Although the forecast spend is down, there are still plentiful opportunities for brands. The following marketing campaigns are examples of clever, strategic approaches to drive engagement and sales during the Valentine\u2019s Day gift-giving season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s Not Just About Hearts and Chocolates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Jewelry, candy and flowers top\nthe list of commonly purchased gifts for Valentine\u2019s Day, totaling over $10\nbillion in sales. The straightforward strategy is to stock up on these\nproducts. But how do companies that don\u2019t sell romantic products or gifts\ncapture some of the Valentine\u2019s Day market?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By knowing what consumers are typically looking for, savvy marketers are using their campaigns to provide alternative gift ideas.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n BirchboxMan<\/a>, a monthly subscription service for men\u2019s grooming supplies,\nlaunched a better-than-chocolate campaign for a previous Valentine\u2019s Day \u2013 a\nsubtle attack on traditional Valentine\u2019s Day gifts. This year they published a\ncompilation of gifts \u201cthat he\u2019ll actually use\u201d, again encouraging the consumer\nto go beyond the traditional gift options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Singapore, KFC partnered with Deliveroo<\/a> for their campaign \u201cWill Delive-Roo Be My Valentine<\/a>\u201d. Pre-orders of the Valentine’s Day Combo from participating KFC restaurants were delivered with a handmade ring featuring a miniature clay KFC Bucket filled with pieces of chicken and crowned with the Deliveroo head. Encouraging an unconventional Valentine\u2019s celebration, Deliveroo stated that they were offering \u201cthe perfect excuse to skip the roses or chocolates, and instead gift this ring as a sign that you are truly deeply clucking mad for bae.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Social media referrals convert sales: 71% of consumers are likely to buy an item when it is recommended on social media. Engaging customers and influencers to create content, posted with a branded hashtag, increases traffic to your brand. Since 25% of search engine results go to user generated content, this can have a tremendous impact on sales<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MeUndies<\/a> invited couples to don matching MeUndies sets and post the pic on their social media channels with the branded hashtag #matchmeundies. This campaign strengthened their brand profile through playful and authentic customer photos. The brand also saw increased demand for their product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not everyone celebrates Valentine\u2019s Day. In fact, almost half of consumers don\u2019t. This segment can still be engaged to shop during the holiday. Singles will spend an estimated $1.85 billion on themselves on Valentine\u2019s Day<\/strong>. Self-care and \u2018gal\u2019-entines, spending the holiday with other single girlfriends, are trending Valentine\u2019s Day alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every year since 2019, El Paso Zoo in the U.S. has offered disgruntled lovers an alternative way to mark Valentine\u2019s Day. Guests are invited to name a cockroach after an ex-partner and then watch them being fed to the zoo\u2019s gang of meerkats! Adapted this year to adhere to COVID-19 restrictions, the cleverly named \u201cQuit Bugging Me<\/a>\u201d will go ahead in 2021 via live stream. The zoo\u2019s unusual, comedic approach to what can be an uncomfortable or even miserable time for many has hit upon a successful formula to gain online traffic and new customers during the Valentine\u2019s period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 50% of web traffic is via mobile devices. In-app activity will increase 20% leading up to Valentine\u2019s Day and almost all last-minute orders will be via a mobile device<\/strong>. Brands that do not take advantage of the Valentine\u2019s Day e-commerce peak by creating powerful mobile consumer experiences will miss out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Savvy marketers who are taking a\nmulti-prong approach to drive mobile sales are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Making sure that the mobile\nexperience is as good as it would be on the desktop, because testing mobile\nsites to prevent loading issues prevents abandoned shopping carts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Making gift-choosing easy. Filtering\nand searching should be simple and intuitive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Publishing relevant content to drive mobile activity by offering discounts and promo codes to close the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Valentine’s Day promotions have taken over the homepage of fashion platform Shein’s app, prompting consumers to consider what to wear on their special day. Influencer-curated styles with love-inspired names form the core of the #Shein4love campaign<\/a> to drive awareness and sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Valentine\u2019s Day is an opportunity for customers to interact with a brand and create positive memories. Experiential marketing or event-based marketing invites consumers to get to know a brand through their senses<\/strong>. These experiences are then shared on social media through user-generated content, creating a buzz and influencing sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1991 White Castle<\/a>, a ubiquitous fast-food chain in the U.S., started to decorate select stores with white tablecloths and invite customers to celebrate Valentine\u2019s Day with them. This year, adapted to adhere to COVID-19 safety measures, White Castle is offering a new drive-in dining experience with a special Valentine\u2019s car-side service experience. Embracing the \u201cnew normal\u201d, White Castle are helping their customers to have a unique, memorable and most importantly shareable, Valentine\u2019s Day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand recognizing the difficulty customers have had reimaging their wedding days during COVID-19, and to celebrate the history of proposals and romance in their restaurants, Dunkin\u2019 Donuts<\/a> has put marriage on the menu with a special competition. They\u2019ve partnered with I Do Drive Thru, an international drive-up wedding service created to help people get married during the pandemic, to perform ceremonies for the winners. Dunkin\u2019 Donuts will also be selling special wedding merch through a dedicated online pop-up shop. This multi-channel campaign is set to drive online traffic, awareness and revenue for the brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Updating product packaging is a great way to catch the eyes of new customers. During the Valentine\u2019s Day sales period, creating limited edition or novelty packaging can drive sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Desert company G\u00fc did just this in 2020. They featured the lyrics of well-known love songs – adapted to suit their brand \u2013 on product boxes. The light-hearted \u201cLove Notes<\/a>\u201d campaign, which allowed lovers to declare their feelings with a sweet treat, was inspired by data which showed a huge sales increase, particularly with new customers, during the Valentine\u2019s period in 2019. Some of the cleverly adapted lyrics include \u201cEverything I do, I do it for G\u00fc\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m in love with the shape of G\u00fc\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Valentine\u2019s Day presents an opportunity to launch creative and impactful marketing campaigns that connect brand and consumers. EU Business School offers a range of programs, including a Master in Marketing<\/a> and an MBA in International Marketing<\/a>, which teach the latest in digital marketing strategies and gives student the skills to push marketing boundaries and engage consumers in new, creative ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every year brands big and small take advantage of this holiday to woo customers and increase their revenue. This year, in the U.S.A. alone, Valentine\u2019s Day is expected to generate $17 billion. It\u2019s a vast sum, but nevertheless represents a drop of about $6 billion compared to 2020\u2019s record-breaking romantic expenditure. Although the forecast spend is down, there are still plentiful opportunities for brands. The following marketing campaigns are examples of clever, strategic approaches to drive engagement and sales during the Valentine\u2019s Day gift-giving season. It\u2019s Not Just About Hearts and Chocolates Jewelry, candy and flowers top the list of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30169,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1771],"tags":[1103,4061],"class_list":["post-27632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-trends","tag-content-marketing","tag-marketing-trends","post--single"],"yoast_head":"\r\n![\"valentine's](\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/W_Jan_Valentines-Day-Gifts-for-Him_Hero_1400x800.jpg\")
![\"deliveroo](\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/h_deliveroo_x_kfc_valentines_2020__1_.jpg\")
Influence Shoppers with User-Generated Content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"valentines](\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/23800310_1787454761287315_7361959392984684655_o.jpg\")
Valentine\u2019s Day Is Not Just for Couples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Going Mobile<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Create Memorable Experiences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"dunkin](\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/FullLineupcopylegal_934f7bdf-84b0-46c3-b0a6-d5fa731cb9d6-prv.jpg\")
Pimp Your Packaging<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"g\u00fc](\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/6005650fa39d758066e672a4_Gu\u0308-Pack-Valentines-Gu\u0308-Zillionaire-Cheesecakes-e1612432214754.png\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Master_marketing_750x125-1.gif\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"