It's prime time to melt some hearts with a clever / creative / corny or otherwise marketing campaign! Last year, the companies below worked their magic. Review our favorite Valentine's Day campaigns and brainstorm some fun ways to leverage holiday marketing campaigns.
This campaign featured 10 couples who were asked to express love for their partner without saying "I love you." The most engaging aspect of it all? It's real people expressing real feelings. No actors, no scripts.
Tips: Next time you craft your campaign, consider real people sharing stories. How has your service or product affected them? Or if you're as creative as Hallmark, can they talk about something other than your service that still points back to you? If you can get as much attention as Hallmark, simply by pulling viewers' heartstrings, the mere website visits and video views will do the trick.
These videos are short, entertaining, and sweet. There aren't even words pointing you to purchase Oreos, just some fun sound effects and the jazzy jingle at the end. They play on awkward yet romantic interactions that we all might relate to in some way.
Tips: If you can hire a designer to create these videos for you, there's a lot of potential in comic-like snippets. If that's not in the budget, think of ways you can play on everyday interactions and the awkward experiences we all share. This could be one single image and some compelling and quirky copywriting. As seen in the video, it doesn't have to surround the direct goal of "buy now," but rather can be aimed at gaining brand awareness and affinity.
Fans were encouraged to share ways to finish the sentence, "I love you like..." This provided Evian with the content they used through the campaign: each time a user tweeted at them with the hashtag, Evian would respond with one of their fun and surprising quotes alongside a simple graphic.
According to Amy Ambridge from
We Are Social, it worked: "T
he hashtag #ILoveYouLike had 187,000 impressions in the week before the campaign launched and 1.2 million estimated impressions in its first 48 hours as a result of about 200 Twitter messages."
Tip: This is a prime example of using your followers to generate content. Ask them for their opinion and then actually use it. On top of that, give back - the people interacting with Evian were each responded to with an image. This encourages users to keep coming back and may work to establish a stronger relationship.
Snapchat marketing is one to consider adding to your 2016 strategy, as it's easily digestible and often fun for viewers. Besides this, it's one of the fastest growing digital marketing avenues. Tacobell got saucy rather than romantic, enticing people to come to Tacobell for one of their Valentine's Day meals.
Tip: "Get saucy" Or rather, take the non-traditional route and make the holiday about something besides romance. If you can find a way to go against the grain on a holiday that still makes people smile, your marketing campaign will likely standout. Plus, Tacobell's simple use of photos and text (even some handwritten notes), could be pretty affordable.
Starbucks paired up with Match.com to host dates at Starbucks Coffee Shops last February. There was a feature on Match's website to enable users to "meet at Starbucks" which included select coffee shops with late afternoon/evening music and special menu pairings. The launch event was last February 13th, deeming it "The World's Largest Startbucks Date."
Tip: This partnership points to the possibilities beyond the walls of your business. Especially around a holiday, pairing up with a seemingly unrelated business could work wonders for your campaign, and moreover, offer something to your customers you couldn't have otherwise.
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