Valentine’s Day, a dreaded holiday for singles . . . maybe even couples, one huge holiday for the candy and flower industries. A standout candy brand that, even today, is a bit of an enigma is Sweethearts for its Conversation Hearts. The brand only sells one product during one season of the year, but that product has taken hold of the masses for over a century. Its secret? Clever messaging, clever marketing. In the early 1900s, the candies’ classic phrases, like “be true,” became so popular, they were soon used as props for marriage proposals. Fast forward to the 90s, the candies continued to stay relevant with phrases like “page me.” Despite multiple acquisitions, Sweethearts’ brilliant strategy has stood the test of time.
Amid their latest craze, Situationships Boxes, we couldn’t help but wonder how we’d apply an experiential strategy that would further uplevel their newest marketing campaign.
Enter: Missed Connections - a live social experiment for singles in the form of a pop-up activation.
A series that could sweep the nation, this traveling pop-up would invite singles that have had a failed situationship, failed flirt attempt or even missed an opportunity to approach that one person across the bar they’d been eyeing all night, to show up unabashed and ready to look for that missed connection.
The pop-up would take over bar favorites across the nation on an otherwise grim winter’s night (as is every night for singles between January 1 and February 14), add sweet little conversation starters, and give folks that second (or third, fourth) chance they’ve been waiting for. As professionals, we know a good menu collab is always hit, kitschy hearts décor is often too elaborate not to post even under the circumstances, the music can be pretty infectious — Missed Connections shows all the signs of an iconic holiday pop-up with the social-experiment twist ‘Love is Blind’ made viral. The edge is off, your heart is on your sleeve (maybe even literally), and your missed connection is just around the corner.
The best part? This fail-safe method works even if nobody finds the connection they came for, because Sweethearts connected them to an unexpected someone who is there for the same reason. The meet cute of all meet cutes. . . or perhaps the beginnings of another situationship.
According to Entrepreneur, 46.4% of Americans are single, and 92% of Americans express a desire for experiential gifts. Sweethearts, we’re talking to you, this is a connection you don’t want to miss.
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