Whether you believe in true love or not — your subscribers and customers do. So, it’s wise to ride the love wagon and launch a marketing campaign for Valentine’s Day.
But how to create a unique and engaging campaign when everyone is pushing customers to buy a gift in the season of love?
What if we tell you different ways to promote your business during Valentine’s month? In this blog, we’ll share some exciting Valentine’s Day marketing ideas to help you grab a share in Valentine’s spending pie.
Valentine’s Day Marketing in Numbers
US customers spent 21.8 billion on Valentine’s shopping in 2021. The number increased to $23.9 billion in 2022 and to $26 billion in 2023. The upward Valentine’s spending pattern is clear – people are spending more and more on Valentine’s gifts.
- 52% of customers celebrate Valentine’s Day;
- An average consumer spent $192 on Valentine’s celebration in 2023, $17 more than they spent in 2022;
- 35% of customers plan to shop for Valentine’s gifts online.
If that doesn’t give you enough reason to start planning for Valentine’s Day, our cool marketing ideas will. Let’s explore these ideas that’ll come in handy when you plan your Valentine’s campaign.
21 Valentine’s Day Marketing Ideas
You must be busy running your business and need time to brainstorm unique ideas to promote your business on Valentine’s Day, which will occur soon. Don’t worry. We’ve got some exciting ideas you can use this Valentine’s Day without hassle. So, let’s go:
Email Love Notes
Valentine’s Day isn’t just for romantic partners; it’s a great time for showing appreciation as a brand. You can email cute love notes to your subscribers.
Take Game, a UK-based brand, for instance. They turned the tables on traditional Valentine’s marketing with a nostalgia-packed email that hit right in the feels!
Game’s Valentine’s campaign was a customer appreciation masterpiece. This pixel-perfect message isn’t just about romance; it’s a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to you, the customer.
Now, why did this strike such a chord? It’s simple yet genius. It taps into a shared love for retro gaming, blending it with gratitude. This approach goes beyond the usual ‘buy this for your sweetheart’ angle. It’s an inclusive nod to all kinds of love – the love for games, memories, and, yes, the customers themselves.
What we loved here?
- Unconventional approach to Valentine’s marketing;
- Personalized and warm tone of the letter;
- Thanking the subscriber in a very heartfelt way.
Remember, inclusivity is key. Not everyone’s planning a romantic dinner for two, but everyone appreciates a bit of love and nostalgia. So, in a world full of heart emojis and red roses, be an 8-bit love note.
Stand out. Be memorable. Show genuine appreciation. It’s not just a winning strategy for Valentine’s Day; it’s a winning strategy for building lasting relationships with your customers. After all, isn’t that what Valentine’s Day is all about?
Use Promotional Popups on Your Website
Popups can be a great way to start with Valentine’s day marketing and attract new customers and engage with your website visitors. During Valentine’s season, contextual popups on your most popular pages can significantly boost your revenue. Take a look at the following popup, for example:
The popup can be placed as an exit intent popup that nudges a buyer to check the collection. The emotion-packed headline + a coupon code for a special collection will surely drive clicks (and even conversions). You can also add popups asking them for their email in return for a coupon code or a unique Valentine’s Gifting Guide. This will help to grow and build your email list fast.
Want to create popups and forms without any hassle in just a few minutes? Then don’t walk, run to Sender, as we’re here to help you achieve that!
Run a Valentine’s Day Sale
Creating a love-themed offer around Valentine’s Day and promoting your existing collection is a clever way to grab attention. Many brands, especially in jewelry, flowers, chocolates, apparel, and related segments, run special Valentine’s Day sales. Take the example of Love & Crafted — a handcrafted fine jewelry brand:
The interesting ad graphic, along with the ad copy, makes it feel like someone’s conversing with the reader is something that stands out. Plus, the offer is lucrative, too, if you consider the jewelry industry. The Facebook ad promoting Valentine’s sale would have gotten many clicks for the brand. You can also try having such a digital campaign planned when you launch your Valentine’s sale.
What we loved here?
- Love-themed product collection;
- Contextual ad messaging and creative — appealing to emotions;
- Value-packed offer nudging viewers to check the sale.
Show Love to Single People
Valentine’s Day is seen as the day of the couples. But there’s a bigger growth opportunity in targeting singles during Valentine’s season and showing the power of self-love.
Faasos, a cloud kitchen brand, launched a #DateAWrap campaign targeting singles during Valentine’s. It collaborated with social media influencers to promote the idea of ‘dating a wrap instead of a human’ and enjoying company with food — a way of self-love.
The campaign asked users to right-swipe their favorite wrap (on Instagram) and send a cheesy pickup line. The brand rewards people with witty and clever pickup lines with a complimentary wrap.
The brand revealed that the campaign was insanely successful and reached over one million users on social media platforms. Plus, it led users to create user-generated content around the brand’s idea of a Valentine’s — a win-win for the brand. Faasos would have received many orders during the campaign period, too.
What we loved here?
- A clever way to promote brand offerings;
- Value-packed offer based on engagement and creativity of users;
- Promotion powered by user-generated content.
Use SMS Marketing for Sharing Exclusive Deals
SMS campaigns are a powerful medium for ecommerce businesses looking for engagement and conversions.
In fact, SMS orders for Valentine’s gifts have increased by 900% between 2020 and 2021.
For Valentine’s, you can leverage this medium, which is otherwise ignored by many of your competitors. For example, you can share exclusive deals, sneak peeks, and limited-period offers via SMS with your subscribers.
Here’s how Valentine’s SMS could look like in Sender’s tool:
The simple message with a personalized greeting and an announcement is a great hook. You can easily compose such a message within Sender — it’s a child’s play.
Use UGC and Customer Testimonials during Valentine’s
If you’re running a Valentine’s sale, you can ask your existing customers to write reviews and use them in your creatives. These could be product reviews, reaction videos on Instagram, or any other form of user-generated content.
Here’s a great example by Warby Parker. They used customer responses in one of their Valentine’s emails:
The email is a mix of ‘singles targeting’ + Valentine’s vibe, and they seem to have done an excellent job at it. The UGC testimonials in the form of tweets would make anyone form a ‘warm’ opinion about visiting the store. The contextual CTA and the final message of gifting a ‘gift card’ feel genuine.
What we loved here?
- Use of actual tweets within the email;
- Witty copywriting targeting singles as well as couples;
- Clever choice of colors to suit the theme and stand out simultaneously.
Drive Urgency by Announcing Flash Sales or Using Timers
During the busy Valentine’s month, when every other brand is bombarding offers, you need more than just an announcement. Adding countdown timers and flash sales announcements is a great way to offer an interactive email experience without complicating your email campaigns. Look at the following email by Withings:
What we loved here?
- Urgency-inducing subject line;
- Simple yet impactful emailer design;
- Time-sensitive offer.
One of the best tools for time-sensitive offers is a countdown timer. You can create Valentine’s day marketing emails with countdown timers using Sender for free. See here:
Target Last-Minute Shoppers
We all know someone who always forgets about buying a gift for their wife or girlfriend. Don’t we? Why not create a Valentine’s Day marketing campaign for last-minute shoppers?
Yelp realized that such blunders could lead to disastrous consequences and sent out the following cute email on Valentine’s Day itself to give an idea of how to make the day special:
The direct header ‘No plans tonight?’ would grab the attention of people who forgot about the special day. A simple infographic of 3 steps and a CTA button invokes an emotion to act immediately for anyone who hasn’t planned anything for V-day. No one wants a hangry partner on Valentine’s. Right?
What we loved here?
- The timing of the email — just on the morning of Valentine’s;
- A simple process of using the Yelp service is humorously outlined in 3 steps;
- Contextual copywriting that empathizes with last-minute planners.
Host A Valentine’s Day Event
While shopping for your significant other is a great Valentine’s gesture, taking them to a night full of experiences is better. You can leverage this emotion to host a special-themed event for potential customers.
If you are a property owner — a restaurant, cafe, hotel, BnB, or any experience center, hosting a love-themed Valentine’s day marketing event makes great sense. Take the example of Rush, a Trampoline park that hosted a special ‘Two for One event on Valentine’s:
The special discounted offer for Valentine’s Day season drove a lot of footfalls to the venue. Plus, it created an instant brand connection for them as many ‘lovebirds’ enjoyed the unique experience. Most came back later during the year and turned into loyal customers.
What we loved here?
- A contextual offer that utilized the idea of spending time together;
- Unique activity and affordable pricing;
Host a Special Valentine’s Giveaway or Contest
Events needn’t just be offline. You can launch a special digital campaign, including a contest and giveaway, to grab the attention of V-Day shoppers. Announce a Valentine-themed contest that promises a lovely gift and see how people flock to improve their odds of winning.
Postable used Valentine’s as a reason to announce its special $100 giveaway that asked its subscribers to tag someone special on Instagram.
The brand integration on the Day of love was so on-point. Plus, the no-fuss, minimal-effort participation tasks (just tagging someone) would have given the brand enough boost on Valentine’s. Think of the attention and reach their Instagram would have gotten on Valentine’s — something like a lottery for a brand that sells love-themed cards and post-its.
What we loved here?
- Easy steps to enter the giveaway;
- Clever placement of the brand’s product along with the contest details;
- Useful giveaway prizes or Valentine’s day gifts would nudge users to participate.
Create and Share V-Day Gift Guides or Gifting Tips
Most people suck at picking the perfect gift. But they need to do more than goof up on Valentine’s. So, they appreciate and love a brand that gives them great gift ideas for their loved ones. Creating a Valentine’s gifting guide can be a great Valentine’s Day marketing idea. Sharing it with your subscribers to simplify their gift shopping, just like Estee Lauder did in their Valentine’s Day campaign, will earn you brownie points:
The email has a lovely vibe and shares interesting gift ideas for her. Plus, the highly contextual engraving service offered will surely make people think twice about making it extra special. The brand has also offered a ‘free gift’ to everyone who orders for Valentine, making the deal highly irresistible.
What we loved here?
- The lovely theme and vibe of the emailer;
- Contextual offer (free gift) that excites the reader to order soon.
Use Video Content For Promoting Valentine’s Offers
Video content can be a powerful tool for Valentine’s Day marketing and promoting your Valentine’s Day offers. You probably already realize the potential of a viral TikTok or Insta reel.
Consider creating a short, attention-grabbing video that showcases the feeling of love and introduces your product, deals, or V-day offers in the discussion. You can even plan an elaborate video campaign through February to give people ideas based on your brand and offers. Take the example of Woolsworth from South Africa. The brand created an aesthetic video about V-day breakfast recipes on Instagram.
The brand is a retailer known for promoting an aesthetic and ‘tasteful’ lifestyle through creative ways. The contextual video about making Valentine’s special for your significant other is a nice reminder to do something interesting. It’s like putting ideas into the viewer’s head. And imagine the love the brand received during Valentine’s week. They’ve been known to launch several food-themed promotion campaigns on social media since. You can also create similar love-themed videos as an email along with a personalized Valentine’s Day card note to your subscribers.
What we loved here?
- An aesthetic and share-worthy video that adds value to a viewer’s life;
- Subtle hints about making the Day special that might nudge users to buy something from the brand;
- An attention-grabbing video that would intrigue and invoke interest from the relevant target audience (viewers/likers of this video are the direct audiences of the brand).
Learn about video email marketing and how to leverage videos for flawless promotions.
Appreciate & Reward Your Existing Subscribers
This season is not just about gifts and sales. It is about how people celebrate Valentine’s Day together – a celebration of love and relationships. So, the good idea is to reward and shower love on your existing subscribers. You can show your gratitude, create something special (like an offer), and send it across as a love-themed email.
Take the example of American Express. They used Valentine’s as a reason to reward their subscribers with a special redemption offer:
American Express sent a special Valentine’s Day marketing email and created thematic banners on their website expressing gratitude and explaining the scheme. The members could enjoy a ‘higher’ redemption rate when they choose to redeem their reward points during Valentine’s season. Plus, the card provider gave them contextual offer options from large retailers and online stores, all highly sought after during Valentine’s season.
What we loved here?
- Contextual reason to reward and appreciate the subscriber;
- No-nonsense copywriting and marketing plan to engage existing subscribers first;
- Beautiful imagery that showcases the feeling of being gifted and loved.
Create an Exclusive Love-Themed Product
If you are extra generous during Valentine’s season and want to do something exciting, you should think of launching special Valentine’s Day gifts like a fresh collection or product. This will give you an extra reason to reach out to your subscribers.
Look at the following email example by DQ:
DQ, or Dairy Queen, is a popular Cake brand that launched a special Red Velvet Cake to celebrate Valentine’s season. An email was sent to its subscribers, thanking them for being fans and announcing a limited-time cake that looks perfect for Valentine’s. The sugar-coated email copy and imagery would have surely tempted many to make Valentine’s Day special with DQ’s cake.
What we loved here?
- Love-themed copywriting and email design;
- Great product idea with a contextual offer;
- Additional ‘ideas’ on how to make the day special (tempting users for the second time).
Try Advertising on Instagram
Instagram can be a great platform for reaching potential customers during Valentine’s season. Consider running a targeted ad campaign on the platform using eye-catching images and compelling copy to promote your Valentine’s Day marketing ideas.
You can do many creative things on Insta to grab attention, generate interest, and compel users to share photos of their V-day moments with your brand.
Take the example of Cadbury. They launched a special ‘How far will you go for love?’ campaign on Instagram for Valentine’s celebration:
The brand shared a series of short videos about ‘love and affection’ under the campaign and nudged users to share their personal love stories. The campaign was insanely successful, and Cadbury got a lot of mentions and user-generated content during Valentine’s season. No wonder the brand tops the sales charts for chocolates in several regions during Valentine’s Day.
What we loved here?
- Cute and love-themed ad campaign designed for the younger population;
- Clever product placement backed by storytelling promotion concepts.
Advertise on Dating Apps
On a day when hearts flutter, and cupid’s arrows fly, many people are swiping desperately on dating apps. Imagine as your potential customers swipe through potential matches, they find a profile that stands out, not for dating prospects or falling head over heels in love, but to find an invitation to get free rewards from your business.
That’s what Domino’s did. Domino’s Pizza added a sprinkle of savory delight to Tinder’s swipe-driven quest for love.
This wasn’t your average Valentine’s gimmick; it was a masterstroke of marketing genius that taps into the universal language of pizza love.
The brilliance of Domino’s campaign wasn’t just in its clever use of a dating app to sell pizza. It was in understanding the Valentine’s vibe – a mix of longing, playfulness, and the universal desire for a warm, cheesy slice.
But Domino’s didn’t stop there. They captured the cheesiest and sauciest flirtations and shared them across social media, magnifying their reach and connecting with audiences beyond Tinder. They understood that on Valentine’s Day, even a pizza brand can play cupid, turning the search for love into an opportunity for laughter, connection, and, of course, delicious pizza.
What we loved here?
- Connecting with the audience where they’re most active while keeping the spirit of the occasion alive;
- Adding organic social media sharing option to the campaign for going viral.
Optimize for Search Engines
Valentine’s is a great time to optimize your website for search engines. Brands use all kinds of strategies to boost their organic traffic during Valentine’s week.
There are many ways to make it happen, along with your existing Valentine’s campaigns:
- Improve internal linking. It helps navigate the user through your website, increasing the value of certain pages. Think of it as creating a series of memorable moments or experiences that keep people engaged and connected;
- Utilize real images and videos. Visual content, especially when it’s themed for Valentine’s Day, can be very effective in drawing and retaining user attention. Add visually appealing content to showcase your products. Optimize images and videos by adding keywords to file names and alt tags, compressing them for faster loading, and choosing the right dimensions can enhance user experience on your site;
- Create themed landing pages. Design landing pages specifically for Valentine’s Day, with appropriate themes and elements like hearts and cupids. After the event, you can update these pages with relevant content to keep them active for the next year;
- Social media integration. Utilize social media platforms to promote your Valentine’s Day campaigns. This not only increases your visibility but also drives traffic to your website. Remember, social media influences SEO indirectly by increasing brand exposure and traffic.
Remember, optimizing for organic reach is all about keeping your website updated. So, if we think of Valentine’s, always create unique Valentine’s categories and pages on your website and update your blog regularly with gift ideas or any other unique take on Valentine’s.
Invest in Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Campaigns
When consumers are charmed by a million ‘shiny objects’ on social media, grabbing attention is as challenging as finding the perfect Valentine’s gift. Using PPC ads can be a great way to increase your visibility and get in front of these customers.
Best Self Co used Meta PPC campaign early in January, perfectly timing it to align with the romantic vibes of Valentine’s Day. Their ads were not just about selling products; they were about creating connections.
They focused on the theme of “date night,” a concept that resonated deeply with couples seeking to enrich their relationships. Their targeting strategy was laser-focused, and they tailored their ads to speak directly to them. The result? An engaging, relatable campaign that didn’t just talk at people but talked to them about things that mattered in their lives.
What we loved here?
- Early start to the campaign, right from January, to grab attention and avoid getting stuck in Valentine’s promotion clutter;
- Targeted advertising that speaks directly to the audience and appeals to their emotions.
Leverage Influencer Partnerships
If there’s anything companies are willing to spend more and more in the last 5 years, it’s influencer marketing. More than 80% of companies had a dedicated influencer marketing budget in 2023. And it’s increasing next year.
You should consider using influencers for your Valentine’s campaign, like Hilton Hotels. They brought several influencers together and went viral on TikTok last year. Have a look:
The Tiktok looks like a mashup of different videos, styles, filters, and creators, which keeps the users hooked. The cool thing here was the gamified nature of the campaign – viewers who viewed the video till the end got a chance to win Hilton Honors Points.
Considering the 10-minute-long video went viral, it was surely an engagement win for the brand. Plus, multiple creators collaborating in this brand video made the brand appear authentic and original – a positive signal in the age of AI.
What we loved here?
- Unique idea bringing several popular creators in a single influencer campaign;
- Gamification tied to real-world rewards;
Utilize Remarketing
Remarketing during Valentine’s Day is a clever tactic to re-engage past website visitors who showed interest but didn’t make a purchase. It’s about reigniting that spark, much like rekindling a romance.
You can remind them of items they browsed, offer exclusive Valentine’s Day deals, or create urgency with limited-time offers. This targeted approach speaks directly to consumers’ interests, increasing the chances of turning their previous curiosity into a successful sale.
Here’s how you can set up a cart abandonment remarketing email campaign using Sender’s visual automation builder:
Use Interactive Content
Using interactive content ideas in Valentine’s Day marketing engages customers more deeply than in traditional ways. Think quizzes, interactive stories, or polls related to the theme of love and romance. You can use these just like Frankie & Benny did with their Instagram Valentine’s Campaign.
They invited followers to guess iconic movie scenes recreated in their posts. This wasn’t just a visual treat but an engaging quiz that sparked nostalgia and fun.
By transforming Instagram scrolling into an interactive guessing game, they memorably connected with audiences. This approach turned lurkers and passive viewers into active participants, thereby increasing engagement and deepening relationships with the followers.
What we loved here?
- Interactive quiz posts right inside Instagram feed;
- Simple execution of the idea without overcomplicating participation;
- Engaging theme of the quiz.
4 Valentine’s Day Promotion Ideas
You must be brimming with excitement looking at all the ways companies have been using to promote their product on Valentine’s. If you need more inspiration and direction, here are some ideas you can execute right away:
Bundle Deals with Existing Products
Creating bundled deals for Valentine’s Day is a smart way to offer value to customers while targeting higher sales revenue. You can combine complementary items, bestsellers, or nice-to-have novelties as bundles, turning them into an attractive Valentine’s gift hamper.
For example, if you’re a food brand, say a chocolate seller, you can pair your best-selling chocolates with other items like romantic candles and heart-shaped confectioneries.
The bundles can be attractively packaged with Valentine’s themes, making them perfect gift options. This will not only increase the perceived value but also introduce customers to a wider range of products.
Promote Free Shipping by Valentine’s Day
Offering free shipping with a guaranteed Valentine’s Day delivery is an effective promotion strategy. It encourages timely purchases and alleviates the worry about gifts arriving late for the special day.
You can prominently display the offer across the website and in all of your marketing communications. This way, your customers will feel more confident in making purchases, leading to increased sales during the Valentine’s season. Plus, speedy delivery will promise customer satisfaction, which is crucial for maintaining loyalty and positive word-of-mouth.
Create Valentine’s Day Gift Lists
Creating curated gift lists for Valentine’s Day on your website and promoting them through newsletters is a great idea to attract potential buyers. These lists can guide customers to the most suitable gifts for their loved ones based on various categories or interests.
For example, as a bookseller, you can create a “Books of Love” gift guide for Valentine’s Day. Categorizing books based on romantic themes, like “Classic Love Stories”, “Modern Romance”, and “Love in Mystery” will tempt buyers to check these books.
You can also categorize gifts (like for him, for her, or by interest) to help reduce decision fatigue and make recommendations more relevant to the shopper. These guides can be personalized based on your product range and customer preferences to help buyers find the perfect gifts for their partners, enhancing their shopping experience.
Promote Seasonal Products
Promoting products specifically designed for Valentine’s Day, such as limited-edition items or special editions with a romantic theme, can attract customers looking for unique and timely gifts.
You must’ve seen many jewelry brands launch a limited-edition collection of heart-themed jewelry for Valentine’s Day.
You can also think of a limited-time Valentine’s collection from your store consisting of multiple products that fit right in the season of love and gifting. Limited-edition products create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, encouraging quicker purchase decisions.
Promote your collection through social media and email marketing to appeal to customers seeking special gifts that symbolize love and affection. This will help you stand out, appear helpful, and strengthen your brand image.
Key Takeaways: Best Valentine’s Day Ideas
When thinking about Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns, you need to be creative in terms of sale offers, positioning, and the theme of your campaigns. Here are some tips to help you brainstorm better and make the most of your Valentine’s Day campaigns:
- Plan your Valentine’s campaign around emotions and feelings;
- Create a month-long campaign to nurture leads during the days leading to Valentine’s, on V-day, and after Valentine’s Day;
- Use audience and industry-specific Valentine’s ideas for your campaigns;
- Pay special attention to the creatives and copy of your Valentine’s ad and email campaigns.
