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A look back at our 2023 Valentine’s Day campaign, and how you can turn a cliched holiday into a truly special one– straight from our co-founders!
Growing up, I never really questioned Valentine’s Day. It was just a day when you would (hopefully) get roses from friends at school, and maybe even declare your undying love to your crush of the moment.
But as I grew up, I began to see Valentine’s Day as the “Hallmark” holiday that it was– a day that burdens you with a new set of expectations, pressure, and reasons to buy something you don’t need. In my childhood, I spent Valentine's Day eating chocolates from mom, in my single years with my Galentines, and when I finally started dating, I opted for a ‘low key’ version of dinner & quality time with my beau. A few roses never hurt either.
Fast forward to 2021 when Sahil and I first launched MyMuse– we realized we would have to reconcile our own beliefs about Valentine’s Day with our brand's goals. And we wondered to each other how we would go about doing that, without perpetuating the cycle of emotional consumerism.
This forced us to go back to the root of what Valentine’s Day actually means to our society, through research and conversations with friends and customers. Once we looked past the hearts and flowers, we realized that at its core, Valentine’s is just a way to step back from our frenetic lives and celebrate the one thing that binds all of us together as humans: Love.
As “a brand for people who love to love”, we knew that Valentine’s was a holiday we wanted to own. A day where we could shout from the rooftops that love truly does make the world go round– whether or not you’re in a relationship. Love comes in endless forms, and the relationship we share with ourselves is the most important love of all.
So for our campaign this year in 2023, we decided to go with the tagline: “Valentine’s Day is for Everyone”. A simple 5 words that hopefully undo all the problematic connotations typically associated with this scorned holiday. A phrase that says: it doesn’t matter who you are, who you love, or how you choose to show it.
As a brand that proudly creates products built for self-love, connection, and pleasure, we were confident that we would be able to own this holiday. Not just in terms of hitting a high sales number, but in embedding into people’s minds that V-Day isn’t just about grand gestures. It’s about spending time with yourself or your partner, and celebrating what makes you special.
Our campaign wasn’t complicated and fussy. Rather than endless messaging, we wanted our products to shine, and moreover to showcase the experience that they help you create. So we created 5 beautiful gift boxes, for all different types of lovers. We had everything from the ‘Netflix & Chillers Kit’ for the couple that likes to stay in, to the ‘Forever Honeymooner’s Kit’ for the couple that likes to go all out, and the Solo Kit for those indulging in self-love.
Aside from these gift boxes, we launched our very first ‘Build Your Own Box’ option, by popular demand, with hilarious declarations of love on each sleeve. Figuring out the logistics and the web side of things was a nightmare, but our teams went the extra mile to give our customers the best experience possible.
And to sweeten it all, we offered a 20% site-wide discount, and 30% off our gift sets and Kits. Because if Valentine’s Day truly is for everyone, we wanted our products to be accessible to as many people as possible too.
We launched a coordinated campaign spanning organic social content, giveaways, emails, influencer collaborations, and of course ads, spread across a 3-week duration. The results were phenomenal. Between our first-ever V-Day campaign in 2022 and now, we saw a 397% increase in website sessions and a 331% increase in sales.
Across the board, on both our website and marketplace channels, the growth was immense. It reflected not just the growth of our brand in the past 1 year, but of the Indian mindset in embracing new ways of expressing and experiencing love and intimacy. A slow but steady nod to the fact that Valentine’s Day doesn’t necessarily mean cliches, and it can be whatever you make of it.
Our biggest joy was not seeing the tallied-up numbers at the end of the campaign, but in hearing stories from our users that we made their day an unforgettable one, or that they finally got their partner a gift that they loved. All the hard work was worth it in an instant.
As we wrap up our campaign for this year, we just wanted to take a moment to remind you that Valentine’s Day is not just for everyone, it’s also every day. So, take the time to show the people in your life you care. And feel free to buy yourself some roses (or a massager) too.
