Cue Lover by Taylor Swift…It’s Cupid’s time of the year and the hearts are all afloat. From roses to teddy bears, cards, and jewelry, romance is brewing strong. Couples are on the lookout for the perfect date nights and the ideal gifts to present their loved ones. World over, Valentine’s Day is one of the highlights of February.

In today’s rapidly changing environment, seasonal events like Valentine’s unfold every other day. It is important for brands to not just track, but truly understand these special occasions to capitalize on them. We analyzed the evolution of content creation and its consumption to show how this day impacts the open web. In 2023, Valentine's Day was an engaging and relevant topic, with a particular interest in high-profile couples and commercial promotions. The data showed a steady increase in the number of views as Valentine's Day approached, peaking on February 20th, with the top articles indicating a mix of celebrity news, product promotions, and romantic rumors.

So what’s trending this Valentine’s?

According to our 2024 analysis, the interest in content is mirroring a pattern very similar to that of the previous year. However, we are experiencing a higher viewership when compared to the same time period last year. As a result, we anticipate a substantial increase in views, with the peak expected to reach a staggering 500,000 views on the most prominent days!

The top category with over 15% article distribution is events and attractions, followed by pop culture and family and relationships hovering over 10%. Travel, music and audio, food and drink, and movies are the next set of categories with a 5 - 10% distribution. The last 3 in the top 10 are television, home and garden, and sports.

What are the areas of interest of the Valentine's Day-focused audience?

1. Garnering over 2.82M impressions, Love Life is a key interest area where the content centers on the romantic journeys of individuals. The content interest ranges from finding a partner to tying the knot and building a family. The top keywords include power couple, baby son, beautiful family, heartfelt message, closeness, life together, and happy marriage.
2. Love life is followed by Celebrities Relationships with 2.4M impressions. The content shines the spotlight on well-known celebrities and public figures, delving into the intricacies of their breakups, romantic escapes, and the elaborate ways in which they celebrate Valentine's Day. Some prominent keywords are relationship timeline, Georgina, Kardashians, Gigi, Love Island, couple, Taylor Swift, celebrity news, and daily celebrity.
3. Up next is the much-talked-about Valentine’s Day Plans with 2.32M impressions. This genre places the importance on enhancing the celebration of love and connection through activities and arrangements that couples can enjoy together. This includes keywords like a romantic date, hotel, romantic stroll, romantic dinner, laser tag, authentic Italian, night sky, and outdoor adventure.
4. With 2.05M impressions, Rom-Coms are next in line, emphasizing the charm of romantic comedy films and the relaxed, comforting atmosphere they provide. Some trending keywords are Ryan Gosling, Love Actually, Dicaprio, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, comedy film, streaming platform, and pride.
5. Valentine’s Day Presents come in fifth, gathering 1.53M + impressions by throwing light on the importance of thoughtful presents as a tangible expression of love and appreciation, thus enhancing the romantic connection. The top keywords are gift box, wishlist, Etsy, gift card, pet shop, spa treatment, happy valentine, chocolate, and jewelry.

These areas of interest and keywords are unique to this Valentine’s season. Seasonal audiences have a high affinity for particular environments within the content universe. Brands must engage with this audience pool by sharing the right messaging within their realm of interest at the most optimal time. This requires a shift from the ordinary.

Move beyond traditional audience segmentation based on stereotypes and go contextual to deliver a scalable strategy for the open web. With Seasonal Audiences powered by Liz, brands can engage audiences with a privacy-centric strategy during the peak of specific global seasonal events like Valentine’s Day.

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