our message out there because between us, we have power. Our collective voice is strong and the world is ready for a more positive way to shop. So let’s get creative and inspire people to take action. Are you with me?
Love Holly x
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Become a Colour Friday campaigner
Shine a light on small businesses
By reminding people just how exciting and refreshing small businesses make the shopping experience especially at Christmas.
Show the joy of shopping small
By sharing the many benefits that supporting local makers and creators can bring to both society, our culture and the planet.
Help connect our community
By bringing makers and shoppers together, leaving social media awash with colour, overtaking Black Friday and uniting as one to support small.
We’ll be using the hashtag #ColourFriday
In order to paint this colourful message across the UK, we ’ re sharing for FREE…
Readymade assets to use on social
Video content to share with followers
Exclusive artwork to download and distribute
Ideas of how to get involved and ways to spread joy
Plus I’ll also be using my Instagram to showcase the most colourful and creative independent campaigners out video team re the best h getting
5 ways Colour Friday is different
1. It’s better for the planet
Where Black Friday focuses on soulless, impulsive consumption (with mass produced goods that often end up in landfill), we ’ re encouraging everyone to shop more ethically and with their hearts for unique, handmade finds, created with care and made to last.
2. It’s better for communities
By voting with their money, customers are helping communities thrive. It means people still get the human touch, not faceless chains. It encourages us to work together and collaborate, not compete for deals. We know we are stronger together.
3. It’s better for building a fairer society
Supporting small businesses means that money is spread between the many rather than going into the pockets of the few, funding family run businesses not billionaires. Colour Friday shines a light on independents who can’t compete with big sales so they’re not constantly overshadowed.
4. It’s better for shoppers
Colour Friday campaigns for a world where the gifts we give are oneof-a-kind and meaningful, and our shopping experience (as well as our homes) are full of creativity, colour and personality, not just generic, soulless brands.
5.
It’s better for showing Christmas spirit
Christmas isn’t the time for a stressful, shopping frenzy. It’s a time to live mindfully by our values, to help each other and connect us, to put principles before profit. That’s exactly what Colour Friday supports and stands for quality not quantity.
Did you know...
Here are some quick facts you can share:
Last year, Black Friday UK sales were around £13.3 billion (Mintel, 2024). Imagine the difference we could make if that went to small businesses instead!
Two in five shoppers now believe they didn’t really need what they bought in the Black Friday sales (Starling Bank, 2023)
Almost half of UK shoppers said they rarely or never used their Black Friday purchases (Starling Bank, 2023)
Almost a third of shoppers said they have regretted their Black Friday purchases in the past (Starling Bank, 2023)
In the UK, over half of consumers expressed concerns about the negative environmental impact of overconsumption during Black Friday (Mintel, 2024)
98% of Black Friday 'deals' aren’t actually the cheapest price of the year (Which?, 2023)
One in three small to medium sized businesses fear closure by the end of 2024 (Novuna, 2024)
Small businesses generate around £2.4 trillion a year for the UK economy and employ 16.7 million people (FSB, 2023)
What you can do to sp
To make this a national campaign, we really need to pull together and shout about it from the rooftops. Please do post about #ColourFriday on your socials and inspire everyone to take part. Could you...
Make something for Colour Friday: For your chance to feature on our Instagram, and get your work seen by thousands of customers, just show off your creativity and share it with us @HollyTucker.
Post our exclusive campaign artwork: We’re thrilled to have commissioned the brilliant artist Rebecca Strickson to create this year ’ s stunning artwork for you to use FREE. Just include #ColourFriday and @Rebecca Strickso You can download it to your website, ema places too. Encourage your netw the love using #Colo their colourful purch reviews and experien independents using #
More ways to spread colour
Create challenges or giveaways: Encourage people to share their most colourful outfits, decorations or handmade items for a chance to win a small business prize. Or could you even offer colour-themed discounts maybe?
Share colourful small businesses you love: And encourage your network to do the same.
Dress colourfully, especially on the day itself: The more colourful the better — even dress up the dog if they’re happy to be included! Then share your images or videos using #ColourFriday.
Share our campaign videos: We know most small businesses don’t have the luxury of a marketing department, so we ’ ve created video content that you can reshare from @HollyTucker (and we’ll be resharing lots of the clips we get sent too so do tag us).
Think of anyone you know with influence: Any friends with lots of followers who could help share the message? Or is there anyone you know in the world of TV or radio? Any indy cinemas near you that might run an ad? Maybe a castle even! If so, let us know!
Other creative ways to get involved
Use colourful packaging: Make your parcels a joy to receive. Whether that’s with colourful, ecofriendly, Insta-worthy packaging that stands out, or with a personal, heartfelt note included, let’s show the difference it makes to shop small. Use our ‘Colour Friday’ stickers for your orders too if you have them and help spread the good word.
Collaborate on a pop-up shop:
Could you host a colourful local Colour Friday pop-up that brings together various small businesses under one roof? You could even stream it live on social media to get people to visit. It’s a phenomenal way to build a community.
Create a vibrant window display: If you ’ re lucky enough to own a shop why not decorate your storefront with a bright, eye-catching, creative display? Could you get together with other artists and do something between you? You can also download our free artwork and display that too.
Make your market stall colourful: If you have a market stall, fill it with colour and share the reason why a great customer conversation starter.
Other creative ways to get involved
Support a charity:
How about spreading colour for a cause? If you don’t want to offer a discount, could you offer a portion of your sales to a charity for anyone who shops on Colour Friday instead? Or could you create an online community auction or giveaway with other small businesses — each donating a product with proceeds going to charity perhaps?
Run a colourful creative workshop: Either online or in person, a creative class can showcase your skills, encourage custom and just bring the community together. Whether it’s colourful fabric painting, jewellery making, baking or anything else, it’s something that bigger businesses don’t tend to do.
Become
a
Colour Friday Champion:
Could you put posters up around your town? Host a Colour Walk for Colour Friday where everyone dresses colourfully to campaign? Or even invite other small businesses to meet up somewhere locally? We’re looking for creative founders to be ambassadors for us. Apply here.
Create some street art:
Could you become a guerilla marketer for us in chalk? Spreading hopeful messages about Colour Friday or shopping small? Maybe stitching messages around the town or even knitting on a postbox? This is your chance to shine as we’ll be showcasing all the best.
Inspiration from previous years
Hedingham Castle Hook Me Up Woodings Yard
Hayley Victory Doe Bakehouse
OneThreeFour Joby Carter
The Yard House Cherie Did This Wordplay Clay
Dandy Star LyraLino
Hello Dodo Molly Meg
About this year ’ s Colour Friday artist
Inspired by the traditional imagery of trade union banners and protest placards, Rebecca Strickson’s work explores the power of community and collaboration — which makes her the perfect artist for us to commission for this year ’ s exclusive artwork. We think it’s utterly fantastic! You’ll find her shareable assets in the library below.
Just use #ColourFriday and please credit her @Rebecca_Strickson_Illustration.
Bring Joy Shop Small
We’ll be sending out posters to Colour Friday Champions, or download the artwork. Feel free to use it however you like — on placards, billboards, shop windows, t-shirts!
Your free asset library
All of the assets shown in this library are available to download. Print them out for your shop or studio, or use them as digital assets to share on social media, in emails, newsletters, on your website and more — just please do share them far and wide. Stand up for small businesses.
Support #ColourFriday
Examples of the artwork in action
A big thank you from me
C A N ’ T W A I T T O S E E W H A T Y O U D O !
I know that navigating Christmas is tough at the best of times. It involves far more hard work than anyone can comprehend and I know this is a big ask on top. But I also know that we are a collective — and by coming together to support Colour Friday this year, we can in turn support each other and show the nation what we stand for and all we have to give. I can’t thank you enough for joining me, and I can’t wait to spread some colour and joy. Let’s do this!
