Judgment week is finally upon us. Some have been looking forward to it with great anticipation while others have been dreading it for months. No, we’re not talking about the release of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Valentine’s Day is this weekend!
With Cupid’s holiday here, that means teddy bears, chocolate hearts and roses are flying off the shelves. Also, many national brands have been crafting creative content marketing campaigns to attract customers this week, including Hallmark’s #PutYourHeartToPaper video series. One of the videos—which centers around romantic love—features Kim and Bob, who have been together for 56 years. It starts with them reminiscing—how Kim thought she “was going to be in a lot of trouble,” and how Bob thought “she was going to be hard to get along with.” Then Hallmark asks them to describe their relationship without using the word “love.” Here’s the video—and try not to shed a tear:
Is someone cutting onions in here?
At the end of the video, Hallmark’s message is to go beyond saying “I love you” this Valentine’s Day and to “put your heart to paper.” It’s a unique content marketing campaign and one that should definitely stick with consumers when they shop this week. With more than 1.6 million YouTube views by Feb. 12, the video has already been a resounding success online.
So what can you take away from Hallmark’s #PutYourHeartToPaper series? Let’s take a look:
- Tell an emotional narrative: Just like Kim and Bob’s heartwarming tale of more than half a century of romance, marketers should always focus on telling a story to increase customer engagement. Through these stories, customers are able to understand the brand’s true value. As Hallmark shows, the story does not need to include a popular celebrity; marketers simply need to tell a story that consumers want to hear and see.
- Leverage video: Many of today’s leading marketers are opting for a more creative approach to content creation through videos. Organizations such as Hallmark can communicate information in an engaging manner through the use of sight and sound. This content is also less time consuming for consumers. What’s more, videos can increase click-through rates and boost search engine rankings.
- Extend campaign across social media: No longer is a company’s website enough to promote products and services. With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest and more at one’s disposal, it’s paramount to take advantage of all these social media channels to maximize publicity and customer engagement—as well as come up with an original hashtag, which Hallmark did here.
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