For those of you in romantic relationships, Valentine’s Day is hopelessly devoted to you! For those who aren’t, Valentine’s Day can be your holiday too! What began as a feast to celebrate the Christian martyr Saint Valentine has taken on a life of its own in the ensuing centuries.
The holiday has become heavily commercialized, marketed as the designated time to profess your love for that special someone. If you’re in a romantic relationship, it’s practically expected that you indulge in Valentine celebrations. Whether through handwritten notes, flowers, chocolates or a quiet dinner at a swanky restaurant, professing your love monetarily on this day is something to be ignored at your own peril.
It can be as simple as that, a day devoted to love, but we think you should take a deeper look at how you can bring Valentine’s Day to all people.
Something else we, as a strategic branding and marketing company, dare not ignore is the ability to get in on the Valentine’s Day festivities and step up our love celebration game. For, “‘tis a fool who does not love love.“
If you’re a candy or flower shop, promoting Valentine’s Day is as easy as unlocking your doors in the morning. Those of us not romance-adjacent will have a slightly trickier time. So how do we profess our love of love through marketing and branding? Let’s explore how we can open up the holiday of love to all people….
It’s important to note that not every generation feels the same love for Valentine’s Day that others do. Let’s first note the fact that the holiday can be varied and inclusive, and not limited to couples in the throes of the honeymoon phase. Don’t forget about Valentine’s Day and the platonic affection it elicits. And people who love their pets like family (sometimes more.) School age children exchange gifts with friends and classmates. Encouraging the practice of self love will help single people through what can be a trying time for them as well. What we’re saying is that expanding your radius will capture the hearts of those who can’t, or don’t wish to, celebrate the holiday traditionally.
Here are some fun ways to promote Valentine’s Day (and yourself) to your clients (attached and otherwise)…
- Create a social media contest.
Ask your customers to share their love stories, and give prizes to the best (or funniest) ones. Keep it light and fun!
- Create some Valentine-themed content
There’s no better way to embrace the day than by, well, embracing it! Write some Valentine’s Day-themed blogs, create social media posts, send out love themed emails. Get yourself involved with love! People love seeing you engaged (in online festivities, silly!)
- Host a virtual Valentine mixer
It’s 2023! Get virtual! Host an event (maybe with wine and cheese) that encourages employees and/or customers to drop by and take part. Valentine’s Day can and should be for everyone, and the more the merrier!
- Sweet deals for sweethearts
Offer deals and gifts catered to the holiday, but don’t necessarily feel compelled to take yourself, or it, too seriously. Expressing love for someone doesn’t have to feel forced or walled-in by romance.
- Valentine redesign
As always, adding a little holiday-themed love to your logo, splash page and Facebook page will let people know you’re getting in on the festivities.
Finally, why not use this time, in our own small way, to remind each other how we’re all pretty much the same? We, by and large, desire the same security, comfort and love. Why not give Valentine’s Day the positive energy it deserves and remind people of the power they possess for change and unity under the banner of humanity as a whole?
Cynics will say, “Oh, it’s just a holiday created by Hallmark”, and they’re not totally wrong. However, just like every other heavily marketed holiday, Valentine’s Day is what you make of it, and millions of people can bring a whole lot of good out of it.
To that we say: let’s promote LOVE!