When I was in grade school, Valentine\u2019s Day was one of my favorite holidays.<\/p>\n\n
There were cards. There was the possibility that your crush actually liked you back. And, there was the chocolate \u2014 so much chocolate.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n Little did I know that the roots of this holiday bore little-to-no resemblance to my childhood experience of it. We were never taught that Valentine’s Day actually originated with an arguably gruesome ancient festival<\/a>, where there was no chocolate or exchange of cute, red-and-pink cards.<\/p>\n So how the heck did we get from an ancient Roman festival to a holiday that compels many of us to spend no less than $185 on celebrating it<\/a>? That story, it turns out, is thousands of years old \u2014 but we\u2019ll try to condense it.<\/p>\n Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n How Valentine\u2019s Day Began and Evolved<\/a> <\/a> <\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The roots of Valentine\u2019s Day are cited by some sources to lie in the ancient Roman festival Lupercalia<\/a>, largely because it took place annually on February 15 \u2014 the day after what is today the observed date of Valentine\u2019s Day \u2014 and involved some very primitive forms of courtship and matchmaking.<\/p>\n But it was also ancient Rome that saw the famous execution of a St. Valentine on February 14, around 278 A.D. According to legend<\/a>, he wrote a letter on the night before his execution to his jailer\u2019s daughter, whom he had befriended, and signed it, \u201cFrom Your Valentine.\u201d<\/p>\n Over two centuries later, Pope Gelasius ordered that Lupercalia be replaced with the February 14 observation of St. Valentine\u2019s Day. That set the tone, some believe, for the day\u2019s forthcoming tradition of exchanging \u201clove messages<\/a>,\u201d perhaps in remembrance of St. Valentine\u2019s farewell letter.<\/p>\n The Romans are also credited with constructing the idea of Cupid<\/a> \u2014 a god of love often depicted with arrows that, as the legend goes, inflict love upon those who are hit by them. The Roman version of Cupid was adapted from Eros<\/a>, a god of passion and fertility in Greek mythology.<\/p>\n It seems that no one is quite sure when Cupid became associated with Valentine\u2019s Day, but the fact that both have origins in ancient Roman culture suggests that there may have been some very early overlap between the two.<\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n When NPR\u2019s Arnie Seipel set out to explore the history of Valentine\u2019s Day, he found that it first became romanticized by classic authors<\/a> like William Shakespeare in the late 16th century, and Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1300s.<\/p>\n Dartmouth English Professor Peter Travis cites Chaucer\u2019s epic poem The Parliament of Fowls<\/em>, which was one of the first literary references to St. Valentine\u2019s Day, or \u201cSeynt Valentynes Day,\u201d as Chaucer spelled it. One such mention is made, Travis explains<\/a>, alongside the line, \u201cNow welcom somer, with thy sonne sonne, That hast this wintres weders over-shake.\u201d<\/p>\n In other words, when we celebrate love in the coldest depths of winter \u2014 in February, for instance \u2014 it\u2019s so heartwarming that it makes summer feel less far away.<\/p>\n Some literary historians credit Shakespeare for the permeation of love into popular culture with his composition of \u201cSonnet 18<\/a>\u201d \u2014 said to be written between 1593 and 1601<\/a> \u2014 a.k.a., \u201cShall I compare thee to a summer\u2019s day?\u201d It\u2019s unclear when or how this particular work became associated with Valentine\u2019s Day, but like Chaucer, Shakespeare compares love to the seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile summer days may fade and fall into\u201d colder months, writes Shakespeare analyst Lee Jamieson<\/a>, \u201chis love is eternal.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, Saint Valentine\u2019s Day is alluded to outright in Hamlet<\/em> \u2014 written between 1599 and 1601<\/a> \u2014 when the character Ophelia recites a song<\/a> about a young lady’\u2019 experience with the holiday, which includes lyrics like, \u201cTomorrow is Saint Valentine\u2019s day,\u201d and, \u201cTo be your Valentine.\u201d<\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n By the 1700s, it\u2019s said that Valentine\u2019s Day made its way from Europe to the United States, which aligns with the establishment of the North American colonies between 1607-1770.<\/p>\n It became traditional, according to HISTORY.com<\/a>, \u201cfor friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes.\u201d<\/p>\n That was more common in England, however, where the Industrial Revolution began earlier and eventually included the production of \u201cfancy valentines [that] were extremely expensive to import<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n I learned that one American woman, Esther Howland, was so intrigued when she received her first English Valentine’s greeting in 1847 that she became infatuated with the idea of manufacturing them in the U.S.<\/p>\n She was an early entrepreneur and instinctively believed that there could be an American market for these formal, English-style greetings.<\/p>\n After procuring materials like high-quality paper and lace from her father, a stationer, she created what many credit as the earliest American Valentine\u2019s Day greeting cards.<\/p>\n Today, Howland is still honored with the nickname \u201cMother of the American Valentine<\/a>,\u201d with many citing her work as the start of a multi-million-dollar industry<\/a>. But it didn\u2019t happen overnight \u2014 let\u2019s take a look at how her work paved the way.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Charles II of Sweden begins communicating with flowers by assigning a different message to each type. This tradition allegedly assigned love and romance to the red rose<\/a>, setting the stage for this flower to be exchanged during the later, commercialized era of Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n However, it remains unclear if a specific brand is responsible for first marketing flowers as part of Valentine\u2019s Day gift-giving.<\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n In England, where Valentine\u2019s Day had already been celebrated with the exchange of gifts and cards for many years, the Cadbury chocolate company sold the first heart-shaped box of chocolates<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Massachusetts, Howland produces a dozen sample Valentine\u2019s Day cards and sends them off with her brother to distribute during a sales trip for their father\u2019s company \u2014 S.A. Howland & Sons<\/a> \u2014 hoping to earn $200. Instead, he returns with 25X that amount<\/a>, indicating a much higher-than-expected demand.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example of a card Howland created around this time:<\/p>\n\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The first print advertisement for Howland\u2019s cards appears in the Worcester Spy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Conversation candies were developed when Daniel Chase, brother of New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) founder Oliver Chase, used vegetable dye to print words onto confections<\/a>.<\/p>\n Howland incorporates her booming card business as the New England Valentine Company<\/a>, operating out of her home via an assembly line that was largely composed of her friends.<\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The New England Valentine Company moves operations from Howland\u2019s home to a Main Street factory in Worcester, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n That same year, the company published the Valentine Verse Book<\/a>, which contained 131 \u201cverses\u201d that people could cut out and paste inside of cards that came without a greeting \u2014 or those with a greeting that the buyer didn\u2019t like.<\/p>\n Howland sells the New England Valentine Company to the George C. Whitney Company<\/a>.<\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Whitney has acquired at least 10 competitors, including Berlin and Jones, which had become New York City\u2019s \u201clargest manufacturer of Valentines<\/a>.\u201d Ten years later, the company moves to large-scale headquarters on Worcester\u2019s Union Street<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Hershey Chocolate Company was founded, bringing what was previously \u201ca European luxury product<\/a>\u201d to the U.S.<\/p>\n Conversation candies become heart-shaped<\/a>.<\/p>\n American Greetings<\/a> is founded, eventually becoming one of Whitney\u2019s chief competitors.<\/p>\n\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The Hershey Chocolate Company introduces its Hershey Kisses candy product. Interestingly enough, the product was allegedly named Kisses<\/a> because whenever a piece of chocolate was dropped on the conveyor belt at the Hershey factory, it sounded like a kiss.<\/p>\n\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n That January, a massive fire destroys much of Whitney\u2019s headquarters. However, most of the Valentine\u2019s Day products had already been shipped<\/a> for the season, having little impact on that particular holiday.<\/p>\n\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n That same year, Hallmark is founded<\/a>. Meanwhile, 1910 also saw the creation of Florists\u2019 Telegraph Delivery<\/a> \u2014 today known as FTD \u2014 which pioneered the remote ordering and delivery of flowers, providing a way to send them to far-away loved ones.<\/p>\n Hallmark produces its first Valentine\u2019s Day card<\/a>.<\/p>\n The practice of schoolchildren<\/a> passing out Valentines and candy to their classmates has become widely popular. Producers of Valentines’ started selling packs of 25 for kids to purchase and hand out.<\/p>\n\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The De Beers diamond company launched its \u201cA Diamond is Forever<\/a>\u201d campaign, sending the message that gifting high-end jewelry can be used as an expression of love.<\/p>\n In the \u201880s companies like Hallmark began launching more Valentine\u2019s Day related commercials. In 1985, one commercial, which dubs Hallmark as \u201cThe Valentine\u2019s Store,\u201d shows off all of the cards and heart-shaped products you can buy for your loved one in their locations.<\/p>\n As if Kisses weren\u2019t romantic enough based on their name, Hershey\u2019s enforced them as a Valentine\u2019s Day staple with one slight design tweak. The company began packaging Kisses candies in pink and red foil<\/a> specifically for Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n As marketers continued to embrace new media, we saw an influx of high-quality and insanely high-budgeted commercials mark the holiday from the \u201880s until now. One of the most iconic and beautifully shot commercials was a mini-romance drama called \u201cLe Film,\u201d promoting Chanel No. 5 perfume.<\/p>\n In the ad, a man falls in love and runs away with a starlet, played by Nicole Kidman. In the end, she returns back to her life of fame. As she walks down the red carpet, he notes all the things he\u2019ll remember about her, including the smell of her Chanel No. 5 perfume.<\/p>\n Valentine\u2019s Day begins to go digital. On February 14, 2005, YouTube \u2014 which originated as an online dating site \u2014 made its debut. Co-founder Steve Chen still credits its invention as the brainchild of \u201cthree guys on Valentine\u2019s Day that had nothing to do<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Ride sharing company Uber rolls out \u201cRomance On Demand<\/a>,\u201d allowing users to send flowers on Valentine\u2019s Day via the app. This initiative would continue to progress, with on-demand skywriting<\/a> becoming available the following year.<\/p>\n\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n NetBase, a social media analytics platform, releases a Valentine\u2019s Day Sentiment Analysis<\/a>, measuring how people engage with and discuss the holiday on social media.<\/p>\n In total, it measured nine million mentions of Valentine\u2019s Day, with the vast majority of them mentioning a specific brand \u2014 Netflix. The top hashtag was #happyvalentinesday.<\/p>\n In the earlier years of the Google Doodle, Google used Valentine\u2019s Day to spread awareness of a rare species.<\/p>\n In 2017, a series of Google Doodles shown in the days leading up to Valentine\u2019s Day highlighted the stories of pangolins, the only mammal species with scales, as they give each other Valentine\u2019s Day gifts or serenade their mates.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s one example:<\/p>\n\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n While, at this point, Google didn\u2019t need to market themselves with Doodles, I think this shows an early example of a brand that used its platform to creatively market another cause on the holiday.<\/p>\n By 2018, Valentine\u2019s Day marketing campaigns have gone completely digital, with a particularly strong presence on social media.<\/p>\n With these new opportunities, I love that smaller companies that don\u2019t have Hallmark\u2019s budget can easily spread awareness of their own brands during the holiday.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s one example of an Instagram post that highlights a fine Italian restaurant ahead of Valentine\u2019s Day:<\/p>\n While these real dogs mimicking Lady and the Tramp grab attention \u2014 especially from the animal lovers on Instagram \u2014 this post\u2019s caption encouraged audiences to interact with the brand.<\/p>\n Amazon celebrates its employees who have met and fallen in love while working for the company. In this cute short, we follow the love story of two Amazon robots, but the conclusion points to the real people whose love stories were written at Amazon.<\/p>\n Instead of pushing sales, this ad takes a moment to reveal the humans behind the marketplace we all know so well. The human touch of this ad does wonders for the rapport of the company while not promoting anything in particular.<\/p>\n The COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> prevents many couples from going out to celebrate Valentine\u2019s Day this year and the disrupted supply chains make it difficult to produce vast quantities of traditional gifts. So companies have to find different ways to reach their audience this holiday season.<\/p>\n I think this video ad from The Body Shop really struck a chord with how most of us were feeling by February 2021, after nearly a year of living at home \u2014 with lives that had become overwhelmingly digital.<\/p>\n Their take on self-love presents a different side of love than the romance we generally think of when we think of Valentine\u2019s.<\/p>\n How we do love has changed a lot in the 21st century, especially with the rise of dating apps. I love this campaign from Hinge \u2014 one of the most popular dating apps \u2014 that acknowledges that a growing population of single parents are still looking for love but may find it difficult to do so while caring for their children.<\/p>\n\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Tapping into this audience segment, Hinge offers a promo of $100 for childcare so single parents can go on a Valentine\u2019s date.<\/p>\n Another twist on Valentine\u2019s Day growing in popularity is understanding \u201clove\u201d in a broader way than just romance. The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) from Singapore uses the holiday to promote giving to and volunteering with their organization.<\/p>\n While Valentine\u2019s Day continues to be a super popular holiday that sees high ad spend and Americans shelling out $27.5 billion<\/a>, I think what marks the present is that people recognize the diversity of ways it can be celebrated (and marketed).<\/p>\n For example, this TikTok video shows how to make a meaningful date night in for Valentine\u2019s Day on a budget:<\/p>\n And Dot\u2019s Market, a grocery chain located in Ohio, offers discounts with Valentine\u2019s marketing, even though the food they\u2019re promoting has no traditional connection to the holiday.<\/p>\n\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Finally, UberEats continues to make Valentine\u2019s Day as convenient as possible. Combining the advantages of digital with real-world gifts, customers can shop for their selection of flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals, and more to send gifts to their sweethearts or to create a romantic night.<\/p>\n\n
\n A Brief Timeline of Valentine\u2019s Day Marketing<\/a>
\n What Marketers Can Learn From Valentine\u2019s Day Marketing<\/a> <\/p>\nHow Valentine\u2019s Day Began and Evolved<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Ancient Rome<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
Shakespeare (and Chaucer) in Love<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
Chaucer<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Shakespeare<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The 17th Century and Beyond<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
A Brief Timeline of Valentine\u2019s Day Marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1714<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1822<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
1849<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1850<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1866<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
1870<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1879<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
1880 – 1881<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1888<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
1894<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1902<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1906<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1907<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1910<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1913<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1930s<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1948<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
1985<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1986<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2004<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2005<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2013<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2016<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
2017<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2018<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2020<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2021<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2022<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2023<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2024-Present<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nBy the 1700s, it\u2019s said that Valentine\u2019s Day made its way from Europe to the United States, which aligns with the establishment of the North American colonies between 1607-1770.<\/p>\nIt became traditional, according to HISTORY.com<\/a>, \u201cfor friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes.\u201d<\/p>\nThat was more common in England, however, where the Industrial Revolution began earlier and eventually included the production of \u201cfancy valentines [that] were extremely expensive to import<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\nI learned that one American woman, Esther Howland, was so intrigued when she received her first English Valentine’s greeting in 1847 that she became infatuated with the idea of manufacturing them in the U.S.<\/p>\nShe was an early entrepreneur and instinctively believed that there could be an American market for these formal, English-style greetings.<\/p>\nAfter procuring materials like high-quality paper and lace from her father, a stationer, she created what many credit as the earliest American Valentine\u2019s Day greeting cards.<\/p>\nToday, Howland is still honored with the nickname \u201cMother of the American Valentine<\/a>,\u201d with many citing her work as the start of a multi-million-dollar industry<\/a>. But it didn\u2019t happen overnight \u2014 let\u2019s take a look at how her work paved the way.<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/p>\nA Brief Timeline of Valentine\u2019s Day Marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\n1714<\/strong><\/h3>\nCharles II of Sweden begins communicating with flowers by assigning a different message to each type. This tradition allegedly assigned love and romance to the red rose<\/a>, setting the stage for this flower to be exchanged during the later, commercialized era of Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\nHowever, it remains unclear if a specific brand is responsible for first marketing flowers as part of Valentine\u2019s Day gift-giving.<\/p>\n1822<\/strong><\/h3>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nIn England, where Valentine\u2019s Day had already been celebrated with the exchange of gifts and cards for many years, the Cadbury chocolate company sold the first heart-shaped box of chocolates<\/a>.<\/p>\n1849<\/strong><\/h3>\nIn Massachusetts, Howland produces a dozen sample Valentine\u2019s Day cards and sends them off with her brother to distribute during a sales trip for their father\u2019s company \u2014 S.A. Howland & Sons<\/a> \u2014 hoping to earn $200. Instead, he returns with 25X that amount<\/a>, indicating a much higher-than-expected demand.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s an example of a card Howland created around this time:<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n1850<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe first print advertisement for Howland\u2019s cards appears in the Worcester Spy<\/a>.<\/p>\n1866<\/strong><\/h3>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nConversation candies were developed when Daniel Chase, brother of New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) founder Oliver Chase, used vegetable dye to print words onto confections<\/a>.<\/p>\n1870<\/strong><\/h3>\nHowland incorporates her booming card business as the New England Valentine Company<\/a>, operating out of her home via an assembly line that was largely composed of her friends.<\/p>\n1879<\/strong><\/h3>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nThe New England Valentine Company moves operations from Howland\u2019s home to a Main Street factory in Worcester, Massachusetts.<\/p>\nThat same year, the company published the Valentine Verse Book<\/a>, which contained 131 \u201cverses\u201d that people could cut out and paste inside of cards that came without a greeting \u2014 or those with a greeting that the buyer didn\u2019t like.<\/p>\n1880 – 1881<\/strong><\/h3>\nHowland sells the New England Valentine Company to the George C. Whitney Company<\/a>.<\/p>\n1888<\/strong><\/h3>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nWhitney has acquired at least 10 competitors, including Berlin and Jones, which had become New York City\u2019s \u201clargest manufacturer of Valentines<\/a>.\u201d Ten years later, the company moves to large-scale headquarters on Worcester\u2019s Union Street<\/a>.<\/p>\n1894<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe Hershey Chocolate Company was founded, bringing what was previously \u201ca European luxury product<\/a>\u201d to the U.S.<\/p>\n1902<\/strong><\/h3>\nConversation candies become heart-shaped<\/a>.<\/p>\n1906<\/strong><\/h3>\nAmerican Greetings<\/a> is founded, eventually becoming one of Whitney\u2019s chief competitors.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n1907<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe Hershey Chocolate Company introduces its Hershey Kisses candy product. Interestingly enough, the product was allegedly named Kisses<\/a> because whenever a piece of chocolate was dropped on the conveyor belt at the Hershey factory, it sounded like a kiss.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n1910<\/strong><\/h3>\nThat January, a massive fire destroys much of Whitney\u2019s headquarters. However, most of the Valentine\u2019s Day products had already been shipped<\/a> for the season, having little impact on that particular holiday.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nThat same year, Hallmark is founded<\/a>. Meanwhile, 1910 also saw the creation of Florists\u2019 Telegraph Delivery<\/a> \u2014 today known as FTD \u2014 which pioneered the remote ordering and delivery of flowers, providing a way to send them to far-away loved ones.<\/p>\n1913<\/strong><\/h3>\nHallmark produces its first Valentine\u2019s Day card<\/a>.<\/p>\n1930s<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe practice of schoolchildren<\/a> passing out Valentines and candy to their classmates has become widely popular. Producers of Valentines’ started selling packs of 25 for kids to purchase and hand out.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n1948<\/strong><\/h3>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nThe De Beers diamond company launched its \u201cA Diamond is Forever<\/a>\u201d campaign, sending the message that gifting high-end jewelry can be used as an expression of love.<\/p>\n1985<\/strong><\/h3>\nIn the \u201880s companies like Hallmark began launching more Valentine\u2019s Day related commercials. In 1985, one commercial, which dubs Hallmark as \u201cThe Valentine\u2019s Store,\u201d shows off all of the cards and heart-shaped products you can buy for your loved one in their locations.<\/p>\n1986<\/strong><\/h3>\nAs if Kisses weren\u2019t romantic enough based on their name, Hershey\u2019s enforced them as a Valentine\u2019s Day staple with one slight design tweak. The company began packaging Kisses candies in pink and red foil<\/a> specifically for Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n2004<\/strong><\/h3>\nAs marketers continued to embrace new media, we saw an influx of high-quality and insanely high-budgeted commercials mark the holiday from the \u201880s until now. One of the most iconic and beautifully shot commercials was a mini-romance drama called \u201cLe Film,\u201d promoting Chanel No. 5 perfume.<\/p>\nIn the ad, a man falls in love and runs away with a starlet, played by Nicole Kidman. In the end, she returns back to her life of fame. As she walks down the red carpet, he notes all the things he\u2019ll remember about her, including the smell of her Chanel No. 5 perfume.<\/p>\n2005<\/strong><\/h3>\nValentine\u2019s Day begins to go digital. On February 14, 2005, YouTube \u2014 which originated as an online dating site \u2014 made its debut. Co-founder Steve Chen still credits its invention as the brainchild of \u201cthree guys on Valentine\u2019s Day that had nothing to do<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n2013<\/strong><\/h3>\nRide sharing company Uber rolls out \u201cRomance On Demand<\/a>,\u201d allowing users to send flowers on Valentine\u2019s Day via the app. This initiative would continue to progress, with on-demand skywriting<\/a> becoming available the following year.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n2016<\/strong><\/h3>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nNetBase, a social media analytics platform, releases a Valentine\u2019s Day Sentiment Analysis<\/a>, measuring how people engage with and discuss the holiday on social media.<\/p>\nIn total, it measured nine million mentions of Valentine\u2019s Day, with the vast majority of them mentioning a specific brand \u2014 Netflix. The top hashtag was #happyvalentinesday.<\/p>\n2017<\/strong><\/h3>\nIn the earlier years of the Google Doodle, Google used Valentine\u2019s Day to spread awareness of a rare species.<\/p>\nIn 2017, a series of Google Doodles shown in the days leading up to Valentine\u2019s Day highlighted the stories of pangolins, the only mammal species with scales, as they give each other Valentine\u2019s Day gifts or serenade their mates.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s one example:<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nWhile, at this point, Google didn\u2019t need to market themselves with Doodles, I think this shows an early example of a brand that used its platform to creatively market another cause on the holiday.<\/p>\n2018<\/strong><\/h3>\nBy 2018, Valentine\u2019s Day marketing campaigns have gone completely digital, with a particularly strong presence on social media.<\/p>\nWith these new opportunities, I love that smaller companies that don\u2019t have Hallmark\u2019s budget can easily spread awareness of their own brands during the holiday.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s one example of an Instagram post that highlights a fine Italian restaurant ahead of Valentine\u2019s Day:<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nWhile these real dogs mimicking Lady and the Tramp grab attention \u2014 especially from the animal lovers on Instagram \u2014 this post\u2019s caption encouraged audiences to interact with the brand.<\/p>\n2020<\/strong><\/h3>\nAmazon celebrates its employees who have met and fallen in love while working for the company. In this cute short, we follow the love story of two Amazon robots, but the conclusion points to the real people whose love stories were written at Amazon.<\/p>\nInstead of pushing sales, this ad takes a moment to reveal the humans behind the marketplace we all know so well. The human touch of this ad does wonders for the rapport of the company while not promoting anything in particular.<\/p>\n2021<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> prevents many couples from going out to celebrate Valentine\u2019s Day this year and the disrupted supply chains make it difficult to produce vast quantities of traditional gifts. So companies have to find different ways to reach their audience this holiday season.<\/p>\nI think this video ad from The Body Shop really struck a chord with how most of us were feeling by February 2021, after nearly a year of living at home \u2014 with lives that had become overwhelmingly digital.<\/p>\nTheir take on self-love presents a different side of love than the romance we generally think of when we think of Valentine\u2019s.<\/p>\n2022<\/strong><\/h3>\nHow we do love has changed a lot in the 21st century, especially with the rise of dating apps. I love this campaign from Hinge \u2014 one of the most popular dating apps \u2014 that acknowledges that a growing population of single parents are still looking for love but may find it difficult to do so while caring for their children.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nTapping into this audience segment, Hinge offers a promo of $100 for childcare so single parents can go on a Valentine\u2019s date.<\/p>\n2023<\/strong><\/h3>\nAnother twist on Valentine\u2019s Day growing in popularity is understanding \u201clove\u201d in a broader way than just romance. The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) from Singapore uses the holiday to promote giving to and volunteering with their organization.<\/p>\n2024-Present<\/strong><\/h3>\nWhile Valentine\u2019s Day continues to be a super popular holiday that sees high ad spend and Americans shelling out $27.5 billion<\/a>, I think what marks the present is that people recognize the diversity of ways it can be celebrated (and marketed).<\/p>\nFor example, this TikTok video shows how to make a meaningful date night in for Valentine\u2019s Day on a budget:<\/p>\nAnd Dot\u2019s Market, a grocery chain located in Ohio, offers discounts with Valentine\u2019s marketing, even though the food they\u2019re promoting has no traditional connection to the holiday.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nFinally, UberEats continues to make Valentine\u2019s Day as convenient as possible. Combining the advantages of digital with real-world gifts, customers can shop for their selection of flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals, and more to send gifts to their sweethearts or to create a romantic night.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/p>\nWhat Marketers Can Learn From Valentine\u2019s Day Marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\nLike so many other holidays, Valentine\u2019s Day has experienced a transition into pop culture that has shaped the way it\u2019s perceived, discussed, and celebrated. Sure, it\u2019s often accused of being nothing more than a money-making marketing holiday.<\/p>\nBut next time you hear someone label Valentine\u2019s Day as a \u201cHallmark holiday,\u201d you\u2019ll have a wealth of historical information to respond with.<\/p>\nI think the biggest takeaway for marketers is that there are plenty of ways you can promote your products or services with Valentine\u2019s Day, but the key is to remain authentic to your brand and to offer something that\u2019s truly valuable to your audience.<\/p>\nFrom our hearts to yours, Happy Valentine\u2019s Day. I\u2019ll be keeping an eye on its continued evolution.<\/p>\nEditor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I was in grade school, Valentine\u2019s Day was one of my favorite holidays. There […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:HowlandValentine2.jpg\"){kind=link}
![Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nConversation candies were developed when Daniel Chase, brother of New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) founder Oliver Chase, used vegetable dye to print words onto confections<\/a>.<\/p>\n1870<\/strong><\/h3>\nHowland incorporates her booming card business as the New England Valentine Company<\/a>, operating out of her home via an assembly line that was largely composed of her friends.<\/p>\n1879<\/strong><\/h3>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nThe New England Valentine Company moves operations from Howland\u2019s home to a Main Street factory in Worcester, Massachusetts.<\/p>\nThat same year, the company published the Valentine Verse Book<\/a>, which contained 131 \u201cverses\u201d that people could cut out and paste inside of cards that came without a greeting \u2014 or those with a greeting that the buyer didn\u2019t like.<\/p>\n1880 – 1881<\/strong><\/h3>\nHowland sells the New England Valentine Company to the George C. Whitney Company<\/a>.<\/p>\n1888<\/strong><\/h3>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nWhitney has acquired at least 10 competitors, including Berlin and Jones, which had become New York City\u2019s \u201clargest manufacturer of Valentines<\/a>.\u201d Ten years later, the company moves to large-scale headquarters on Worcester\u2019s Union Street<\/a>.<\/p>\n1894<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe Hershey Chocolate Company was founded, bringing what was previously \u201ca European luxury product<\/a>\u201d to the U.S.<\/p>\n1902<\/strong><\/h3>\nConversation candies become heart-shaped<\/a>.<\/p>\n1906<\/strong><\/h3>\nAmerican Greetings<\/a> is founded, eventually becoming one of Whitney\u2019s chief competitors.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n1907<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe Hershey Chocolate Company introduces its Hershey Kisses candy product. Interestingly enough, the product was allegedly named Kisses<\/a> because whenever a piece of chocolate was dropped on the conveyor belt at the Hershey factory, it sounded like a kiss.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n1910<\/strong><\/h3>\nThat January, a massive fire destroys much of Whitney\u2019s headquarters. However, most of the Valentine\u2019s Day products had already been shipped<\/a> for the season, having little impact on that particular holiday.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nThat same year, Hallmark is founded<\/a>. Meanwhile, 1910 also saw the creation of Florists\u2019 Telegraph Delivery<\/a> \u2014 today known as FTD \u2014 which pioneered the remote ordering and delivery of flowers, providing a way to send them to far-away loved ones.<\/p>\n1913<\/strong><\/h3>\nHallmark produces its first Valentine\u2019s Day card<\/a>.<\/p>\n1930s<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe practice of schoolchildren<\/a> passing out Valentines and candy to their classmates has become widely popular. Producers of Valentines’ started selling packs of 25 for kids to purchase and hand out.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n1948<\/strong><\/h3>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nThe De Beers diamond company launched its \u201cA Diamond is Forever<\/a>\u201d campaign, sending the message that gifting high-end jewelry can be used as an expression of love.<\/p>\n1985<\/strong><\/h3>\nIn the \u201880s companies like Hallmark began launching more Valentine\u2019s Day related commercials. In 1985, one commercial, which dubs Hallmark as \u201cThe Valentine\u2019s Store,\u201d shows off all of the cards and heart-shaped products you can buy for your loved one in their locations.<\/p>\n1986<\/strong><\/h3>\nAs if Kisses weren\u2019t romantic enough based on their name, Hershey\u2019s enforced them as a Valentine\u2019s Day staple with one slight design tweak. The company began packaging Kisses candies in pink and red foil<\/a> specifically for Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n2004<\/strong><\/h3>\nAs marketers continued to embrace new media, we saw an influx of high-quality and insanely high-budgeted commercials mark the holiday from the \u201880s until now. One of the most iconic and beautifully shot commercials was a mini-romance drama called \u201cLe Film,\u201d promoting Chanel No. 5 perfume.<\/p>\nIn the ad, a man falls in love and runs away with a starlet, played by Nicole Kidman. In the end, she returns back to her life of fame. As she walks down the red carpet, he notes all the things he\u2019ll remember about her, including the smell of her Chanel No. 5 perfume.<\/p>\n2005<\/strong><\/h3>\nValentine\u2019s Day begins to go digital. On February 14, 2005, YouTube \u2014 which originated as an online dating site \u2014 made its debut. Co-founder Steve Chen still credits its invention as the brainchild of \u201cthree guys on Valentine\u2019s Day that had nothing to do<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n2013<\/strong><\/h3>\nRide sharing company Uber rolls out \u201cRomance On Demand<\/a>,\u201d allowing users to send flowers on Valentine\u2019s Day via the app. This initiative would continue to progress, with on-demand skywriting<\/a> becoming available the following year.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n2016<\/strong><\/h3>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nNetBase, a social media analytics platform, releases a Valentine\u2019s Day Sentiment Analysis<\/a>, measuring how people engage with and discuss the holiday on social media.<\/p>\nIn total, it measured nine million mentions of Valentine\u2019s Day, with the vast majority of them mentioning a specific brand \u2014 Netflix. The top hashtag was #happyvalentinesday.<\/p>\n2017<\/strong><\/h3>\nIn the earlier years of the Google Doodle, Google used Valentine\u2019s Day to spread awareness of a rare species.<\/p>\nIn 2017, a series of Google Doodles shown in the days leading up to Valentine\u2019s Day highlighted the stories of pangolins, the only mammal species with scales, as they give each other Valentine\u2019s Day gifts or serenade their mates.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s one example:<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nWhile, at this point, Google didn\u2019t need to market themselves with Doodles, I think this shows an early example of a brand that used its platform to creatively market another cause on the holiday.<\/p>\n2018<\/strong><\/h3>\nBy 2018, Valentine\u2019s Day marketing campaigns have gone completely digital, with a particularly strong presence on social media.<\/p>\nWith these new opportunities, I love that smaller companies that don\u2019t have Hallmark\u2019s budget can easily spread awareness of their own brands during the holiday.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s one example of an Instagram post that highlights a fine Italian restaurant ahead of Valentine\u2019s Day:<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nWhile these real dogs mimicking Lady and the Tramp grab attention \u2014 especially from the animal lovers on Instagram \u2014 this post\u2019s caption encouraged audiences to interact with the brand.<\/p>\n2020<\/strong><\/h3>\nAmazon celebrates its employees who have met and fallen in love while working for the company. In this cute short, we follow the love story of two Amazon robots, but the conclusion points to the real people whose love stories were written at Amazon.<\/p>\nInstead of pushing sales, this ad takes a moment to reveal the humans behind the marketplace we all know so well. The human touch of this ad does wonders for the rapport of the company while not promoting anything in particular.<\/p>\n2021<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> prevents many couples from going out to celebrate Valentine\u2019s Day this year and the disrupted supply chains make it difficult to produce vast quantities of traditional gifts. So companies have to find different ways to reach their audience this holiday season.<\/p>\nI think this video ad from The Body Shop really struck a chord with how most of us were feeling by February 2021, after nearly a year of living at home \u2014 with lives that had become overwhelmingly digital.<\/p>\nTheir take on self-love presents a different side of love than the romance we generally think of when we think of Valentine\u2019s.<\/p>\n2022<\/strong><\/h3>\nHow we do love has changed a lot in the 21st century, especially with the rise of dating apps. I love this campaign from Hinge \u2014 one of the most popular dating apps \u2014 that acknowledges that a growing population of single parents are still looking for love but may find it difficult to do so while caring for their children.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nTapping into this audience segment, Hinge offers a promo of $100 for childcare so single parents can go on a Valentine\u2019s date.<\/p>\n2023<\/strong><\/h3>\nAnother twist on Valentine\u2019s Day growing in popularity is understanding \u201clove\u201d in a broader way than just romance. The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) from Singapore uses the holiday to promote giving to and volunteering with their organization.<\/p>\n2024-Present<\/strong><\/h3>\nWhile Valentine\u2019s Day continues to be a super popular holiday that sees high ad spend and Americans shelling out $27.5 billion<\/a>, I think what marks the present is that people recognize the diversity of ways it can be celebrated (and marketed).<\/p>\nFor example, this TikTok video shows how to make a meaningful date night in for Valentine\u2019s Day on a budget:<\/p>\nAnd Dot\u2019s Market, a grocery chain located in Ohio, offers discounts with Valentine\u2019s marketing, even though the food they\u2019re promoting has no traditional connection to the holiday.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nFinally, UberEats continues to make Valentine\u2019s Day as convenient as possible. Combining the advantages of digital with real-world gifts, customers can shop for their selection of flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals, and more to send gifts to their sweethearts or to create a romantic night.<\/p>\n\nSource<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/p>\nWhat Marketers Can Learn From Valentine\u2019s Day Marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\nLike so many other holidays, Valentine\u2019s Day has experienced a transition into pop culture that has shaped the way it\u2019s perceived, discussed, and celebrated. Sure, it\u2019s often accused of being nothing more than a money-making marketing holiday.<\/p>\nBut next time you hear someone label Valentine\u2019s Day as a \u201cHallmark holiday,\u201d you\u2019ll have a wealth of historical information to respond with.<\/p>\nI think the biggest takeaway for marketers is that there are plenty of ways you can promote your products or services with Valentine\u2019s Day, but the key is to remain authentic to your brand and to offer something that\u2019s truly valuable to your audience.<\/p>\nFrom our hearts to yours, Happy Valentine\u2019s Day. I\u2019ll be keeping an eye on its continued evolution.<\/p>\nEditor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I was in grade school, Valentine\u2019s Day was one of my favorite holidays. There […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Necco-Candy-SweetHearts.jpg\"){kind=link}