Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest days on the retail calendar, in fact in Australia, the average person spends $86 dollars on their loved one, according to IBISWorld. But like any day that is worthy of a Hallmark card, getting cut through on Valentine’s Day can be a challenging for some retailers.
So if you want a slice of love pie, it’s important your efforts stand out. Here are some tips to consider to make sure you are getting the most out of your Valentine’s Day campaigns:
1. Have fun
Think clearly about what you want to achieve. Is it driving foot traffic to your store, increasing sales or perhaps you just want to get people talking about your brand? Each outcome may have a different approach. For example, if you’re looking to use the hype around Valentine’s Day to build awareness about the products or services you offer, video is a great format. It’s easy to consume and people in Australia are watching a lot of it, especially on mobile. If driving sales is your main ambition, try offering your loyal customers discounts and special offers to encourage them to spend more.
2. Be creative
People are consuming content from the moment they wake up, to when they go to sleep at night. It’s going to take something creative and engaging to make them stop and take notice. Try to move beyond still photos. There are whole host of online tools to help you spice up your ad creative, like hyperlapse, boomerang, cinemagraphs and stop motion. Simple, inexpensive but eye-catching.
3. Mobile is king
For the first time ever, mobile and tablet are rapidly taking over desktop for purchases, so having a clear point of sale on these devices is vital. Advertising on mobile and tablet is very different to desktop. The screen is smaller, so keep it simple with a clear call-to-action such as learn more, buy now or get in touch. Don’t neglect the impact of offline engagement however, for a 360-brand experience.
4. Tailored messages
How many times have you received an ad that wasn’t relevant to you? A quick glance and you move on. People today are comfortable sharing so much about themselves online and you can use these insights to tailor offers skewed to their interests. Break your audience into segments. It can be as straightforward as separating women from men, or age from location. If you want to go deeper, tap into the sentiment of Valentine’s Day – this might be positive (for those in love) or reassuring (for those who aren’t).
5. Get the timing right
If you’re running a flash sale or a competition, make sure you give people enough time for their goods to be delivered. But don’t underestimate the power of engaging last minute shoppers. If you can find a way to help people who are rushing to find a last-minute gift you may just have a customer for life.
Don’t feel pressured to invest in a Valentine’s Day campaign. Before you allocate time, resources and money, make sure you ask yourself these three questions. Will your audience even care? Do they want to hear from you? And will the story you’re telling cut through the clutter?
Most importantly, have some fun with it and even if you don’t get the engagement you had hoped for learn from the experience so you can put it into practice for your next campaign.
Jason Titman, Director and Chief Operating Officer, Neto
