The commercialisation of commemorative days means that marketers are always on the lookout for opportunities to attract customers by offering specials, promotions, and other deals. Valentine’s Day is no exception. Focal Points identified and analysed key trends in the media for the month leading up to 14 February 2019 to see which industries were the most proactive with their offerings.
Can You Experience the Love Tonight?
Picodi, an international e-commerce company providing discount coupons for online shops, revealed in a survey that South Africans spend an average of R744 on Valentine’s Day, with men averaging R1 027 and women averaging R461.1 But what are people spending their money on?
According to the 2019 Mastercard Love Index report, which analysed non-cash transactions from 11 to 14 February in the years from 2016 to 2018, South Africans prefer to spoil their loved ones by splashing out on experiences rather than buying tangible gifts. Travel and accommodation collectively comprised 65% of the total money spent during the Valentine’s Day period, while dining out contributed more than 80% of the number of transactions.2
“Spoiling your loved one on Valentine’s Day shows no signs of slowing down in South Africa,” said Mark Elliott from Mastercard Southern Africa. “Our data also [highlight] the move towards the ‘experience economy’, where consumers are choosing to create lasting experiences and happy memories rather than purchasing material gifts.”3 This seems to be a good strategy: both men and women would rather spend quality time with their loved ones than receive a gift4, while more than 60% of influencers prefer experiences to gifts.5
Bearing in mind that cash transactions during the period are not accounted for, it still seems that South African consumers’ preference is clear. But what about marketers? Is there a greater focus on advertising for products and services or on events and experiences? To help answer this question, Focal Points analysed editorial media from 15 January up to 14 February 2019, during which 2 122 mentions of Valentine’s Day promotions were identified.
Love Will Come Event-ually
Interestingly, 50% of all media coverage during the period advertised events on and around Valentine’s Day. The three most prominent types of experiences that were featured in the media were: getaways, dining out, and going to the movies.
Traveling:
Accommodation and travel, whether by plane or train, accounted for approximately 67% of the total 2018 Valentine’s Day expenditure. Here, too, we see the preference for lavishing loved ones with special experiences. Large volumes of media mentions made reference to romantic getaways - 39% of the experience coverage.
Dining Out:
Going out for dinner is a hugely popular romantic idea. More than 80% of transactions on Valentine’s Day in 2018 were for restaurants, and that trend shows no signs of slowing down.6 29% of the experience-related coverage concerned dining out.
Movie Night:
Date night at the cinema is also a fairly popular way to spend Valentine’s Day, and this was reflected in the coverage, with movie night being the third most prominent media trend within experiences. 25% of the coverage pertaining to experiences trumpeted a movie night - for couples or singles.
The Products of Love
Just as there are fewer purchases of gifts and less money spent on them, marketing campaigns for products contributed fewer mentions than event campaigns. 40% of the total Valentine’s Day-related coverage. In a highly competitive race, the three most prominent types of products that were featured in the media were: flowers, wine, and chocolates.
Flowers:
Flowers are probably the go-to gift on Valentine’s Day. According to the Picodi survey, 65% of women would like to receive flowers on this auspicious day. This was reflected in the media coverage, as it featured more prominently than any of the other product promotions. Mentions of flowers appeared 396 times during the research period, constituting 34% of the product-related coverage.
Chocolates:
Chocolates are also heavily associated with the day of love. 33% of the media marketing products endorsed chocolates - a significant proportion, and one that makes sense, given that South Africa is the largest importer of chocolate on the continent.7
Wine:
33% of the product promotions created hype around wine. Looking to take advantage of singles celebrating the holiday by themselves, the coverage included many references to unattached people enjoying a glass of wine or two.
Conclusion
Marketing campaigns for events versus those for products were both predominant in the month leading up to Valentine’s Day. In the end, event-related campaigns gained greater media traction than gift specials and promotions.