February ❤️🔥: A month full of love, lust and plenty of lighthearted Valentine’s Day campaigns – and to celebrate it, we’ve put together a round up of our favourite ones to brighten up your afternoon. So grab a cuppa and check out the next Digital PR Spotlight of the year.
Using events like Valentine’s Day as a hook is a great way to get your brand seen and heard by a wider audience but coming up with a unique campaign for the big day can be an annual challenge and one that many brands fail at.
We’ve looked at what these brands in particular did, why their campaigns worked and the coverage they gained as a result.
Lego: Pop up flower shop
Everyone loves flowers – right? And what better than a flower bouquet that you can build yourself AND keep forever. LEGO wanted to do something different in the lead up to Valentine’s Day 2024 and put together a pop up LEGO florist at their Battersea Power Station store. The Florist featured a mix of real flowers, along with LEGO flowers and botanicals, all built by LEGO employees.
LEGO enlisted Made in Chelsea stars and celebrity newlyweds, Sophie Habboo and Jamie Laing, to help celebrate the launch, which really helped boost coverage for the brand. Not only were journalists talking about the brand and its new products, but they also discussed their own relationship and shared advice on love and how they keep things fresh.
The quirky stunt resulted in a nice mix of highly relevant top tier coverage. The campaign secured over 30 pieces of coverage across national and regional media to trade and lifestyle titles, which is lower than expected. Still, it did generate a big buzz on social media – mainly TikTok and Instagram – due to its quirkiness and shareability.
Standout coverage
- Daily Express (DA 93): Sophie Habboo reveals how she keeps things fresh with Jamie Laing ahead of Valentine’s Day
- Daily Mirror (DA 94): Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing reveals how he keeps marriage ‘fresh and exciting’
- Ideal Home (DA 67): LEGO flowers are rising in popularity – 5 ways to display these playful blooms in style
- Daily Star (DA 82): Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo share their secrets to a happy marriage
- Toy World Magazine (DA 56): LEGO suggests roses for Valentine’s Day
- Bricks Fanz (DA 37): LEGO Botanicals take over Battersea store
Why it worked
Firstly: relevance and timing. The timing was on point with this campaign; a quirky stunt featuring a celebrity couple in the lead up to one of the biggest events in the PR calendar.
It was also highly relevant due it happening ahead of Valentine’s Day week, in a busy area of London. The topic of love – and how to stay in a happy marriage – is something that will always be popular.
While the help of celebrity newlyweds, Jamie and Sophie, did create a buzz – particularly on social media – and provided a hook for the media, they may have hindered the campaign slightly and taken away from the point of the pop up stall, which was ultimately launched to promote LEGO’s bouquet of roses. The bulk of the coverage focused on the celebrity couple, and the marriage tips they shared, rather than the pop up shop, which was still mentioned but not as the main focus.
Lastly, this campaign was ideal for social media as it was visual, bold and memorable. With plenty of people rushing to the store to get selfies with the couple and share hundreds of videos on the pop up shop in general, the brand gets what they want; awareness and a buzz as well as thousands of likes and audience engagement.
Greggs: Nothing says ‘I love you’ like a Greggs bake tray
Greggs knows exactly what the people want and how to run a relevant, timely and funny PR campaign – and their Valentine’s Day 2024 one was no exception. The brand launched a tray of popular Greggs bakes via Uber Eats for pastry lovers at select stores around the UK. The Bake Tray included everything from their famous sausage rolls, vegan sausage rolls and steak bakes to a chicken bake and a sausage, bean and cheese melt – all for £10.
It was available exclusively on Uber Eats and only at a small number of shops, which meant it was hard to get hold of – automatically building hype around the product. It also gave those who wanted something a bit different for their partners the opportunity to think outside the box, and was perfect for journalists everywhere writing gift guides and looking for something other than jewellery, chocolates and scented candles.
The campaign has secured nearly 300 pieces of coverage in a variety of titles from national and regional media to lifestyle titles and blogs. It was also used in numerous gift guides too as well as big talking points on national TV on the likes of Good Morning Britain and This Morning.
Standout coverage
- Metro (DA 89): Greggs launches giant Valentine’s bake tray for two – because chocolate is so cliche
- The Sun (DA 90): Tray it like you mean it: Greggs launch special ‘Bake Tray’ for Valentine’s Day – but there’s a catch
- Daily Mail (DA 92): Uber Eats and Greggs couple up to create ‘Bake Tray’ for Valentine’s Day
- GoodTo (DA 69): 10 things I’ve learned about love after 25 years of marriage
- The Tab (DA 76): Actually good Valentine’s gifts guaranteed to make them fall in love with you (fast)
- Manchester Evening News (DA 89): Greggs launch Valentine’s Bake Tray that can be delivered to your door
- Chronicle Live (DA 79): Greggs Valentine’s Bake Tray to be available from two Newcastle stores as locations confirmed
Why it worked
Two big brands teamed up for this one, which meant it had a lot of power and trust as both brands are widely recognised and well known. The limited edition aspect and the fact that it was only launched in select stores around the country made it a huge talking point and sent it viral. People on social media expressed frustration at not being able to get the tray, while others scrambled to pick one up.
The regional aspect helped boost the virality of this campaign too – journalists are more likely to cover stories that are relevant to their local audience and with 10 major cities included in this campaign, it was no surprise that it secured plenty of regional coverage in titles like Chronicle Live, the Manchester Evening News, London Evening Standard and Glasgow Times.
Although the regional angle was strong – the national angle was even stronger, with most major newspapers and broadcasters covering the campaign. Still, one could argue it’s not difficult to get coverage if you’re a brand as well known as Greggs and Uber Eats.
Lastly, the product itself was quirky, shareable and fun, which made it perfect for Valentine’s Day gift guides, reviewers and social media influencers looking for engagement and something a little different to treat themselves or their loved ones.
Scrap Car Comparison: Scrap Your Ex
Scrap Car Comparison, one of the country’s first comparison websites for scrap vehicle prices, offers free instant scrap and salvage quotes for UK residents looking to scrap their car. To boost brand awareness and links to the website, the comparison site came up with a really funny Valentine’s Day campaign and offered people the chance to ‘scrap their ex’.
Those unlucky in love could fill out the form on the landing page, telling them what their ex was called and why they want their ex ‘scrapped’ this Valentine’s Day. Those selected will receive photographic evidence of the deed once it’s happened, providing the ultimate closure.
This has gained nearly 100 pieces of coverage both nationally and internationally, due to the fact that the comparison site opened it up to a global audience.
Standout coverage
- Forbes (DA 94): Love hurts: Exact revenge by crushing a car in your ex’s name on Valentine’s Day
- Southern Living (DA 85): Send your ex to the scrap heap this Valentine’s Day
- Yahoo (DA 91): Send your ex to the scrap heap this Valentine’s Day
- Daily Express (DA 93): Date with the crusher – scrap yard lets drivers add name of ex-partner before it’s wrecked
- Bored Panda (DA 85): Here are the funniest Valentine’s Day campaigns
- Driven Car Guide (DA 53): Scrap your ex: The ultimate car-tharsis this Valentine’s Day
Why it worked
The idea of being able to scrap an ex, particularly on Valentine’s Day, was genius. It had humour at the centre of the campaign, which not only caught the eye of the media but also helped humanise the brand. It’s also very shareable too, which is great for the media as they’re always looking for stories that drive clicks, spark discussions and boost engagement.
Seasonal marketing can be very effective, if you can get the tone and angle right, which Scrap Car Comparison executed perfectly. While Valentine’s Day is popular, the anti-Valentine’s Day theme is arguably more popular, particularly with those who aren’t feeling the love, as it makes a great alternative angle.
Lastly, as the campaign focuses on two popular topics – Valentine’s Day and cars, Scrap Car Comparison were able to target a wide range of publications, potentially opening the brand up to a whole new audience. The car scrapping comparison site also opened it up to an international audience by offering global lovers the chance to scrap their ex. This meant they were able to land links in the national press like the Daily Express and international press like Forbes, Fox News and even motoring sites like Driven Car Guide.
