520 is quiet. How can brands that cannot sell love do “reverse marketing”?

This article explores the current status of 520 holiday marketing and how brands can re-attract consumers’ attention through “reverse marketing” strategies. It also analyzes the changes in consumer attitudes and the shift in brand response strategies. I hope that reading this article will inspire your marketing thinking.

“Is it necessary to celebrate 520?”

Why are fewer and fewer people celebrating Valentine's Day?

“Why is 520 so quiet this year?”

…

As 520 approaches quietly, the discussions on how to celebrate on social platforms are no longer noisy, and the once love marketing carnival seems to be losing its magic.

Consumers' attitudes have changed significantly. Xiaoqing shared, "Before, I paid great attention to the ritual sense of festivals, but now we have agreed to celebrate festivals and anniversaries, so we don't celebrate these consumer festivals very often." For Xiaoqing, who no longer celebrates 520, the commercial promotions and big sales of the festival can no longer attract her interest.

Lu Ting agrees with this, "There are too many Valentine's Days, so we decided to only celebrate Chinese Valentine's Day." As economic pressure increases, many people have begun to cut unnecessary spending and reconsider how to express their love.

Love is often regarded as a golden node for marketing. From the traditional "214" Valentine's Day, to the 520 that young people are keen on, and even the Chinese Valentine's Day with a profound cultural heritage, on this day endowed with romantic meanings, brands have always been able to use it as a battlefield to capture the hearts of consumers and use various creative marketing methods to make the commercialization of love appear necessary and natural.

The situation has been different in the past two years. The love market seems to no longer be so "hot". Although some signs have already appeared, what really caused the failure of love marketing on a large scale was last year's Chinese Valentine's Day.

Last year's "dog-licking economy collapse" on Chinese Valentine's Day triggered a round of online discussion. This year, major products that symbolize love have been hit the hardest. The sluggish holiday enthusiasm has translated into a bleak brand report card. On Valentine's Day, February 14, a topic about #Why Ferrero isn't selling well# unexpectedly became a hot search, and the romantic economy of chocolate, flowers, diamonds and other products that represent love has also gradually declined.

The reason is that, for consumers, although Valentine's Day is a marketing node that brings 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. Against this backdrop, many brands are shifting from simple commercial promotion to more innovative marketing methods.

The key question is, in the face of consumers who are no longer easily influenced by marketing, how can brands find new marketing paths? How can they innovate their strategies to win back consumers’ hearts?

1. The frenzy of Valentine’s Day has failed among young people

"Ever since my boyfriend and I decided not to celebrate 520, we no longer pay attention to any big promotions or brand events, and we don't bother choosing gifts. This actually makes us feel more relaxed." Xiaoqing told us that now she and her boyfriend only celebrate anniversaries and some holidays that they consider important. In their eyes, 520 is no longer necessary.

Similarly, Lu Ting, who was born in the 1990s, chose to celebrate the Chinese Valentine's Day among many Valentine's Days. She believes that the Chinese Valentine's Day is closer to tradition. "I chose to celebrate the Chinese Valentine's Day because I feel that it has more cultural heritage. For me, this day is not just about gifts, but more about respecting and celebrating love."

Things are different now. Commercialized festivals have lost their appeal to young people. Against the backdrop of a tightening overall consumption environment, 520 is no longer a scenario where premium and big promotions can be easily achieved through marketing strategies.

Although some people still celebrate 520, the way of celebration has become more low-key and practical, with more and more people choosing to return to simple and meaningful ways of celebration.

A young couple shared their new tradition: "We haven't prepared gifts or gone out to eat in the past two years. This year, 520 is the worst Monday, so we decided to prepare a simple and warm dinner at home and enjoy the peace and comfort of time." Expensive gifts and ritualistic celebrations are gradually being replaced by more practical and lasting investments in love.

The fact that love marketing is no longer "effective" is first reflected in the mentality of consumers, and major businesses and brands follow closely behind.

This year's 520 love marketing has returned to calm, with less publicity and shorter duration than previous years. It can almost be described as "quiet".

On social media platforms, we can see that many shop owners who suffered losses on Valentine's Day are gradually withdrawing from the 520 celebrations. They choose to give up this highly commercialized holiday in order to cope with current market sentiment and consumption trends.

On online platforms, major brands are also relatively conservative in their activities, no longer making large-scale investments and promotions like in the past. In the field of e-commerce, JD.com, Tmall, Douyin Mall, etc. have launched activities such as "Gift Season Special" and "520 Gift Season", which mainly focus on the theme of "gift giving". However, this year's focus is significantly on beauty products, and the promotion efforts are mostly "30 off for purchases over 300", which seems to be to warm up for the upcoming 618 shopping festival.

The situation offline is similar. Doujiao made a special trip to a nearby shopping mall and, as expected, it was no longer as "overwhelming" as it was in previous years.

The number of brands vigorously promoting the 520 concept has decreased significantly . In the past, before 520, physical stores such as women's clothing and cosmetics would take the opportunity to conduct large-scale promotions and launch various activities such as "520 Season" and "Big Brand Discounts" to attract customers. However, this year, the number and scale of these activities have been significantly reduced, and the variety and quantity of goods in physical stores have also been greatly reduced.

At a beauty store in a shopping mall, the shopping guide told us: "This month, there are three festivals concentrated, namely May Day, Mother's Day and 520. Although there are still some exclusive activities for 520, the discounts are not big and the market response is not as expected, but the performance target is constantly improving."

An increasingly prominent phenomenon is that for young people, Valentine's Day is no longer simply a festival that sells "ritual" and "romance", but an everyday occasion that showcases their own cultural attributes and personal choices.

Merchants and brands are also rethinking and redesigning their marketing strategies to better adapt to this new consumption environment and consumer expectations.

We are beginning to explore more diverse interpersonal relationships, such as best friend relationships and pet companionship, which are gradually becoming a new marketing focus.

Interestingly, compared with young people, middle-aged and elderly people seem to be more enthusiastic about celebrating such festivals. They express their emotions by giving gifts or transferring money. The obvious differences in values ​​and consumption behaviors among different age groups provide new market insights for brands.

Seemingly influenced by marketing, middle-aged and elderly people have also begun to actively participate like young people, and gradually recognize the significance of these days . A typical case is last year's 520, when the sustainable brand canU held a retro "elderly" DISCO party in its offline space canU HUB, giving the party spotlight to fashionable 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 for expressing and sharing emotions, allowing them to feel valued and cared for.

Under this trend, richer emotional needs have pushed the originally stagnant love marketing to a new fork in the road.

2. Brands’ Expressions of “Love”

As love marketing has faded, more and more brands are targeting single people and social emotions. In response to the celebration of love, many brands have started reverse marketing.

For example, this year, Xiaohongshu and Wuhan Jiangchen Tianjie jointly launched the "520 Anti-Bone Topic Event", with the theme of "520 is not over", turning Tianjie into a place to express individual voices. The event focused on "Tianjie will say what you dare not say", and those words that are usually not openly discussed began to appear in every corner of Tianjie, such as "We please ourselves" and "I prefer the tacit understanding between two people to a perfunctory red envelope" and other slogans.

In addition, the event specially invited debate contestant Pang Ying to host a debate on "Should we celebrate 520?", further stimulating the public's thinking and discussion on the traditional way of celebrating Valentine's Day. At the same time, the event also planned a giant text exhibition "Rebellious to the End" in cooperation with @省城何师傅, which not only challenges the traditional concept of love, but also explores the freedom of "choosing not to love" and provides consumers with more choices.

Also in Tianjie, Xiaohongshu cooperated with Changsha Yanghu Tianjie to launch a special 520 project "Instant Love Pass". It encourages consumers to abandon traditional concepts of love and tear off the label of "love brain". It also invites users to share their experiences of breaking free from the constraints of traditional love. Participants not only have the opportunity to receive gifts and surprises, but more importantly, experience a kind of emotional liberation and pleasure. Many netizens exclaimed "It's so cool".

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 seeking personalized and authentic ways of expression rather than being forced into commercial holiday celebrations.

By understanding and responding to social emotions and cultural trends, we can redefine holiday marketing, find new growth points in the ever-changing market environment, attract consumers who are skeptical about traditional concepts of love, and truly achieve emotional resonance with consumers.

In addition, compared to one-dimensional holiday marketing, brands are more keen to work with users to share real stories and create emotional resonance with consumers through sincere content.

For example, on May 20 this year, ELLE, Douyin, Juliangxingtu, COLMO, Liby Master Fragrance, Philips, Midea and other brands jointly launched the "Fall in Love with Yourself in Early Summer" initiative. The event invited three female bloggers who shine in their respective fields, @旖旎不景光, @IRIS徐, and @罗拉rolasfood, to discuss topics such as "Love My True Colors", "Love This Multifaceted Life" and "The Formula of Love". Young people are encouraged to say "I love you" to themselves in the mirror on May 20, to gain love in a more "self-pleasing" way, and to love the life they have prepared.

Especially as the way contemporary young people celebrate 520 has entered a new level, with more emphasis on the importance of self-acceptance and self-expression , brands are trying to resonate with young consumers' lifestyles and emotional needs when delivering product information.

Some brands are incorporating diverse interpretations of love into their brand strategies, exploring and expressing different forms of "love" and incorporating these diverse loves into a broader marketing context.

Also on 520 this year, the fashion brand VINYVIOLA adopted the theme "No limits this time (love)", advocating a borderless love, emphasizing the diversity and durability of love, encouraging people to break through the limitations of traditional emotions, and realizing that every day is an opportunity to experience and express love. It 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 shift from pure commercial promotion to more meaningful brand value delivery. In this process, many brands use the opportunity of 520 to consolidate and showcase their brand's long-term IP, focusing on strengthening the brand's self-expression.

This May 20th, designer luxury jewelry brand HEFANG Jewelry adopted a unique approach. They invited friends of the brand, Ma Yang and Ma Junyan, to participate in the filming of a special May 20th short film with the theme of "Love is not just about saying I love you, but also hidden in the trivialities of life." From the theme, narrative to products, love is returned to a daily home scene, expressing the value of love in a more intimate and daily way, and feeling a more open and relaxed love transmission.

In addition to the long-term IP strategy, it demonstrates the brand's willingness to find new ways of expression in love marketing, striving to closely link brand value with consumers' actual lives and strengthen the emotional connection with consumers.

It is not difficult to see that compared with the lively occasions of Valentine's Day in previous years, this year's 520 marketing as a whole seems to be particularly innovative. Now that love marketing is no longer effective, brands have also begun to adjust their strategies.

Perhaps this marks the beginning of a more mature and rational market trend, with more and more brands seeking strategic considerations for long-term development in a changing market environment and taking advantage of this opportunity to redefine their marketing discourse.

Author: Mia; WeChat public account: 剁椒spicy (ID: ylwanjia)