Valentine’s Day is just one of those holidays that most people don’t like, but for some reason, we all acknowledge it anyway. Singles dread the influx of couples saturating their social media feeds, and paired-up partners stress over how to make this national day of “love” feel unique or special.
This year, Valentine’s day is already different. The usual fancy dinner reservations or romantic vacation getaways are off the table for most, and single friends can’t meet up in groups to hide from the couples together.
With so much money going towards this day that many seem to dislike, and in a year where we can’t even celebrate normally, how can brands make this day worthwhile, safe, and exciting to consumers, no matter their relationship status? We have a few ideas…
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For The Coupled Crowd
After months of takeout and hanging inside with your significant other to avoid the public, chances are more takeout wouldn’t excite too many people. With that point in mind, how do we give people the new experience they crave in a COVID world?
Local Hotel Stay-cation: Give couples the romantic getaway they want without the travel otherwise required to get there! By offering locals the chance to win a staycation in a romantic hotel suite, hotels can usher in some much-needed business, while safely giving couples a reason to leave the familiar scenery of their homes and encouraging support of local businesses.
Personal Chef? Heck Yes: We’ve already established that we’re sick of cooking for ourselves and takeout, but restaurants can raise the bar by taking the chance to win to the next level…popular restaurant chain chefs come to you! With chefs required to wear masks and trained in Covid-safe clean-up protocol, winners can enjoy the hot meals they’ve been missing at their favorite restaurants, sans time spent in a takeout container! Ready to cook meal preparation boxes can also participate in an idea like this one, either by sending a personal chef to winners’ home to prepare the boxed meal or by creating a dream Valentine’s day feast for contest winners to prepare in their homes together.
Virtual classes: So your brand can’t offer a place to stay or food to cook, what can you offer? Virtual classes, of course! Chocolate brands might supply winners with a copious supply of sweets and invite guests to use their chocolate to create a Valentine’s Day dessert under the virtual guidance of one of their chocolatiers. Essential oil brands might take advantage of the holiday to teach consumers how to turn their oils into massage lotion, for a special at-home spa day. With the technology we have and everyone’s new status as “Zoom Masters,” the possibilities are endless, even for brands that may not typically consider Valentine’s Day campaigns.
For The Singletons
Even if Valentine’s day is a burden on couples, everyone can agree when Valentine’s Day rolls around, single folks tend to feel left behind. Even if you interpret Valentine’s Day as a time for love in any form, including self-care, it can be hard to believe that’s true when brands are only focusing on advertising to couples. This year, don’t leave the singletons behind…celebrate them!
Serenading singletons: Nothing quite makes someone feel special like a personalized song…especially when it’s coming from someone extra exciting. Musicians and entertainment venues were hit hard by the pandemic, but virtual alternatives have provided some help. Brands that work in music and performance like Spotify and SoFar Sounds might consider partnering with celebrity messaging platforms like Cameo to create sweepstakes where the winning singleton wins a message and personalized ballad from their celebrity crush…Harry Styles, do you have any time for the singles of the world?
Dating apps: Dating apps clearly already have their sights set on singletons as their target audience, and what better time to appeal to singles than when their relationship status is made most obvious to them by the world at large? Dating apps might consider making premium account experiences free for the duration of Valentine’s Day to get the attention of singles. Better yet, dating apps might incentivize users to take the extra step towards arranging a virtual date with a match on Valentine’s Day by teaming up with delivery services like DoorDash and Grizzly to offer free delivery of romantic date food and beverage. After all, Valentine’s Day WOULD be a cute and easy anniversary date to remember! 😉
Treat yo self: When many of us think of self-care and self-love, skin-care, pampering, and spa days come to mind. Brands like Lush and Fresh, which cater towards a younger, and therefore typically more single crowd, might lean into this opportunity by offering contests where singles can win enough product to give themselves their own spa day while they unwind and distract themselves from the day at hand. Brands might go so far as to create entire lines of face masks, or bath bombs to celebrate the single crowd with product names like “Me, Myself, and Under-eye Mask.”
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However your brand will be celebrating Valentine’s Day, the more you can include everyone in your advertising, coupled or not, the more you can reap the benefits of this national day of love. By taking advantage of technology and exciting contests, opportunities to win and enjoy the day are available to the masses, as we continue to spread messages of love for ourselves and others in these crazy times.
