Valentine’s Day 2013 edition, how times have changed!

The world has changed in the past few years. Today, considering the unlimited access to all types of information, brands have much more to do to stand out.  They really need to step out of the box, and think big. Some do.

Fifty years ago, buying flowers from a shop was all that you had to do for Valentine’s Day.  Now, expectations are higher.  This year, on-demand car company service Uber introduced “Romance On-Demand”. The slogan is what today’s consumer relates to.  This app allows the user to have a dozen roses along with a customized message delivered to their Valentine in any location in the D.C. area.  A black car will arrive with a chauffeur to deliver flowers.  Now that’s impressive and bound to score lots of points.

This is a great promotion for Uber because the drivers are already on the road, so for this day they will be delivering customers flowers in addition to rides.  They’re having fun and Uber is gaining awareness by delighting customers.  It’s win-win for all!

Uber is not the only company that decided to leverage Valentine's Day.  An American Express survey states that 4 million Americans expect to propose or be proposed to on V-day.   Pizza Hut decided to take that into consideration, by creating a "proposal package" costing over 10K.  It includes everything from an engagement ring, fireworks, limo, flowers, photo and video services, and dinner, pizza of course. This is an exclusive package that will be limited to only ten “soon-to-be-fiancés,” so the experience will definitely be an (almost?) unique one.

If the “proposal package” is a bit too much, you can simply purchase the Pizza Hut Perfume for your loved one. Now you have the option of smelling like fresh baked crust- all day long.  Is that for your Valentine?

Whether this marketing strategy is consistent with Pizza Hut’s overall positioning is debatable, but we know for sure that they can “think outside of the box.”  Uber, on the other hand, has only enhanced their brand and utilized their resources, which didn’t cost a lot but got them great PR.

So, what brand made your Valentine’s Day memorable?

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