Black Friday Playbook on Apple Ads Strategy: Defend Your Brand & Capture Demand

During Black Friday, even a strong brand position can shift fast.  SplitMetrics Market Intelligence shows:

Last year, a major US retailer’s SOV on its own brand keyword fell to 20%, while a competing retailer peaked at 68%.

See what happened during Black Friday 2025, and how to prepare your Apple Ads strategy before demand peaks in 2026.

What you’ll learn

SplitMetrics UA experts will break down a proven framework for winning Black Friday demand on Apple Ads.

We’re covering three things in 45 minutes: brand defense, bids & budgets, and creatives & offers.

• How to defend your brand and capture demand. Identify where competitors are underdefended on their own terms, and close those gaps before and during Black Friday.
• How to prepare for peak demand effectively. Build the right bid, budget setup ahead of time, with automation ready to respond when SOV or organic rank changes.
• How to use creatives and ASO to win more demand. See how seasonal messaging, custom product pages and ASO elements can work together with your Apple Ads strategy.

Senior Customer Success Manager, Alina Kravchuk, brings the customer-side perspective on Apple Ads brand defense, with a practical focus on how teams set SOV targets, manage bidding decisions and prepare for peak-season demand.

User Acquisition Expert, Anastasia Voronina, brings hands-on perspective from managing Apple Ads across client accounts, including how experienced UA teams approach Black Friday bids, budgets, creatives, competitor activity and auction opportunities at scale.