Regardless of the type of organisation you run, there’s always an opportunity to capitalise on the most romantic holiday of the year: Valentine’s Day.
You might be thinking, “We’re not Tiffany & Co. or Hinge, so how does Valentine’s Day marketing apply to us?”
Well, it’s time to start brainstorming! Time and time again, creativity wins the hearts of consumers, making them fall in love with your brand. By tapping into the joy of holidays such as Valentine’s Day, you can engage with your potential customers and relate to them on a more personal level.
According to a 2023 YouGov survey, 33% of Brits planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a love interest, meaning that a winning campaign could strike a chord with over a third of your target market.
Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples, however, and Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns can be just as effective for those that are not in relationships!
Marketing for Valentine’s Day can be fun and exciting, and should be viewed as an opportunity to demonstrate your brand’s personality and form deeper connections with your customers.
Still don’t know where to start? We’ve compiled a list of five of the best Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns to spark some inspiration.
Specsavers – Kiss Clash
Specsavers underwent a Valentine’s Day transformation with their playful campaign about the advantages of contact lenses, highlighting the problems that glasses can present when going in for a kiss.
The brand leveraged this concept to promote a unique reason for customers to try contact lenses. As an added incentive, Specsavers also offered a complimentary one-week trial of contact lenses during this period!
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Through thoughtful campaigns such as this one, Specsavers acknowledges the problems faced by its audience and recommends a potential solution.
But did this campaign convert to sales? According to Marketing Week, it led to a 22.9% increase in sign-ups for the brand’s contact lens packages, with the trials seeing an annual growth of 9.6%.
Walkers – Heart Shaped Crisp Hunt
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Renowned crisp brand Walkers used Valentine’s Day to inspire individuals across the UK to search for heart-shaped crisps nestled within their packets, stating that “love comes in many forms”.
The light-hearted competition began in February and ended on 20th March 2023, with Walkers even offering a tantalising £100,000 jackpot for the ultimate victor!
During this time, crisp lovers showcased their discoveries on various social media platforms, which was one of the key contributors to the success of the campaign. By enabling consumers to interact directly with the brand and initiate discussions, Walkers were able to generate significant interest in their competition.
Evans Hunt – Agency Sweet Hearts
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Evans Hunt, a Calgary-based advertising agency, released their unique “Agency Sweet Hearts” campaign in 2016.
The Evans Hunt team designed love heart sweets to gift to their clients, but instead of putting the usual Valentine’s Day clichés on them, they used advertising-specific phrases such as:
- Talk Copy to Me
- Be My KPI
- Twist My Headlines
Although not a brand that would be stereotypically associated with romance, Evans Hunt capitalised on this opportunity to demonstrate some of their advertising prowess.
In addition to cementing existing relationships with clients, the agency also managed to secure coverage in Adweek and other industry publications, increasing brand awareness.
Tesco – Tesco Food Love Stories
Departing from the typical focus on recipes, Tesco created a Valentine’s Day ad that prioritised storytelling.
The video campaign followed the story of a daughter who wanted to ensure her single dad had a successful, affordable date night.
With the brand offering a premium date night experience at a fraction of the cost, the campaign highlighted the value of its luxury range and the benefits it holds over alternative options such as takeaways.
Tesco’s Valentine’s Day advertisement achieved one of the highest ratings that month, blending a relatable story with an offer that customers simply couldn’t pass up!
After the campaign’s success in 2022, it returned in 2023 and 2024 with improved dishes, demonstrating to consumers that a romantic three-course Valentine’s meal is achievable, even for those with a smaller budget.
Ryanair – Escape the Nonsense
In 2019, Ryanair developed a genius campaign that resonated with singles in a funny, light-hearted way.
The ad offers viewers an escape from the typical Valentine’s Day clichés, suggesting that they instead consider booking a highly cost-effective trip abroad.
Ryanair included the copy, “Single Fares From €9.99 This Valentine’s Day”, a tongue-in-cheek play on words likely to resonate with those that might not be feeling the love on 14th February!
As well as being highly relatable, Ryanair’s campaign strayed away from the typical love-focused approach to the holiday, allowing them to appeal to a different target market. The video ad was also very much in keeping with Ryanair’s brand voice and received widespread media attention as a result.
The verdict: a solid insight is key for any seasonal campaign!
Valentine’s Day campaigns naturally play on emotions, but the examples we have shared went beyond the typical hearts and flowers.
They showed us that successful campaigns call for:
- A deeper understanding of your target audience
- Genuine care for the needs of your consumers
- Creative thinking to stand out from the crowd
When creating a marketing campaign, think about what really matters to your audience and how you can best fill that void. Conduct research into what your competitors are doing and find ways to make your business stand out.
If you want to elevate your brand with content that attracts, engages and converts, reach out to a member of our team today.
