Author |Mia
"Is 520 necessary?"
"Why are fewer people celebrating Valentine's Day"
"Why is 520 so quiet this year"
......
With 520 quietly approaching and the voices of social platforms discussing how to celebrate, the once love marketing seems to be losing its magic.
Consumers' attitudes have changed significantly, Xiaoqing shared, "I used to pay a lot of attention to the ritual sense of festivals, but now we have festivals and anniversaries that we have made an appointment to, so we don't often celebrate these consumer festivals." For Xiaoqing, who no longer has 520, the commercial promotion and promotion of the festival can no longer attract her interest.
Lu Ting also felt the same way, "Valentine's Day is too much, we still decided to only celebrate Qixi Festival." "As economic pressures mount, many people are cutting back on unnecessary expenses and reconsidering how they show their affection.
Love is often regarded as the golden node of marketing, from the traditional "214" Valentine's Day, to the 520 that young people are keen on, and even the Chinese Valentine's Day, which is culturally rich in culture, on this day of being endowed with romantic meaning, brands have always been able to use this as a battlefield in the past, capture the hearts of consumers, and make the commodification of love seem necessary and natural through various creative marketing methods.
The situation in the past two years is different, the market of love no longer seems to be so "hot", although some signs have already begun to appear, but the real love marketing failure to break the circle in a large area is still last year's Qixi Festival.
Last year's Qixi Festival has been "licking the dog economic collapse" triggered a round of online discussions, to this year, the major symbols of love products bear the brunt, the sluggish holiday enthusiasm, transformed into a bleak brand report card, February 14 Valentine's Day on #Why Ferrero can't sell # The topic unexpectedly appeared on the hot search, chocolate, flowers, diamonds and other romantic economies representing love have gradually declined.
The reason is that for consumers, although Valentine's Day is a marketing node with its own traffic, the economic downturn and excessive commercialization have begun to gradually weaken consumers' willingness to buy.
This downturn has made this year's 520 brand marketing more creative than in previous years, and in this context, many brands are shifting from simple commercial promotion to more innovative marketing methods.
The key question is, how can brands find new marketing paths in the face of a consumer mindset that is no longer easily leveraged by marketing? How can you innovate your own strategy to win back the hearts and minds of consumers?
"Since my boyfriend and I decided not to go to 520, we don't pay attention to any big promotions or brand events, and we don't bother to pick gifts, which makes us feel more relaxed." Xiaoqing told us that now she and her boyfriend only celebrate anniversaries and some festivals that they think are important, and 520 is no longer necessary in their eyes.
Similarly, Lu Ting, who was born in the 90s, only chose Qixi Festival to celebrate among the many Valentine's Day. She believes that Qixi Festival is closer to the tradition, "I chose to celebrate Qixi because I feel that Qixi is more cultural, and this day is not only about gifts for me, but also a kind of respect and celebration of love." ”
Nowadays, commercial festivals have lost their appeal to young people, and in the context of the overall tightening consumption environment, 520 is no longer a scene where it is easy to achieve premium prices and big promotions through marketing strategies.
While some still celebrate 520, the way it is celebrated has become more low-key and practical, with more and more people choosing to return to simple, meaningful ways of celebrating.
A young couple shared their new tradition: "We haven't prepared gifts or gone out to eat out for two years, and this year 520 is the worst Monday, and we decided to prepare a simple and warm dinner at home and enjoy a calm and comfortable time. Expensive gifts and ceremonial celebrations are gradually being replaced by more practical, long-lasting love investments.
Love marketing is no longer "effective", which is first reflected in the consumer mentality, followed by major businesses and brands.
This year's 520 love marketing has returned to calm, with less publicity and shorter duration than in previous years, which can almost be described as "quiet".
On social platforms, it can be seen that many store owners who have lost money on Valentine's Day are gradually fading out of the 520 celebration, and they choose to abandon this highly commercial holiday in response to the current market sentiment and consumption trends.
On online platforms, the activities of major brands are also relatively conservative, and they no longer carry out large-scale investment and publicity like in the past. In the field of e-commerce, JD.com, Tmall, Douyin Mall, etc. have launched activities such as "Courtesy Season Special" and "520 Gift Season", which mainly focus on the theme of "gift-giving". However, this year's focus is significantly skewed towards beauty products, with most of the promotions being "300 off for 300", seemingly to warm up for the upcoming 618 shopping festival.
The offline situation is similar, chopping pepper made a special trip to a nearby shopping mall, and as expected, there is no longer the "overwhelming" grand occasion of previous years.
There is a significant decrease in the number of brands that vigorously promote the 520 concept. In the past, on the eve of 520, brick-and-mortar stores such as women's clothing and cosmetics would take the opportunity to carry out large-scale promotions, launching various activities such as "520 seasons" and "brand discounts" to attract customers. However, this year, there has been a significant reduction in the number and scale of these events, as well as a significant reduction in the variety and number of items in physical stores.
In a beauty store in the mall, the shopping guide reported to us: "This month focuses on the three festivals of May Day, Mother's Day and 520, although 520 still retains some exclusive activities, but the discount is not large, and the market response is not as expected, but the performance target is constantly improving." ”
An increasingly significant phenomenon is that for young people, Valentine's Day is no longer simply a festival to sell "ritual" and "romance", but more to show their cultural attributes and personality choices.
Merchants and brands are also rethinking and redesigning their marketing strategies to better adapt to this new consumer environment and consumer expectations.
Start digging into more diverse relationships, such as girlfriend relationships and pet companionship, which are becoming the new marketing focus.
Interestingly, middle-aged and older people seem to be more keen to celebrate these types of holidays than younger people, expressing their emotions by giving gifts or transferring money, and the stark differences in values and consumer behaviors between different age groups provide brands with new market insights.
It seems to be influenced by marketing, and middle-aged and elderly people are also beginning to actively participate like young people, and gradually recognize the significance of these days. A case in point is last year's 520, when sustainable brand canU hosted a retro "senior" DISCO party in its offline space, canU HUB, handing the party spotlight to trendy aunts and uncles. This kind of activity not only caters to the entertainment needs of middle-aged and elderly people, but also creates a platform to express and share emotions, so that they feel valued and cared for.
In this trend, richer emotional needs have pushed the previously stagnant love marketing to a new fork in the road.
With the mute of love marketing, more and more brands are targeting single people and social emotions, and many brands are turning on reverse marketing to praise love.
For example, this year, Xiaohongshu and Wuhan Jiangchen Tianjie jointly launched the "520 Anti-Bone Topic Activity", with the theme of "520 is not enough", turning Tianjie into a field for expressing individual voices. The event focused on "If you dare not say it, Heaven Street will say it for you", and those words that are usually not afraid to be discussed openly began to appear in all corners of Heaven Street, such as "We are happy with ourselves" and "I prefer two people's tacit understanding rather than a perfunctory red envelope".
In addition, Pang Ying, a special guest debater at the event, presided over a debate competition of "520 can't pass in the end", which further stimulated the public's thinking and discussion on the traditional way of celebrating Valentine's Day. At the same time, the event also cooperated with @ Provincial City He Master to plan a giant text exhibition of "Anti-Bone to the End", which is not only a challenge to the traditional concept of love, but also a discussion of the freedom of "choosing not to love" and providing consumers with more choices.
In the same way, Xiaohongshu cooperated with Changsha Yanghu Paradise Street to launch the 520 special project "Instant Love". Encourage consumers to abandon the traditional concept of love, tear off the label of "love brain", and also invite users to share their experience of getting rid of the shackles of traditional love, participants not only have the opportunity to get gifts and surprises, but more importantly, experience an emotional liberation and pleasure, many netizens have issued a "too cool" exclamation.
This reverse marketing strategy not only breaks the traditional Valentine's Day marketing model, but also deeply understands and responds to the psychological and emotional needs of today's consumers: more and more people are looking for personalized and authentic expressions, rather than being forced to be guided into commercial holiday celebrations.
By understanding and responding to social emotions and cultural trends, we can redefine holiday marketing and find new growth points in an ever-changing market environment, appeal to consumers who are skeptical of traditional notions of love, and truly resonate emotionally with consumers.
In addition, compared with one-way holiday marketing, brands are more keen to share real stories with users and form emotional resonance with consumers with sincere content.
For example, in 520 this year, ELLE and Douyin, Giant Star Map, COLMO, Liby Master Fragrance, Philips, Midea and other brands jointly launched the initiative of "falling in love with yourself in early summer". The event invited three female bloggers who shine in their respective fields, @旖旎旎不scenery, @IRIS Xu, and @罗拉rolasfood, to discuss topics such as "Love My True Colors", "Love This Multifaceted Life" and "The Equation of Love". Encourage young people to say "I love you" to themselves in the mirror on the day of 520, to gain love through a more "self-pleasing" way, and to love the life they have allocated.
Especially in the way that contemporary young people celebrate 520 has entered a new stage, more emphasis is placed on the importance of self-acceptance and self-expression, and brands try to resonate with the lifestyle and emotional needs of young consumers in the delivery of product messages.
Still others are integrating multiple interpretations of love into their brand strategy, exploring and expressing different forms of "love" and incorporating these diverse expressions of love into the broader marketing context.
Also in this year's 520, the fashion brand VINYVIOLA adopted the theme of "This Time (Love) Has No Limits", advocating a kind of love without borders, emphasizing the diversity and persistence of love, encouraging people to break through the limitations of traditional emotions and realize that every day is an opportunity to experience and express love, which not only enriches the emotional dimension of the brand, but also helps consumers understand the broad meaning of love from a new perspective.
For most brands, there is a common goal: to move from pure commercial promotion to more meaningful brand value delivery. In this process, many brands have taken advantage of 520 as an opportunity to consolidate and showcase their brand's long-term IP, focusing their communication on strengthening the brand's self-expression.
This time 520, the designer luxury jewelry brand HEFANG Jewelry has taken a unique approach. They invited the brand's friends, Ma Yang and Ma Junyan, to participate in the filming of a 520 special short film with the theme of "Love, not only to say I love you, but also to hide in the trivial daily life of life". From the theme, narrative to the product, the love returns to a daily home scene, expresses the value connotation of love in a closer and daily way, and feels a more open and relaxed love transmission.
In addition to the long-term IP strategy, it shows the brand's willingness to find new expressions in love marketing, and strives to closely link the brand value with the actual life of consumers, and strengthen the emotional connection with consumers.
It is not difficult to see that compared with the lively Valentine's Day in previous years, this year's 520 marketing is generally particularly innovative, and brands have begun to adjust their strategies when love marketing is no longer effective.
Perhaps this marks the beginning of a more mature and rational market trend, where more and more brands are taking advantage of the opportunity to redefine their marketing discourse as they seek long-term strategic considerations in an ever-changing market environment.