3 Tips for Valentine’s Day Online Marketing Campaigns

Valentine’s Day is few days away and consumers across the US and EU are ramping up romantic gift shopping, both offline and online. For merchants, the time window before Valentine’s is a huge opportunity to hit sales targets. After all, it’s the next peak sales season after Christmas and New Year’s.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Americans spent $19.7bn in 2016 on Valentine’s gifts and activities, with the lion’s share of that going towards jewelry. Total spending on Valentines Day this year in the UK is set to exceed £700 million. The average spend among those celebrating the day is set to be £22.58, with those in Scotland (£31), London (£26) and the North West (£23) spending the most.

About 79 per cent of people in Thailand are planning to buy a gift for their Valentine, followed by 72 per cent in China and 65 per cent in Hong Kong, according to the Consumer Purchasing Priorities survey by MasterCard in APAC. RTB House, a global company providing state-of-the-art retargeting technology, analyzed hundreds of advertising campaigns (run on over 40 markets). It found the top 3 most successful retargeting tactics for retailers and e-shops looking to leverage the full potential of Valentine’s Day.

Tip 1: Go For The Bullseye with Cupid’s Arrow

Researches shows that in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, many shoppers leave retail sites before actually making a purchase. This is where the competition between e-shops begins and where quick, individually tailored campaigns are vital to success. Personalization is especially important when it comes down to rapid decisions of purchasing intention.

No matter what scale your campaign, Valentine’s ads should have a strong individual approach, tailored to the user. Find users who were interested in buying jewelry, checked out your offers, but haven’t finalized a transaction yet.

By being quickly responsive sending a personalized message, merchants can better re-engage users at exactly the right time. Such a short opportunity window of buying and selling requires pinpoint accuracy that speaks directly to each person.

Taking it a step further, think about differentiating between visitor value to your site during Valentine’s. With retargeting you can optimize your campaign by setting higher bids for ads displayed to buyers (users who are already past customers), and lower bids for those who expressed interest but have lower potential to convert into sales.

Tip #2 Make Life Easier For Frantic Lovers

NRF data shows that online Valentine’s Day shoppers are a marketers’ dream, willing to spend more on gifts and romantic activities. According to their research, online V-Day customers are willing to spend $117.71 on average, compared to $73.75 offline.

In the UK, e-commerce is likely to be valued most by shoppers looking for distinctive gifts (such as handmade products) or for arranging deliveries of gifts such as flower bouquets. In 2016 14% of retail sales were made online, according to ONS (Office for National Statistics) data.

Make it easier for these shoppers to find the perfect gift by guiding customers to best-sellers, unique discounts or limited offers. Your creatives should also influence the decision making process.

For example, displaying a guaranteed date of delivery on the banner could be a game-changing detail. A special logo or layout can remind your customers that the big day is coming, or a counter might show how many days left until Valentine’s. A successful Valentine’s banner is one that puts your brand, your offer and Valentine’s urgency top-of-mind.

Tip #3 Help The Last-Minute Cupid

Late bird shoppers make up a majority of Valentine’s gifters. Prepare a special advertising campaign targeted at internet users who haven’t realized that “V-day is tomorrow!“ and use an online channel to drive up sales.

If you have a brick-and-mortar shop, use online banners near V-day to push “traditional“ purchasing in-stores and guarantee products in-stock. Show your potential buyers the ring they were looking for, and direct them to a consultant, or offer a discount for offline purchase.

Displaying a map, store hours, and the nearest store location on the creative helps customers have a backup rush plan and reminds them that you’re there for them.

Daniel Surmacz COO, RTB House