Can you smell roses and candies? Can you see teddy bears holding huge hearts? It’s Valentine’s Day lurking around the corner! And even if you celebrate the 14th February feast of love ironically, it’s an excellent opportunity to talk to your customers and engage them in the discussion about love.
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Valentine’s Day by the Numbers
• 16% of Valentine’s Day gifts will be bought online.
• Consumers spend online 31% more than in brick and mortar stores.
• During Valentine’s Day, we exchange 180 million cards
• 85% of these is bought by women
• 61,8% of consumers admit that they celebrate Valentine’s day
• 53% of women declare that they would end a relationship if they didn’t get a gift (seriously?)
• The most popular gifts are sweets, flowers, cards, jewelry, a dinner out, clothes.
It has the sales potential! But how to unlock it? See how famous brands do it.
Uber, or Romance on Demand
For Valentine’s Day Uber added a new option in their app. By clicking the rose icon, you could send flowers via Uber driver. For customers, it was a perfect idea for a last-minute gift that doesn’t cost much time or money.
The campaign matched customers’ needs and the spirit of the day. It was communicated on the blog, in social media (hashtag #romanceondemand) and through partners.
Scribbler asks what love is
Scribbler, a customized cards producer, invited its customers to the contest. The task was to write what love means to you. You could answer on their blog or Twitter. Then selected answers appeared on the cards and authors were rewarded with iPads. The contest was emotional, sweet and engaging.
See also Teleflora spot, discussing the same question.
Oreo, or love from the first cookie
360i agency created a cycle of animated movies in which love starts in an unexpected situation from an Oreo cookie.
Ford: speed date
To promote new Mustang, Ford invited a couple of guys on a blind date with a girl who is a professional stunt driver (although they didn’t know that). After a quick chat, the girl proposed a drive.
Of course, the funniest part is watching men’s reactions, ranging from „You should shift gears” and „Let me drive you” to „Aren’t you driving too fast?” to total astonishment.
The prank is not only funny but also great for displaying the power of the product. And it subverts traditional gender roles.
Orange Will Tell Your Love Story
A beautiful project: Orange encouraged the audience to share their love stories on Twitter and made some of them into short movies they then posted on YouTube. That way, in the absence of a present, you could send a link to your romance movie.
Valentine’s Day Campaign Quick Tips
– Focus on consumers who forgot about the Day or wait until the very last minute with buying a present. Ensure that the gift will arrive before 14th February.
– Statistically, men spend 2x more during Valentine’s Day.
– Provide Valentine’s Day gadgets: packages or gift cards.
– Personalize messages.
Valentine’s Day Emails
Most brands send emails to customers on 14th February.
Valentine’s Day messages should focus on the emotional message and be customized. Imagine that you send “Thank you for your engagement” email to someone who hasn’t bought from you yet and just subscribed. And you send the same note to your loyal customer. Isn’t it ironical?
You speak of gratitude or other feelings in the most cliché, safe, broad phrasing. That’s why you should really personalize Valentine’s Day emails (and any others). Segment your customers according to their engagement (for example using scoring in your Marketing Automation platform) and don’t send the same message to long-time customers and fresh leads.
It’s a perfect day to spoil your loyal customers
If Valentine’s Day is about relationships, then turn to your loyal customers. They’re your treasure. They’re ambassadors. Their recommendations sometimes work better than expensive campaigns.
So we postulate: use the 14th February to celebrate and spoil your loyal customers. Segment them out and offer them something special.
Sources
5 Valentine’s Day Marketing Campaigns That’ll Warm Your Heart
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