During the last few days, our minds have been primed to pay attention to all things Valentine’s related.
This annual occurrence has created a great opportunity for businesses to capitalise by tying their marketing messages in with the spirit of cupid. Such strategy is obviously applied to almost all annual “celebrations”, but Valentine’s Day provides a particularly excellent opportunity for marketing, being second only to Christmas in terms of its emphasis on gift giving.
As anyone who’s participated in Valentine’s Day before knows, this romantic holiday encourages consumer spending. According to Charlie Thomas AOL (2014), it is estimated that the romantic Brits may be spending almost £1 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts and experiences this year.
Despite what you may think, this cupid-themed marketing is not just for florists, restaurants, jewellers or candy stores; regardless of the type, any business can benefit by positioning themselves well for this day. It is all about uniqueness, variety and true value, not the pounds spent, so all you have to do is – think outside of that chocolate box – find the right and unique way to market your products or services, around this romantic festivity.
Let’s take a look at some examples of well thought and well prepared romantic campaigns, creatively developed by both, large and small companies, well aware of the huge potential carried with the Valentine’s Day.
London restaurant, Gilgamesh, has created a Valentine’s Day-inspired cocktail called “Diamonds are Forever”; for only £10.50, the head chef Ian Pengelley has crafted a romantic, three-course set menu . Not a big deal you say; however, one lucky customer will find a real cut diamond at the bottom of their wine glass; an £800 rock crafted by Madison Diamond Rings jewellers, which will undoubtedly generate word of mouth buzz and assure plenty of coverage for the restaurant.
Retail giant Debenhams took a slightly different approach. They came up with the ‘lingerie commandments”- a guide for the flustered male shoppers who don’t feel to confident when it comes to buying romantic gift for their lovers. Debenhams claims that this campaign will not only help male customers make the right choices, but also save the company time and money by reducing the number of returned items few days later.
The Student recruitment team from the accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, are using a different approach to take advantage of Valentine’s Day. They will hit Oxford, Cambridge, Kings, Imperial, Durham, Bristol and Edinburgh plus a number of other universities, armed with around 1,000 heart-shaped, PwC-branded helium balloons, all displaying the message: “Being the one at the heart of the best opportunities”. The “talent hunters” are keen to attract the best graduates, and they’ve found this kind of campaign an effective way of engaging with students. PwC branding is visible across the campus all day, as students take the balloons to lectures, the union, and the bar, helping to raise its profile among potential employees.
Damian Budny is a Creative Thinker and Web Developer at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
