The holiday that has owned chocolate, flowers and a hopeful dinner date has transformed this year, making it to your inbox and social media feeds from nearly every brand that is willing to roll the dice on love. 

Just this week I received emails with subject lines:

• “What is Love?” – market research company
• “Don’t be a love hater :(“ – the holiday and political favorite, JibJab
• “The best way to honor someone you love” – charity:water
• “Give your closet some love” - Banana Republic
• “love, actually” - Fabletics

Phew. If you’re not feeling the love you should be.

In addition to a ton of love-themed emails, I received a couple direct mail pieces from universities this week and they were pitching love too. But perhaps they are onto something.

Now it is very possible that it is coincidence that I attended the University of Dayton and live in the great city of Columbus, OH, home of The Ohio State University, which both sent me their direct mail “love campaigns.”

The University of Dayton campaign (udayton.edu/iloveud, #ILoveUD, #BeUDKind) is promoting several things – Black History Month, Be UD Kind, prizes, service events and challenges. What really caught my eye as an alum is the special challenge to raise $300K in 48 hours to build a 5-bedroom, sustainable house in the student neighborhood referred to by non-university officials as “the ghetto.” 

The Ohio State University campaign is an outright fundraising campaign. “There is no love greater than Buckeye Love. Make a gift today.” But at the same time they are inviting all those with Buckeye love to show their love (#BuckeyeLove). And in the direct mail package I received, I got stickers to place on my technology gadgets – so much better than those address labels.

These campaigns are tapping into the best kind of brand messaging, because a brand after all is a collection of thoughts and feelings about your experience.

You could be moved to make a donation to one of these campaigns. Better yet, you could engage with these campaigns in social media at no cost, but provide your beloved university with great engagement data to woo a prospective donor or support a grant.

Colleges and universities thrive on support from their alumni base for donations to preserve and elevate the college experience for those who follow, not to mention a strong endowment supports university growth and advancement.

Maybe you met your sweetheart in college or maybe every member of your family went to the same university or maybe you met your lifelong friends in college. And dare I say that you love the athletics programs. Certainly all these reasons would evoke love for your college or university because I can’t imagine your degree gets you weepy around Valentine’s Day.

What connects you to your university…is it love?

-Amy Ireland, Account Director and UD Flyer