"All you need Is love"

As Netflix begins to bend under the weight of romantic premieres, and more and more pink and heart-shaped ones appear in store windows... this means that Valentine's Day is inexorably approaching. Some consider them a holiday of love, others-a holiday of commercialization. And what if you combine these two questions and add a pinch of creativity? An unusual and exciting campaign to promote your brand! And it is with such campaigns for Valentine's Day that you will get acquainted in this review.

Psst! Fans of classic Valentines should close their eyes 😉

Cadbury 5 Star and Alibi for Valentine's Day

This is one of my favorite suggestions for Valentine's Day 2022. Cadbury, or more precisely, its 5 Star sub-brand, focused not on lovers, but on singles who repeatedly wanted to get as far away as possible from the sweetened, candy-filled season and ... questions about Valentine's Day plans. 5 Star in last year's contest solved both of these problems simultaneously: it provides an alibi as well as an actual version of the escape trip, and it's called " my cousin's wedding."

Did the brand organize the wedding? Better yet, she renamed the island "my cousin's wedding," so when the singles were asked about their Valentine's Day plans, they could honestly answer:" I'm going to my cousin's wedding (a trip to my cousin's wedding)!", meaning a single person's paradise. To enter the competition, all you had to do was scan the QR code on any Cadbury 5 Star package.

As a fan of simplicity, I will say that I really like it! Inventively, with distrust and a change of perspective on Valentine's Day.

Focaccia Florist i odwieczne pytanie foodiesa: why give flowers you can’t eat?

"Why give flowers you can't eat" was the slogan of the Focaccia Florist campaign, the first place in London dedicated to floral arrangements on its baked goods. During the short video of 2021, it is impossible not to notice the awkwardness of the situation when a woman receives a bouquet of roses from her partner. He doesn't know what to do with it, so eventually he starts eating them. This situation is actually the main axis of the entire clip, and we see the brand placement itself and the product that solves the problem of questionable colors, or focaccia, only in the last seconds. Thus, it is not an intrusive advertisement, but a more pleasant form for perception. Take a look:

Fun fact: the phrase "why give flowers you can't eat" has become not only a symbol of the Valentine's Day campaign, but also a brand statement.

Fun fact 2: an interesting and very important aspect of brand communication is ecology. According to the creators of The Focaccia Florist, the place was created to provide a more sustainable alternative to flowers both for Valentine's Day and beyond. It's such a big deal that the cut flower industry is worth more than £ 1 billion in the UK alone (source), and 80% of the flowers are imported from outside the country, resulting in a huge amount of CO2.

What can I say: I'm buying it!

Adult’s Meal od Burger Kinga

Kid's Meal, Happy Meal, Kid's menu-almost every fast food chain has a set created for the youngest. In 2017, the Israeli division of Burger King on the occasion of Valentine's Day offered to do this ... Adult's Meal, a set specially designed for adults. The box, very similar to the children's version, included 2 woopers, 2 French fries, 2 beers, and a toy in the form of a head massager, a black feather waffle iron/brush, or a satin blindfold. Below you will see what it is all about:

Were there different opinions? Yes, of course. Can every brand afford such a promotion? Of course not. Was the language of communication, the execution of the campaign, and its very simple form a hit? In my opinion, yes! The campaign showed the fun in several ways: with its own product, convention, "meet the poppy" concept, and for dessert... she also offered to entertain her clients. Although the popular narrative at the time about Burger King giving out sex toys was, in my opinion, a bit exaggerated 😉

IKEA and ... 9 months after Valentine's Day

For dessert, I leave you with the only case in this article of a brand whose food is not the main area of business. This action was ten years old, and its communication channel was the print press. Well, IKEA, instead of focusing on February 14, took the day 9 months after it for wallpaper.

Simply, briefly and on the topic: for children born on November 14, that is, exactly 9 months after Valentine's Day, IKEA has prepared a free crib and announced it in the Australian press. It was enough to save coupon from the newspaper and use it together with your birth certificate.

This is the best proof that a well-chosen communication channel and even a very simple idea can lead to good results: after all, I remember this particular campaign 10 years after it was launched 😉

To summarize…

After analyzing many Valentine's Day campaigns and describing four of them, I have a few thoughts on creating and launching Valentine's Day campaigns:

• The key is to attract the attention of your audience. To be able to compete with thousands of brands, win over and maintain the viewer's interest, it's best to use a perverse leitmotif, a valuable message, or a fun message.
• It's good to be "relatable," which is to let your audience identify with your brand. Even if you're going to create a romantic and heartwarming Valentine's Day campaign, don't forget to make it authentic for your target audience. Use the art of storytelling!
• Don't limit yourself to the most popular media outlets. In a world captured by TikTok, don't be afraid to use a press pack or a limited edition version of your packaging. It all depends on what you need to convey and, above all, who you want to talk to. There are no best and worst places to advertise-they are just good and bad for your campaign.

OK, now let me know what your favorite Valentine's Day campaigns are! Or do you completely avoid this possibility when communicating with your brand? Feel free to discuss, of course, with "Love is in the air" playing on headphones 😉