It’s that time of the year again: when love is in the air and brands pull out all the stops to capture the hearts of consumers for Valentine’s Day. And though most of the messaging is centred on lovey-dovey sentiments, like Toblerone’s ‘Love Insurance’ scheme, sometimes brands go in the opposite direction. For example, if people pay a grand sum of $10, the San Antonio Zoo will name a cockroach after their not-so-special someone and feed it to an animal (I do hope the amphibians enjoy my donation of 10 cockroaches).
If your Valentine’s Day campaign plans are still up in the air and you are looking to spread the brand love, here are some ways you can get started:
Newsjacking
Share any Valentine’s Day-themed stories that can highlight your brand’s key messages or any relevant, ongoing campaigns with local and regional media. For consumer brands, this can be a great opportunity to put together a creative and easily shareable gift guide highlighting products or services that are perfect for Valentine’s Day. It’s a great way to showcase your offerings and inspire customers to shop.
To raise awareness about Logitech’s wide range of products, Mutant put together a curated gift guide that featured the best Logitech products suitable for everyone from gamer girls to software coders. With the guide, Logitech successfully showcased its products, designed to fit every need, as well as build stronger media relations by providing the option of product reviews for media.
Content creation
A quick and easy way to punch up your brand voice and engage your audience this Valentine’s Day is by hopping on social media trends. Take to TikTok or Instagram to post something relatable and even cheeky to cut through the noise and interact with your followers.
Working with creators
As part of a broader campaign strategy leading up to a holiday, it’s always a good idea to create themed content that integrates various campaign elements and key messages across all social media platforms. Working with key opinion leaders (KOLs) can help brands create deeper connections and build credibility with their audiences, leading to better business results. To drive greater awareness for campaigns, brands can also opt to implement social media challenges, kicked-off by lifestyle KOLs in an effort to start a viral trend on TikTok or Reels. This can be a great way to generate valuable content and create emotional bonds with target audiences.
Media drops
Media drops are an excellent way for brands to build closer relationships with KOLs who have strong brand affinity and resonate with your company values. On top of this, media drops help attract the attention of your brand’s target audience and generate hype, providing brands with a platform to showcase the USPs of their campaign.
To help challenge Singaporean singles to take charge of their dating journey and date on their own terms this Bumble released a new campaign for Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day: Bumble Love Letters. To raise awareness about the campaign and build stronger relationships with key local media, Mutant planned and executed a media drop, gifting KOLs and media contacts a box Bumble Love Letters by Kele Confectionery and two jars of honey. The love letter is synonymous with both Chinese New Year festivities and Valentines’ Day, and we wanted to spotlight the campaign and excite the media through this media drop.
Partnerships
When gearing up for a big campaign season, like Valentine’s Day, it’s always a good idea to identify potential partners that your brand might be able to work with. Are there any companies that your brand can collaborate with in order to produce a new product line, event or stunt? Alternatively, you could partner with a local business to offer a special deal or package for couples on Valentine’s Day. This can be a great way to drive traffic to your business and build relationships with other brands in your community.
Consumers today are smarter, savvier and better informed than ever before. Traditional Valentine’s Day campaigns are falling by the wayside as brands need to devise more creative and engaging campaigns or experiences to capture the attention of their target audiences.
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