How Brands Can Use the Beauty of Analytics To Show They Care this Valentine’s Day

As Valentine’s Day draws near, love is in the air — not only between couples but also between brands, retailers and consumers. While this year is about new beginnings, consumers will be anticipating similar brand interactions that they have become accustomed to over the past year.

Brands can fulfill expectations and deliver memorable results by drawing upon the success of digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising, the power of data and the beauty of analytics.

Connecting through physical and digital grocery experiences

Our recent survey found that, despite the challenges posed by the last year, approximately 90% of consumers are still shopping in physical grocery stores every week. This presents an opportunity for brands to engage with consumers using a planned, targeted, measured and optimized DOOH campaign.

More than 65% of consumers notice out-of-home (OOH) ads when they shop. Even more so, over 80% notice these campaigns more (26%) or roughly the same (55%) as they did before the pandemic.

Knowing consumers are noticing OOH ads when they are on purposeful trips to stores, brands can leverage this high-impact medium to connect with shoppers during this season of love with omnichannel strategies. For example, a candy brand can be present on a bus shelter ad, continue the engagement on social media and offer a promotion on a specific product that reaches the consumer when purchase intent is highest.    

The sweetest campaigns are those with a personalized touch

Brands can also form a deeper bond with their consumers by showing that they care and that they are able to offer value to their shoppers. In order to provide this value and truly comprehend the market, brands must rely on audience data and analytics.

Our internal data shows that, in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day in 2020, consumers were interested in purchasing candy (which displayed a 43% sales lift) for their special someone.

But they were even more interested in hot chocolate (up 131%) and beer and wine making kits (up 101%) when compared to the rest of the year. This is valuable information that could be used to build stronger campaigns that resonate with shoppers in 2021.

Knowing that consumer preferences may still shift due to developments with the pandemic, accurate data and analytics make it possible to optimize, shift and adapt campaigns for superior sales results, which may then be measured for further analysis.

Celebrate the day by showing you care

Many consumers are looking for creative ideas to show their loved ones they care. Brands can help them do that by engaging with creative and highly personalized messages that help them do that.

By using the right technology to determine shoppers’ wants and by deploying the right campaign to reach them at the right moment, brands will have the perfect opportunity to share their true feelings.

Blake Burrus is senior VP of analytics at Quotient.