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Bonds and Lvly have partnered to celebrate love in all forms this Valentine\u2019s Day and are encouraging consumers to think small; with everyday gestures not extravagant proclamations of love.<\/p>\n
“Traditionally, Valentine\u2019s Day can make you think of over-the-top displays of love or clich\u00e9d teddy bears. But in 2025, we want to celebrate the gestures big and small that symbolise everyday love”, said Soniya Cooper, head of marketing and partnerships, at Lvly, told Inside Retail<\/em>.<\/p>\n Despite being in the business of flowers; which organically benefits from Valentine\u2019s Day\u2019s traditional messaging \u2013 Lvly has taken a proactive approach to marketing surrounding the date to encourage different consumer behaviours on February 14.<\/p>\n Inside Retail<\/em> spoke with Cooper about the brand\u2019s considerate customer-led marketing initiatives, consumer trends and stepping into bricks-and-mortar retail.<\/p>\n Inside Retail<\/em><\/strong>: What is Lvly’s marketing strategy around Valentine’s Day 2025?<\/strong><\/p>\n Soniya Cooper: <\/strong>Our marketing strategy this Valentine\u2019s Day is about celebrating love in all its forms and to do that, we’ve collaborated with everyone’s OG comfy love – Bonds. The campaign included two in-store activations with Bonds in Bondi, New South Wales and Chadstone in Victoria on February 8. The in-store activations are a great way to bring Lvly; a pureplay e-commerce brand into physical retail stores in key locations nationally.<\/p>\n This year we wanted to get a little more heartfelt and remind everyone that love is celebrated every day. As a brand for every Aussie, Bonds was the perfect partner to celebrate love in all its forms – because love exists at every age, no matter who you are or who you love – it\u2019s for everyone. We felt like it was the perfect pairing of Aussie businesses taking life less seriously, and making the small moments matter.<\/p>\n For a playful and cheeky take on the Valentine\u2019s Day tradition, our \u2018Hey there Lover\u2019 bundle speaks to a lover of any kind, featuring the limited-edition new Bonds Valentine\u2019s Day print adorned on Lvly\u2019s iconic Flower Jar.<\/p>\n In 2025 we also launched our first above-the-line campaign with billboards and we\u2019re involved in a proposal too. It\u2019s these moments that make it all worthwhile – our florists and teams are all working incredibly hard and around the clock – all in the name of love.<\/p>\n As with all of our Valentine\u2019s Day campaigns, we sent out an option to opt out, as some people might have just gone through a breakup or Valentine’s Day is just not their thing. This year more than 200 people opted out – many just thankful we give them the opportunity to do so. <\/p>\n Lvly\u2019s Thoughtful Marketing Movement was formed back in 2021 and it\u2019s so great to see so many other brands doing the same. For Mother\u2019s Day last year we had more than 240 people opt out and over 400 opt out for Father\u2019s Day. We\u2019ve been overwhelmed by how positively our customers have responded to our approach – our customer service team has been inundated with messages of thanks and support. It\u2019s a great feeling to know that you\u2019re making a positive impact in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n IR<\/em><\/strong>: Have you noticed any trends with the pre-orders for Valentine\u2019s Day 2025? Why do you think this is?<\/strong><\/p>\n SC: <\/strong>We\u2019ve noticed a continuing increase in personalisation, which is what really sets Lvly apart from other flower and gifting brands.<\/p>\n It was actually the inspiration for our billboards this year. A common theme we noticed was lovers saying \u201cYou have a cute butt\u201d on our flower jars. Imagine unboxing that on Valentine\u2019s Day – it\u2019s going to make you smile right? So we decided to make billboards out of this and remind everyone to tell their partners they have a cute butt. It’s equal parts cheeky, and heartfelt, and would make someone’s day – just how we like it over here at Lvly.<\/p>\n IR<\/em><\/strong>: How has Lvly\u2019s approach to Valentine\u2019s Day evolved over the years?<\/strong><\/p>\n SC: <\/strong>Collaborations are at the heart of what we do. Last Valentine’s Day we collaborated with Kylie Minogue and Kylie Minogue Wines to celebrate all the lovers. It was a huge pinch-me moment for our team, and we even got to meet her in Sydney.<\/p>\n For Valentine\u2019s Day in 2023, we launched two designs for our flower jars with international artist Luke John Matthew Arnold and kick-started our trend of \u2018colourful sweary jars\u2019. And over 500 people said “I just f*cking love you” for Valentine’s Day 2023 as a result of this campaign – another proud moment for our fun-loving crew.<\/p>\n IR<\/em><\/strong>: Has there been an uptake of Galentine\u2019s orders this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n SC: <\/strong>The majority of the orders we\u2019re seeing are being sent to people\u2019s respective partners, but we\u2019ve noticed a trend in people sending gifts to multiple people.<\/p>\n Flowers are still one of the most popular choices for expressing affection. According to Australia’s National Retail Association (NRA) and Floral Industry Australia around 40 per cent of Australians gave flowers as a gift for Valentine’s Day in 2024.<\/p>\n However, some people want to send flowers to their partners and something completely different to their friends. Our sweet tooth category is always popular for non-traditional gifts, we launched explosion boxes this year with – hands down – the most delicious brownie on this planet.<\/p>\n Our Polaroid bundles are always popular at this time because it\u2019s such a great way to add a personal touch or special memory,<\/p>\n There are also plants, we have such a great selection of plants and ceramic pots that people love sending to their friends as a long-lasting gift. Last year, the most common message people chose to put on their personalised plants to their lovers and friends was \u2018Take your plants off\u2019.<\/p>\n IR<\/em><\/strong>: How does the retail period surrounding Valentine\u2019s Day stack up for Lvly? Are there busier sales periods?<\/strong><\/p>\n SC:<\/strong> Valentine\u2019s Day is like the grand finale for the flower industry – ahead of Mother\u2019s Day that is. They are the two biggest sales periods on our retail calendar. This year Lvly\u2019s pre-orders are tracking 15 per cent above where we expected them to be which is very promising.<\/p>\n The post Lvly\u2019s Soniya Cooper on customer-conscious marketing, love and retail appeared first on Inside Retail Australia.<\/p>\n