Snickers preps #SmoothItOver campaign for after Valentine's Day

Brief:

Snickers is readying a campaign for the day after Valentine's Day, urging Twitter users to "smooth over" their holiday "nomance" gaffes, according to an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
On Feb. 15, candy fans can win free Creamy Snickers-infused flower bouquets by tweeting the hashtag #SmoothItOver and the chocolate emoji to the @Snickers account on Twitter. The Mars candy brand is promoting its new Creamy Snickers, which comes in almond butter, peanut butter and maple almond butter flavors.
The campaign is a twist on the "You're Not You When You're Hungry" campaign created by BBDO New York to promote the new line of smooth Creamy Snickers bars. The national campaign kicked off on Feb. 3 as part of the NFL Countdown before the Super Bowl.

Insight:

Snickers' post-Valentine's Day campaign is a humorous way to leverage the holiday for its new line of Creamy Snickers bars, which includes TV, print, digital and social media efforts. Valentine's Day is a significant occasion for candy brands, and Snickers is adding a creative twist to the many promotions that focus on love, romance and gift-giving. "Cringe" moments and embarrassing "fails" make up a hugely popular genre of user posts on social media platforms. Snickers can participate in those conversations with the #SmoothItOver campaign that urges people to share their more regretful Valentine's Day moments.

Snickers' campaign comes as fewer young adults plan to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. Consumers are shifting away from celebrating Valentine's Day because many find it to be over-commercialized, they don't have anyone to celebrate with or they aren't interested anymore. Even though Valentine-related spending will reach more than $20 billion this year, many people have gone cold on the occasion compared to 10 years ago. However, the people who do celebrate Valentine's Day are planning to spending more this year. Expected spending will hit $162 this year, up from $144 in 2018, per the NRF.

Snickers is among the brands that are running mobile-related promotions for Valentine's Day. Flower delivery service 1-800-Flowers.com last month started letting customers place orders using voice commands and chat apps for flowers and gifts, while Luxury candy boutique Sugarfina is sponsoring a brand-themed version of Cooking Craze, the mobile video game developed by Big Fish Games, for the whole month.

Meanwhile, Twitter has become a reliable platform for brands looking to run social media contests. The Snickers contest follows a recent campaign by Frank's RedHot that asked consumers to tweet the red pepper emoji during the Super Bowl.