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Interpreting BFCM Paid Marketing Scores

How to evaluate paid marketing scores during BFCM weekend.

Updated over 6 months ago

Introduction

The following guidance explains what BFCM Paid Marketing Score values represent and how to interpret them. The goal is to provide a clear framework for understanding whether paid marketing during BFCM Week was effective, and what actions should be taken as a result.


About Score Values

  • Each score ranges from 0 to 100.

  • Scores are calculated using uplift modeling, comparing two cohorts:

    • Shoppers exposed to a paid marketing campaign (e.g., seeing a paid ad).

    • Organic traffic.

  • A score of 50 represents equilibrium—no measurable difference between the two cohorts.

  • Scores above 50 mean the paid marketing produced a positive lift, with the exposed cohort outperforming the control group.

  • Scores below 50 mean the paid marketing underperformed, with exposed shoppers performing worse than those who were not exposed.


Score Interpretation

Score Value

Score values are interpreted in accordance with the table below:

Score Value

Interpretation

Indicator

0 - 20

Very Poor

total non-alignment with the brand potential

21 - 40

Poor

results below brand potential

41 - 60

Fair

in line with brand potential

61 - 80

Good

exceeding brand potential

81 - 100

Excellent

as good as it gets

Priorities

In general your BFCM game plan should focus on improving overall and lifecycle stage scores according to the priority schedule below:

Score Value

Priority

0 - 20

Very High

21 - 40

High

41 - 60

Moderate

61 - 80

Low

81 - 100

None

Score Spread

Furthermore, even if your scores fall within an acceptable value range, you should also consider the spread of lifecycle scores—the gap between the highest and lowest—as a secondary priority criterion.

Score Spread

Priority

Indicator

0 - 5

Low

Consistent performance across all lifecycle stages

6 - 10

Moderate

Significant untapped optimization potential

10+

High

Urgent need to improve the weakest lifecycle stage

Act without delay if your overall score, any lifecycle stage score, or the lifecycle score spread is flagged as high priority.

For more actionable insights, evaluate recent performance metrics of paid sources of traffic for weakest lifecycle stages.


Share of All Revenue

The percentage indicates the level of dependency on paid marketing during BGCM week:

Share of All Revenue

Dependency

0 - 10%

Very Low

11% - 20%

Low

21%- 30%

Moderate

31% - 50%

High

51% - 100%

Very High


Action

Recommended use of other agents in the BFCM AI Studio:

Weak Lifecycle Stage

Recommended Agent

Acquisition

Engagement

Monetization

Retention


Lift Analysis

To evaluate BFCM Week performance, we compare scores across two time intervals:

  1. Pre-BFCM Baseline (30 days before BFCM Week)

  2. BFCM Week (Thanksgiving Day through following Wednesday)

Scores are evaluated both at the overall level and across lifecycle-based sub-components (Acquisition, Engagement, Monetization, Retention).

Lift

  • Lift is defined as the difference between the BFCM Week score and the Pre-BFCM score.

  • It shows whether the brand improved or declined in performance during BFCM compared to the pre-BFCM period.


Lift Interpretation

Lift Value

Score values are interpreted in accordance with the table below:

Lift Range

Interpretation

11+

Great pickup

+4 to +10

Fair pickup

+1 to +3

Limited pickup

0 to -3

Moderate disconnect

-4 to -10

Major disconnect

-11 or worse

Very big disconnect


Priorities

Score values are interpreted in accordance with the table below:

Lift Range

Interpretation

11+

Low Priority

+4 to +10

Priority

+1 to +3

High Priority

-1 to -3

Very High Priority

-4 or worse

Top Priority

Furthermore, even if your scores fall within an acceptable value range, you should also consider the spread of lifecycle scores—the gap between the highest and lowest—as a secondary priority criterion:

Lift Spread

Priority

0 - 5

Low

6 - 10

Moderate

10+

High

Act without delay if your overall lift, any lifecycle stage lift, or the lifecycle lift spread is flagged as high priority.


For more actionable insights, recent performance metrics of paid sources of traffic.


Handling Missing Data

Not all results will always be available. Missing data can occur due to incomplete Google Analytics setup, insufficient historical data, or other tracking gaps. When this happens, follow these guidelines:

  1. Clearly Acknowledge Absence
    If a metric or score is missing, explicitly state “Data not available” instead of leaving the field blank or forcing a zero value. This avoids misinterpretation.

  2. Preserve Comparability
    Where possible, show available metrics side by side even if others are missing. Example:

    • If Engagement and Monetization scores are available but Acquisition is missing, show the two available scores and annotate the gap.

  3. Avoid Artificial Bias
    Do not substitute averages or carry-forward values unless explicitly instructed. Missing data should not imply better or worse performance.

  4. Communicate Actionability
    When data is missing, add a short interpretation note such as:
    “Acquisition score is not available. This limits visibility into how new shoppers responded during BFCM Week. Please review your Google Analytics setup to capture future results.”

  5. Overall Score Handling
    If key lifecycle stages or revenue data are missing and overall score cannot be fairly calculated, label the overall score as “Incomplete” and provide a short explanation.


Conclusion

By using BFCM Scores and Lift analysis, brands can move beyond surface-level metrics and gain a true picture of how paid marketing impacts shopper behavior. This approach makes performance both quantifiable and actionable, guiding future improvements in BFCM strategy.

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