Love is all around—for advertisers, at least
February 13, 2014
WEEKLY TV AD SPEND ON VALENTINE'S DAY MESSAGING BY YEAR ($M) 2 2013 2014
1.5
1 $MILLION
0.5
0 12/30 1/6 1/13 1/20 1/27 2/3 2/10
Source: Kantar Media *2014 ad spend beyond 2/9 not yet available Time Period: 01/01/2013 – 2/9/2014*
Every January, store aisles quickly switch from red and green to red and pink, as Valentine’s Day becomes the next holiday – and excuse to go shopping. To see what advertisers and categories capitalize on this day of love, Kantar Media mined our AdScope historical ad tracking database to analyze occurrence, expenditure, and creative data for ads that feature Valentine’s Day messaging during the weeks leading up to the event. We studied ads that aired during the first seven weeks of 2013 and 2014, across network, cable, spot, and syndicated television (including both English and Spanish-language ads).
A jolt from cupid’s arrow This year’s aggregate Valentine’s Day TV messaging spend has already surpassed 2013 levels at $1.9 million—and that’s not even counting what advertisers are spending this week leading up to the big day. There’s also been a shift in spend distribution over the seven weeks leading up to the holiday; last year advertisers began love-themed messages in the third week of January and steadily increased spend each week leading up to the Feast of St. Valentine. This year, advertisers started running Valentine’ Day messaging even earlier—in the first week of the year, with a dramatic spike of spend during the sixth week (2/3); spend during this week increased fourfold from the same period in 2013. Such a heavy investment is primarily a reflection of ads ran by JC Penney, Kmart, Kohl’s, Russell Stover, Kay Jewelers, and Dunkin Donuts. No love lost for department stores The top spending category in 2014 Valentine’s Day messaging is overwhelmingly department stores, followed by discount department stores, coffee and doughnut restaurants, jewelry stores, and non- chocolate candy. Note that some time-honored Valentine gift categories – like flowers – spend significantly more ad dollars online to target lovebirds on a local level, and at a lower expense than TV advertising.
TOP 2014 CATEGORIES BY VALENTINE'S DAY TV AD MESSAGING SPEND Category TV Ad Spend ($Thousand) Department Store 885 Discount Department Store 346 Coffee & Doughnut Restaurants 244 Jewelry Stores 126 Non-Chocolate Candy 116 Source: Kantar Media Time Period: 01/01/2014 – 2/9/2014
While a key event for department stores, Valentine’s Day is one of many advertising holidays for the category after Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Back-to-school, and Black Friday. JCPenney and Kohl’s racked up the category spend this year, with the former advertising “heart stopping” sales of dresses, handbags, and fine jewelry, in addition to a Love is in the Air spot, which features a couple taking smartphone selfies.
For categories like doughnut and coffee restaurants, jewelry stores, and chocolate candy, love day is the second most important event after Black Friday or winter holiday. Dunkin Donuts is solely responsible for the elevated levels of 2014 coffee and doughnut category spend, with an ad of a man who accidentally blurts out “I love you” to an officemate passing out heart-shaped doughnuts. Among jewelry stores, Kay leads the pack with a labor of ad love that also addresses the toll technology can take on relationships, encouraging viewers to “spend less time communicating [via text] and more time connecting” this Valentine’s Day. Some ads, like those by Russell Stover and Whitman’s, are clearly targeted towards men, reflecting the idea that women love chocolate, and if their men don’t deliver it, they’ll be in dog house. On the other side of the spectrum is K-Y, which targets women by ensuring that “all he really wants for Valentine’s Day is you”.
With ad spending on Valentine’s Day still just a fraction of what is spent on the winter holidays, there would seem to be some opportunity to try to do more to capitalize on the gift-giving spirit. Dunkin Donuts, for one, has been able to reposition its breakfast treats as sweets for the sweet, providing an interesting angle for other advertisers to potentially pursue. If love truly conquers all, it can’t hurt to have it on your side when battling for market share.
About Kantar Media Kantar Media provides critical information that helps our clients make better decisions about communications. We enable the world’s leading brands, publishers, agencies and industry bodies to navigate and succeed in a rapidly evolving media industry. Our services and data include analysis of paid media opportunities; counsel on brand reputation, corporate management and consumer engagement through owned media; and evaluating consumers’ reactions in earned media. As the global house of expertise in media and marketing information, Kantar Media provides clients with a broad range of insights, from audience research, competitive intelligence, vital consumer behavior and digital insights, marketing and advertising effectiveness to social media monitoring. Our experts currently work with 22,000 companies tracking over 4 million brands in 50 countries. www.kantarmedia.us
Need to Know More? Our analysis of Valentine’s Day ad trends is based on our AdScope monitoring of the multimedia marketplace. Our scope extends beyond Valentine’s Day, so if you would like to know more about how a particular category, brand, or messaging is faring across the entire media mix, we can provide actionable insights based on our broad range of solutions.
Please contact: Andrew Hogan Senior Account Service Representative, AdScope Kantar Media Ad Intelligence T: 212-991-6072 [email protected]