How to market your gift card this Friendship Day?
If you’re looking for a new marketing angle for your gift card, there’s a date to mark in your diary: 30th July – International Friendship Day. It’s a gift for brands who want to get their card out there. You don’t need discounts like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, and a huge range of ages and genders can get behind the day.
With brands like Amazon already offering unique designs to celebrate the day, it’s a sure sign that this is the start of a milestone in the calendar that you should take notice of.
Here are a few ways to get your card seen – and some fresh marketing angles.
- 18 to 24-year-olds are more likely to go more than a year without seeing their close friends than any other age group
The Gen Z market is desired by many brands, but you might be thinking that this day is a lost cause. Not so! Just because the new generation typically don’t see each other physically as much as previous generations, it doesn’t mean they aren’t staying in contact – they are just doing it with their phones. In a study of over 100 gen z individuals, 56 percent said that social media made them happier: and less than five percent said that they felt more anxious or less confident using it.
The takeaway? Gift cards are likely to be something that can be sent from one GenZ to another digitally to replicate what other generations would do for friendship day – making a call, sending flowers or meeting up.
If you want to use this angle – try and address the issue directly.
“We know you haven’t seen your bestie since…Err, let’s not go there. But you love them. As it’s friendship day, send them a gift card to their phone.”
- …Yet people of all ages love an excuse to gift to someone else
During the COVID-19 pandemic, global online gift sales increased by 63% and approximately 30% of Americans shop throughout the year for holiday gifts. This is true across the world, so it makes sense Friendship Day will soon become a cause for celebration.
To market your gift card – go gently! One of the complaints many consumers have about brands on social media is the ‘me, me, me mentality.’ Instead of a conversation, they are doing a sales pitch. Use International Friendship Day to start to ask questions – what makes a great friend, who inspires them? When do you know a friendship is over?
- Word of mouth is a huge driver of marketing success
Offering an incentive or a reward for word-of-mouth referrals is a great marketing strategy. That’s why so many brands have formal referral programmes (some even give away gift cards for other brands!)
It makes great sense to offer a treat when people refer their friends to you. With a gift card, you can easily run this as a one-off campaign.
“Buy one gift card, get one for a friend when they order.”
By offering your gift card as an incentive, you get that word-of-mouth recognition, you also coax new customers to your brand and you open up a whole avenue.
- People might need a friend. Tie your gift card into a force for good.
Over 9 million people in the UK – almost a fifth of the population – say they are always or often lonely (British Red Cross and Co-Op, 2016). That’s just in the UK. Across the world, many charities know that loneliness can have damaging physical effects. You could focus on associating your gift card with the great work these charities are doing, ensuring that each sale gives a percentage towards a great cause.
That’s just the start of what’s possible.
Lets talk and we can open doors to even more possibilities for you!