Valentine’s Day 2021.

Supermarkets DIGITAL ACTIVITY IN-STORE POS

‘There’s lots to like this Valentine’s Day’ was the all-encompassing slogan opted for during the season of love. Visually, red signage and heart graphics permeated the store, and DIGITAL ACTIVITY customers could purchase a red rose for £2.49.

With its usual sense of fun, the released a range of novelty products to coincide with “Aldi’s ‘Taste Kitchen Videos’ were Valentine’s Day, such as heart-shaped an excellent source of inspiration for ‘Love Nuggets’, advertised with a customers, which acknowledged the humorous social media video. increase in home cooking as a result of lockdown restrictions.” ‘Taste Kitchen Videos’ took pride of place on Aldi’s website – a great way Jon Aston Digital Director of showing customers how to create that restaurant feel in their home. DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY

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Asda opted for a pink colour scheme with splashes of red for Valentine’s Day this year, its in-store signage covered in hearts and the ‘Valentine Like You’re Cupid’ tagline. IN-STORE POS IN-STORE POS

On social media the brand looked to drive engagement with everything from recipe ideas to cute dog pictures, always a staple of Instagram.

But there was a serious side to the campaign too, as pushed community support programmes, including one to help senior citizens who may be dealing with loneliness during the pandemic. IN-STORE POS DIGITAL ACTIVITY

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There was a huge amount of food inspiration to be found on the Co-op website over Valentine’s Day, including romantic recipe ideas and wine DIGITAL ACTIVITY pairing suggestions, while a banner provided handy links to its wider seasonal range of products.

A light-hearted chart on social media helped the brand to promote its wine selection, while heart-shaped graphics using a pink and red colour palette helped to capture the tone. DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY

There was a wide array of content on ’s social media pages over Valentine’s Day, including ideas for the big day in its Instagram story. DIGITAL ACTIVITY Online users who followed Costcutter’s pages and tagged their friends were entered into a competitiion to win a bottle of Moët Rosé, which helped to drive engagement. “Astute use of social media from Costcutter allowed followers to simply Elsewhere, girls were encouraged to tap its story for some much-needed celebrate ‘Galentines’ with cocktails Valentine’s Day inspiration.” and a video call, while a simple video denoted great prices on fizz, gin and Chris Perks Managing Director of Digital Services chocolates. DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY

Valentine’s Day content was marked with flowing lettering, heart details and a pink background on ’ digital platforms in 2021. DIGITAL ACTIVITY Whether it was on social media or the chain’s website, the focus remained firmly on great value deals, from special seasonal cheeses to chocolate. DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY

With no way to go out for your steak dinner this Valentine’s Day, made this the lynchpin of its social media campaign. DIGITAL ACTIVITY Instagram stories highlighted its ‘restaurant-quality steak’, as well as several light-hearted posts that pushed the product and a limited-time deal making it available for just £5. “Iceland’s emphasis on its steak And that wasn’t the only offer on offering, a relatively simple option to the table, with customers given the cook at home, reflected the unusual chance to purchase a bottle of wine nature of Valentine’s Day 2021 with so and box of chocolates together for many people stuck indoors.” just £9. Jo Wilby Group Creative Director DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY

Lidl’s ‘Big on…’ is a brilliantly versatile slogan that the brand expertly repurposes for each seasonal campaign. In the case of Valentine’s Day, it read ‘Big on that warm, fuzzy IN-STORE POS DIGITAL ACTIVITY Valentine’s feeling’, accompanied by cute heart and bird graphics with a soft pink background.

This was repeated in-store, on social media and its website, where a large banner included the date when the collection would launch at its locations.

Meanwhile, on Facebook, a short video gave clear pricing on a range of Valentine’s staples, including prosecco, chocolates and soft toys. DIGITAL ACTIVITY

It was all about the deals at this Valentine’s Day, with bright yellow price tags drawing attention to product discounts on both social media channels and the website. DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY

On the former, posts included sharp photography of promotional items, while the latter incorporated a neon-style ‘Share the… Love’ slogan.

There was also a conscious effort to drive greater engagement on Instagram, as followers were encouraged to follow Londis’ pages and comment with their cheesiest pick-up lines for the chance to win a case of wine. DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY

From Percy Pig to Colin the Caterpillar, M&S’ Valentine’s Day collection incorporated some of its best-loved creations, with the usual combination of sophisticated messaging and sumptuous imagery on the brand’s website. DIGITAL ACTIVITY

Social media pages advertised a range of Valentine’s hampers and gifts, drawing attention to the hilarious ‘Thorny For You’ rose bouquet. “The ‘love cocoon’ from M&S was a clever way of capitalising on the popularity of its Colin the Caterpillar range for Valentine’s Day.”

Sarah Perry Creative Director DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY

In-store POS at bore the ‘Making it with Love’ slogan, accompanied by the simple use of a pink colour palette and subtle heart graphics. IN-STORE POS IN-STORE POS

Signage also denoted some fantastic deals, including half-price champagne to toast the occasion.

Photography on social media posts employed elegant red ribbons to push products such as chocolates, prosecco and champagne, while Morrisons also encouraged customers to get crafting through its blog. IN-STORE POS DIGITAL ACTIVITY

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One Stop ran several Valentine’s- themed competitions through social media in 2021, giving followers the chance to win cases of wine and up to £100 in restaurant or takeaway DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY vouchers – a great way of driving engagement with its pages.

With multicoloured hearts and a dark pink background, the brand’s digital content instantly captured the theme and drew customers towards offers on a range of seasonal products.

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Eating in was the focus for Sainsbury’s in-store POS this Valentine’s Day, and bright red signage helped customers to curate their own perfect meal from a range of starters, IN-STORE POS sides, desserts and more.

Hanging signage in the shape of a heart led shoppers to the supermarket’s seasonal collection, “Sainsbury’s in-store POS while it also emphasised value by for Valentine’s Day helped signposting ‘Gifts £10 or under’. shoppers who were looking for meal inspiration by signposting great deals in bright red, with clear pricing and a wide range of choices.”

Natalie Somerville Strategy & Creative Director IN-STORE POS IN-STORE POS

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There was some great Valentine’s Day inspiration to be found at SPAR this year, including a section on its website with ‘Last-Minute’ ideas for those who had left it a little late. DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY

On social media, the brand included a link to an external site that had recommended their fizz, while asking followers for their bad date stories, with the best ones in line to win a special Lindt chocolate hamper. DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY

With its bright red background, ‘Share The Love’ slogan and distinctive multicoloured heart graphic, there was no mistaking ’s Valentine’s Day signage in its stores this year. IN-STORE POS

Social media channels highlighted the Tesco Finest range, promoting its steaks and encouraging customers to recreate the quality of a restaurant in “The ‘Reserve your usual table’ their own homes. tagline, attributed to the Tesco Finest range, was a smart way of encouraging customers to celebrate Valentine’s Day despite being unable to eat out at a restaurant.”

Robin Jung Business Unit Director

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The signature stripes at were in warm tones of red, pink and purple to signify the arrival of Valentine’s Day this year. DIGITAL ACTIVITY DIGITAL ACTIVITY On its website the supermarket advertised a Valentine’s dinner for two people at just £20, customisable to the shopper’s preferences, while also highlighting smaller sections of the site dedicated to fizz, chocolate and gifts.

The romantic season also dominated social media activity, where Waitrose’s usual stunning imagery pushed products such as red roses on its Instagram story. Valentine’s Day 2021.

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*Information and images within this report are gathered from ITG research, third party resources and materials available in the public domain.