Today is Galentine’s Day, a celebration invented by Amy Poehler’s fictional Leslie Knope in season two of the TV series Parks and Recreation, which some marketers and consumers have started observing in real life. It takes place each year on the day before Valentine’s Day and is all about celebrating female friendship.
Some of the players that are jumping on the Galentine’s Day bandwagon, typically using the “holiday” as a way to promote the sale of more Valentine’s Day-type products, include:
• Retailers. Stores from Hallmark Gold Crown to Target to Pittsburgh’s Women Who Rock pop-up shop have been promoting Galentine’s Day in-store and/or online. Hallmark and Target each have offered a dedicated page on their e-commerce sites pushing Valentine’s-specific and other merchandise promoting love and friendship under the Galentine’s Day banner, while Women Who Rock hosted an event of champagne and shopping focused on a collaborative collection of jewelry with designer Renée Piatt.
• Media. Magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Women’s Day, Good Housekeeping, Oprah, Us, and House Beautiful, and TV shows such as Today, run annual features and segments on best Galentine’s Day gifts for female friends.
• Restaurants. This is an active sector for Galentine’s Day promotion, particularly centered on brunch. (The Parks and Rec celebration took place over breakfast.) Examples include vineyards, independent restaurants, regional chains such as Cohn Restaurant Group in San Diego and Maui, and national chains such as Cinnabon, which has been promoting its heart-shaped CinnaPack treat boxes for both Valentine’s and Galentine’s Day.
• Consumer products brands. Silk sleepwear, bedding, and apparel label Lilysilk ran a self-care-themed “Treat Yourself” campaign for Galentine’s Day, with a 20%-off sale and giveaways. Sanrio hosted a Galentine’s Day giveaway on Instagram, with a Hello Kitty prize pack consisting of a branded cosmetics case and mirror and a variety of branded scents, makeup, eyeshadow, and lip gloss. Marketers such as Hallmark and LovePop—as well as a number of Etsy makers—have been selling Galentine’s-specific greeting cards and party supplies.
While licensors and licensees are occasionally involved in Galentine’s Day promotions, licensed products specifically tied to Galentine’s Day are few and far between to date. But there are a few examples. Fifth Sun sells a Disney Princess Galentine’s Day t-shirt through retailers such as Box Lunch and Target, for example, while NBC offers Parks and Recreation Galentine’s Day t-shirts in its online shop and on various print-on-demand sites.
Galentine’s Day seems like an as-yet-untapped opportunity for the licensing business, ripe for additional promotions, or even collaborations between appropriate partners, in years to come.
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