Party and Paper Magazine

Love Is…

An all-encompassing love theme will win over the hearts of shoppers

By Abby Heugel, Managing Editor

Whether it sparks romantic optimism in a lovesick girlfriend or fear into a forgetful male partner, Valentine's Day is a day about emotion. But it's not always romantic love that takes center stage. While men tend to spend more on this holiday than women, spending on family, friends, coworkers and, even, pets is increasing.

Regardless of their intentions, consumers were expected to spend more than $14 billion on the holiday in 2010. The holiday falls on a Monday in 2011, so retailers can expect robust weekend traffic leading up to a slightly manic Monday of last-minute sales and deliveries.

How to prepare? Instead of specific "Happy Valentine's Day" product, lean towards more of the hearts and love theme that can be used not only for a variety of recipients, but also throughout the year. This leaves the shopper with more options and you with less holdover product.

After all, love is ...

In the Cards
When releasing Valentine's Day products for 2011, many manufacturers are incorporating a wide variety of love and relationship quotations instead of simply focusing on the romantic angle. Kris Ohlsen of Quotable Cards noted that this year, one of the cards that fit into this category is their simple "You Rock" card.

"It's a card to give to your significant other, but that you can also give to your best friend or your mom," Ohlsen said. "Choosing a style like this, and not just your typical ‘Happy Valentine's Day' style, is fun, original and can be a lot more personal."

"Humor remains a popular theme for Valentine's Day cards," added Ron Kanfi, president of NobleWorks Inc. "Include handwritten-type fonts that give the card a more personal look, as well as messages and situations that are reality based and relevant to day-to-day life as opposed to the more ‘mushy' sentiments of the past."

He also encouraged retailers to promote greeting cards as an alternative to flowers and other expensive options. Remind shoppers that a Valentine's Day card is a great option for those who can't spend $48 on a dozen roses or simply want to express their appreciation for a friend, family member or co-worker.

All Around
In fact, Kim Hayden of Rainbow Balloons has found more adults from offices are buying for their co-workers than before, while "school moms" continue to stay on the retail radar.

"I found the moms of elementary age children and women from local offices are doing the shopping," Hayden said. "You should carry a large assortment of decorations and boxed cards appropriate for school-age children as well as adults."

Susan Beer of Amscan agreed, adding that they have added more generic "heart-themed" Valentine's Day products to accommodate any classroom (or office) party.

"We offer a wide selection of activity kits, craft items and favors such as a wood frame decorating kits, notepads, erasers and many other kid-pleasing favors," Beer said. "Amscan's new Mega Value Pack decorations - including a Mega Value Pack of 30 Swirl Decorations and a Super Mega Value Decorating Kit of 36 pieces - can turn any classroom into a festive Valentine's Day celebration."

New and Exciting
Valentine's Day is a time when consumers will spend a little bit more money on something that they might not normally buy. This is a great time to offer new and innovative products, such as balloons that sing, record voices or include a convenient add-on gift.

"If you have the real estate, display an entire setting of paper goods with balloons, favors, etc., and always highlight the newest licenses," Hayden said. "Plush make a great balloon weight, while goodie bags filled with candy and toys make great add-ons."

At Anagram, the latest innovations are more specialty balloons, such as new clear holographic film that shimmers with prisms of color and singing balloons in a variety of trendy shapes and colors.

"The red, silver and black combination/color palette remains popular and continues to be perceived as traditional with a sense of romance," said Robin Oxley of Anagram. "Bright colors such as pink, orange, lime and bright blue used in combination with traditional red is more whimsical and can appeal to a broader audience."

Oxley added that while candy and other sweets such as cupcakes have always been popular Valentine's Day motifs, this trend is all about crisp art styles and color combinations in 2011, such as pinks mixed with aqua and chocolate brown.

"Animals are more cutesy than realistic this year," Oxley said. "An updated twist of unique art styles and humor has become a major theme in gifts and party goods, with a shift towards slightly irreverent humor."

Kathy Flynn from Pioneer Balloon Co. advised retailers to take advantage of the trends and sell designs that are unique for Valentine's Day 2011.

"Cute animals, including fuzzy panda bears, are always a popular theme, as well as some classic looks such as the ‘Happy Valentine's Heart & Arrow' jumbo design and the popular 36-inch ‘Valentine's Red Rose' Microfoil Heart," Flynn said. "‘Peace & Love' themes, as well as tie-dye looks, have made a big comeback and are also available on balloons for Valentine's bouquets and everyday sales."

Qualatex is offering new Bubble Balloon designs that stay inflated for weeks, allowing retailers to pre-inflate for that busy Valentine's Day. And sometimes bigger is better, as the jumbo latex designs remain popular year after year for Valentine's deliveries and are a great option to promote for really big impact in bouquets or school and office decorating.

In the Air
Valentine's Day shopping is often done last minute, so it's all about having balloons inflated and available for the customer to grab and go. Oxley advised not to miss out on the opportunity to capture a higher ring by only offering standard 18-inch foil balloons. Be sure your balloon program has a good mix of specialty balloons such as singing balloons or a balloon with a romantic black marabou wrapped around it to create unique themed bouquets.

"Custom themed bouquets can help differentiate your store from other retailers and generate higher sales," Oxley said. "Display numerous balloon bouquet ideas weeks in advance and take pre-orders. Not only does this offer fantastic customer service, it brings the customer back to the store one more time before the holiday."

Hayden added that if they can see it, they will buy it. The more they see and play with the balloons and products, the better your sales will be. Always keep themed items together, hanging licensed balloons with the matching party goods and always cross-referencing what you can in other departments to increase sales.

"Think about how your customers buy cards and cluster your balloons the same way; make it easy for them to purchase a balloon by grouping sentiments," Oxley said.
"Create clusters of ‘love' message balloons, clusters of ‘Happy Valentine's Day' messages and clusters of whimsical or licensed characters."

This makes it easy for customers to choose a balloon and give you those sales. After all, love sparks many emotions. It might as well spark sales.

Originally posted Monday, Aug. 30, 2010