This week we’ve received countless offers, 20% off this and buy one get one free on the other, and it made us think… is Valentine’s day more marketable than Christmas? What is the history of Valentine’s, and why is it so marketable?
Initially a Roman celebration that marked the coming of spring, the fertility of the world and the matching of women and men at random, although that is the formula of modern-day dating apps… Further down the line Pope Gelasius moved the goalposts and renamed the day itself after St Valentine. But how did this celebration of love, championed by religion throughout the ages, become the cheap balloon buying, fake rose littering marketing marvel that it is today?
Well, the answer is a lot more simple than we would want to imagine. Quite honestly, we can’t help shopping; in fact, we love it! And what happens when you combine that with the ability to shower our loved ones with gifts? It creates a frenzy!
From a marketing perspective, how can your business benefit from that Valentine’s buzz?
User-Generated Content (UGC)
It’s no secret that Valentine’s day is the perfect opportunity for UGC; why? Because we all want to show everyone else just how much we care. One of the best implementations of the UGC trend was put in place by Dunkin Donuts, who reached out and asked their customers to compete in a content creating contest, taking a picture of their donut-ty treats. However, they leveraged different platforms to reach as many people as possible. By running Facebook-live videos and attaching Valentine’s themed Snapchat geo-filters to specific locations, Dunkin did their utmost to win their customers hearts. So if your brand has some online clout, and a hardcore set of fans watching your every move, why not engage with them a little differently?
Psst don’t tell anyone, but this is also a brilliant way of getting your hands on loads of excellent social media content (with permission from the customers), share the posts and away you go.
Product launch straight into our lives
Launch your new scented candle to tie in with all those looking forward to a relaxing Valentine’s soak. Tying a product release in with Valentine’s is one of the oldest tricks in the book but wow does it work. Just as toy companies do with the valuable run-up to Christmas, make Valentine’s your sales hot streak.
Whatever you do! Don’t forget to ask those loyal customers for some UGC, in fact, incentivise it, it is Valentine’s after all.
I’ll be there for you
The final secret behind the immense success of Valentine’s is friendship. With the term ‘Galentine’s’ appearing more often in the build-up to this year’s celebration of love than ever before, we are seeing the shift. As Nina Ricci champions ‘Best Friends over Boyfriends’ is Valentine’s really becoming another day of universal celebration? Even though Galentine’s day is the 13th February, we believe so, but is this yet another brilliant marketing ploy? And more importantly, is it one that your business could benefit from?
Not everyone is in a relationship, and for some, the thought of an ex doesn’t bring the joy Valentine’s day implies. All who are looking for love and those who really don’t want to spare it a passing thought, have something in common… FRIENDS! And friends need love too!
So why not invest some of your marketing materials into the friends market and open up sales to the masses.
Ready to use the next big festive season to bring in more loyal customers? Get in touch and we can help you figure out the best marketing, designs and promotions.
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