On episode 327 of PPC Live The Podcast, I speak to Ayisha Yousef, a familiar face to the PPC Live audience. Known for her expertise in e-commerce and performance marketing, Ayisha shares a bold story about a major Black Friday mistake — and how she managed to recover from it.
The Black Friday F-Up
Setting the Scene
A few years ago, Ayisha was working agency-side during Black Friday week — the most crucial time for e-commerce advertisers. She managed a team of six or seven and asked them to remove ad scheduling from top campaigns to ensure ads ran throughout the busy period.
But instead of adjusting the schedule to “always on,” the team deleted the schedule entirely, meaning the ads didn’t run at all.
The result? The campaigns in their top six markets went completely dark for the entire Black Friday.
Discovering the Mistake
The issue wasn’t caught until the following Saturday. Because other campaigns were still performing well, the system didn’t trigger alerts. When Ayisha reviewed performance data and noticed discrepancies, she immediately realised what had happened.
“It was the opposite of a lightbulb moment,” she said. “My stomach dropped — I knew exactly what had gone wrong.”
Crisis Mode: Fixing the Fallout
Ayisha acted fast. She turned the affected campaigns back on, quantified the issue, and immediately escalated it to her head of department — even though it was a Saturday. Together, they analysed what went wrong, why alerts failed, and how to prevent it in the future.
By Monday, they presented a clear, honest report to the client. While the client wasn’t happy, they appreciated the transparency and the learnings the team shared.
In the end, the account still hit its overall Black Friday targets, thanks to strong performance from other campaigns and underspend savings.
Leadership, integrity, and protecting the team
One of the standout moments in Ayisha’s story was how she protected her team. When management asked who made the mistake, she refused to name names.
“I gave the instruction,” she said. “So ultimately, it was on me.”
She later explained to her team what had happened — and discovered they didn’t even realise it was an error. It was a lack of technical understanding, not negligence.
This act of integrity not only earned Ayisha respect but also reinforced the importance of psychological safety within a team. Mistakes happen, but how leaders respond determines whether teams grow stronger or weaker.
Lessons learned: communication and oversight
The biggest takeaway for Ayisha? Show your team how to do things, even if they say they know.
During high-stakes periods like Black Friday, it’s better to double-check instructions than assume everything’s fine. “It’s not about micromanaging,” Ayisha explained, “it’s about safeguarding performance when it matters most.”
She now ensures that junior team members…
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