Fabric softener brand Snuggle is gearing up for Valentine?s Day by offering snuggling tips online and encouraging consumers to share a snug by creating a personalized video, featuring its teddy bear mascot, to share with friends and family via social media channels and email.

The brand is rolling out the campaign in time for the launch of the pink variant of its Snuggle Liquid Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheets, which will be available around Valentine?s Day. Users can access the Snuggle Valentine Video Card on share.snuggle.com and select from a variety of messages spoken by Snuggle Bear before sharing via Twitter, Facebook and mobile-optimized emails.

?Strategically, the Snuggle brand has been on a mission over the last few years to contemporize the brand and social media has been one of the key tools used to accomplish this,? said Brendan O'Marra, director of digital and promotion at Sun Products Corporation, Wilton, CT. ?The brand has achieved this in three ways: by bringing Snuggle Bear front and center to embody both the functional and emotional benefits of the brand.

?We have had the ability to develop bear-led content in a relatively cost-effective way on digital and social platforms.

?By using contemporary digital and social marketing tools to engage our fans, we have built credibility across social platforms and in turn increased our engagement. By building a multi-platform digital strategy we have been able to keep fans engaged and loyal through regular contact at a deeper level.?

Augmenting the brand
Snuggle is attempting to capitalize on one of the most romantic days of the year by offering snuggling tips on its social media channels, including Twitter and Instagram, via the #shareasnug hashtag. The company believes that spreading Snugs captures the true spirit of Valentine?s Day.

Consumers wanting to send a Valentine to a loved one, friend or family member can visit share.snuggle.com and pick from more than 400 names and five video messages for Snuggle Bear to say. If the recipient?s name is not in the bear?s repertoire, it will address him or her as ?Valentine? instead.

Users can also select the theme of the message, from the available ?Kisses & Snuggles,? ?Love You Forever,? ?Friendship,? ?Hearts? and ?Snug You This Much? options.

Once the names are inputted into the site, which is mobile-optimized, the customer has the choice of sending the personalized message via Facebook, Twitter or email.

Snuggle Bear also has official Twitter and Instagram accounts to keep in touch with his fans, where he posts snuggling advice and personal photos and videos.

Sharing the journey via SnugMobile
Consumers interested in keeping up with Snuggle Bear?s journey as he hits the streets of New York City can follow along with the brand?s social media channels. Manhattan residents will have the opportunity to meet the mascot as he rides around in a SnugMobile in a bid to break the Guinness World Record title of ?most hugs given by a puppet in eight hours.?

The event will be taking place on Feb. 13, with stops planned at Columbus Circle and Times Square in addition to other popular locations.

Individuals will be invited to tour the SnugMobile bus, share a Snug and upload it to social media, take a selfie with the bear and also receive a free plush Snuggle as a souvenir.

The brand?s mobile strategy and SnugMobile trip will likely aid in augmenting awareness of its products while fulfilling its purpose of helping consumers connect by sharing a genuine act of cuddling.

?Snuggle Bear really is a social media star,? Mr. O?Marra said. ?He has a growing social media presence with a remarkably high level of engagement among his fans and followers on his official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels. 

?That being said in the world today the majority of people use their mobile devices for social media purposes. The engagement rate of consumers interacting on social media is significantly higher than those using their desktop computers,? he said.

?The combination of activating this Valentine?s Day promotion across social platforms with the high engagement rate of mobile users allows the brand to reach a wider consumer base that is highly engaged in social content.?

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York