Valentine’s Day is no longer only about romance. February 14th is evolving into a global holiday that celebrates friends, co-workers, classmates, teachers, and even pets.

Research from Oracle shows that 28% of consumers who don’t plan on celebrating Valentine’s Day still participate by treating themselves to something special or going out with single friends and family members — with cooking at home reported as the most popular option, followed by going to a restaurant and ordering a takeaway.

Moreover, insight from GWI shows that this Valentine’s Day, 46% of consumers will be looking to spend the same amount as last year, which had the second highest consumer spending on record. However, this still leaves some consumers more hesitant about their spending, which is unsurprising given the rising costs of living and consumers wanting to save up for other special occasions throughout the year.

So how can brands best seize this Valentine’s Day to provide their audiences with the most attractive experiences, while effectively converting those sitting on the fence?

Brand, Performance, and Value must be at the heart of every campaign

Marketers who use campaign creatives that drive an emotional response and a strong call to action, which are served innovatively in contextually relevant environments, will have the upper hand in delivering impactful campaigns and converting consumers who are more cautious with their spending this Valentine’s Day.

One example of this approach could be linking products to at-home celebrations within ads, adding unique value to the existing plans of the large audience segments who will choose home cooking or takeaway orders to celebrate the day.

Another example could be incorporating live countdowns towards the special day directly within ads. In this way, consumers will be met with a sense of urgency, reminding them of the closing window of opportunity that brands can tap into.

What’s more, with consumers more hesitant about spending this year, adding prices to ads can be the nudge shoppers need to click through, eliminating uncertainties about affordability.

Brands can further provide seamless customer experiences, elevate engagement times, and enhance awareness by delivering mobile-specific creatives that are optimised to work with thumbs, reducing friction for consumers who increasingly access the internet through their phones.

The competition for attention

With attention spans getting shorter, brands that are experimenting with multiple ad formats are amplifying the levels of user attention towards their offerings, thereby achieving greater engagement and maximising campaign outcomes.

Findings from Azerion’s Amplify 2.0 research have shown that high-impact skins, for example, deliver 43% more attention to subsequent conventional ad formats as compared to non-primed versions.

The research also found that even small investments in such top-funnel branding solutions can improve cost efficiencies — reducing performance CPAs by up to 20% at the bottom of the funnel. This proves that garnering high quality attention at the top of the funnel is crucial for marketers looking to elevate performance throughout their full marketing funnel.

Furthermore, our previous advertising attention research in 2018 found that high-impact ad formats deliver 15-20 times more attention than standard formats. Those brands that are employing them in creative ways will have a real competitive advantage in the demanding, saturated attention landscape.

The look of love: which ads are most likely to be seen?

As with all impactful advertising, targeting the right audience with the right message and the right creative, within the right context, is key for truly cutting through the noise.

Brands that leverage large volumes of user data and comprehensive attention measurement solutions to understand and target granular custom audiences with tailored, relevant offerings are set to generate maximum engagement within their campaigns.

Particularly, those campaigns that are delivering a broad range of high-impact creative formats in premium online environments will go the extra mile. As proven in a study by Nielsen, creatives are responsible for nearly half of a campaign’s effectiveness, and featuring them in high-quality environments can drive 20 times more brand awareness and recall than standard display ads.

This Valentine’s Day, advertisers that integrate creative messaging, compelling ad formats, premium environments, and precise targeting strategies can deliver engaging and satisfying experiences to consumers who are looking to enjoy themselves — and convert those who are sitting on the fence about their spending — while enhancing brand awareness and achieving overarching business goals.

• Azerion is a global digital entertainment and media platform. It provides technology solutions to automate the purchase and sale of digital advertising for media buyers and sellers.