While greeting card retailers are finding their own inventive ways of providing customers with Valentine’s Day cards during the lockdown, a small Wiltshire village is going great guns in spreading a very positive PR message about the sending of the first spring season event of the year.
National and regional press, TV programmes, and online news sites galore have all latched onto the feelgood campaign instigated by the “most romantic village in the world”, to send Valentine’s Day cards and stay connected to everyone they have missed due to the pandemic.
The village of Lover launched its ‘send a little love’ campaign to broaden the appeal of 14 February, urging people to send cards to much-missed friends, colleagues, family members and lonely neighbours.
Supported by the Royal Mail, and with an NHS charity element, the campaign is supported a group of Lover volunteers who are working away from their respective homes to stamp thousands of Valentine’s Day cards with the village’s own special postmark.
This year’s campaign continues a tradition that has been kept alive by villagers since the post office there closed in 2005. Following the closure, residents formed the Lover Community Trust, which has seen thousands and thousands of cards and letters franked with a ‘Sent from Lover’ postmark every year, raising more than £30,000 for the village in the process.
The cupid-emblazoned postbox has seen many flocking to post their cards in person, but this year, in a bid to minimise people coming into the village in person, the service has moved online.
As Nick Gibbs, ‘The Postmaster General’ and chairman of Lover Community Trust told PG Buzz: “The pandemic has been difficult for everyone throughout the world. We have missed people that we are close and for whom we care. Internet contact, with the new breed of video conferencing has helped us stay in touch, but there is nothing like receiving expressions of affection through the post as a lasting keepsake.”
As an extension to the service this year, the Trust team are also offering a selection of Valentine’s Day cards, some bespoke creations (including those featuring Stanley, the Trust’s mascot) as well as pop-up cards from Cardology.
Nick admits that not only has been very pleasantly surprised by the incredibly positive reaction from the media – on top of the coverage to date, BBC’s Countryfile all set to cover the campaign – but the demand for the cards on its own site has been extraordinary.
“I have already run out of our biggest seller and have already reprinted a couple of choices. People also have the option of sending their own card to us for forwarding. It is good to have sold so many cards already, but we still have a week to go, with some big interviews and Countryfile to come!” said Nick.
Having made contact with the GCA’s ceo Amanda Fergusson, she was quick to spot a solution to the stock issue and sent Nick a link to the GCA’s members’ directory!
Commenting Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail added: “This Valentine’s Day, as people everywhere show their affection for one another, Royal Mail is playing the amazingly important role we always do by delivering cards, letters and gifts across the UK. This year it’s even more important with many couples spending Valentine’s Day apart. Valentine’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to let that special person in your life know how much you love them. But this year, it’s also an opportunity to show your love and appreciation to family and friends. We are proud and pleased to play a part in this loving celebration that shares so much joy and happiness in these challenging times. There is something so special about receiving personal messages through the post and what a wonderful service Lover village is offering at just the right moment.”
To ensure your Valentine’s Day card has a romantic postmark head to https://lover.org.uk/
Top: A historic photo of Lover villagers helping to spread the love.
