Press play on St Patrick’s Day
A celebration of all things Irish, St Patrick’s Day has been ranked the 14th most
How are you celebrating this Galentine’s Day?
Female friendship culture has been rising steadily over the last few years, with statistics from the USA showing a 554% rise in searches for the term ‘Galentine’s Day’ since 2019*.
What started as a term in the US sitcom Parks and Recreation, was quickly adopted by female friendship groups in America who were looking to celebrate and acknowledge the love and empowerment between themselves and their girlfriends. The Taylor Swift Eras Tour added to this show of affection with over 10.1 million people attending her shows worldwide** – and the majority of those attending traded friendship bracelets reflecting song titles along with messages of encouragement, confidence and love.
The trend has travelled across the Atlantic and is now growing here in the UK with retailers such as Oliver Bonas offering gifts and cards for shoppers to celebrate their friendships.
We spoke to the team who plan ahead for Galentine’s Day and fill the shelves at Oliver Bonas with the perfect gift for your BFF.
Kate, Head of Home & Gift Buying, Oliver Bonas told us:
“mainly I think it’s about making sure that we are creating a product that brings joy to the customer, so as long as the design and buying teams are loving creating the products, we tend to find the customer does too
It’s about creating a product that generates an emotional connection so they want to buy it as a thoughtful gift… whether that be a card with a cat on it, a beautiful vase in your favourite colour or some stemware for your girl’s night signature cocktail. We aim to curate a range that’s interesting and joyful.”
UK Google trends show a sharp rise in searches for ‘Galentine’s Day’ starting in early January, with it reaching peak popularity on January 30th.*** The spike at the start of January indicates that people are starting to research gifts, events, and celebrations around a month ahead of the day itself.
Head of Content SEO at Oliver Bonas, Charlotte Byrne, told us:
“This year to date we have had over +80% more views of our Galentine’s gifts category onsite than the same period last year. The Oliver Bonas website has had over +40% more impressions on Google for Galentine’s gifts this year compared to last year which shows the increased interest.”
So why has this particular celebration become so popular? Firstly, there is no need to be in a relationship to celebrate it. With Valentine’s Day comes the pressure to be ‘in love’ with someone, but Galentine’s Day is simply a time to recognise those pals who you share memes with all year, who you confide in, who you can discuss the latest reality TV show with.
The besties who have been there when you were at your lowest, and your highest points in life. There is no need to arrange a surprise trip away, or pressure to give or receive the most elaborate show of affection to share on social media, it’s simply a moment to say, ‘thank you for being my friend’.
Additionally, since the pandemic where the majority of people were separated from their friendship groups, apart from through video calls, many people now really understand the value and importance of having those bonds, and spending quality time together in person. Whilst having a post-work Friday get together with a glass of wine over Zoom and sharing lockdown stories was fun for a while, an in-person, crying with laughter afternoon spent with your girl gang can’t be replaced.
Mugs are having a moment and we have done particularly well with our new ‘Bestie’ and ‘Bl**dy love you’ mugs which are perfect for Galentine’s gifts. Beauty and Wellness gifting is also gaining popularity as people crave some time to relax.”
Alongside this rise in the celebration of female friendship, came the era of the Bottomless Brunch. This phenomenon of an all-day breakfast/lunch with bottomless drinks has now become a staple event for most hospitality venues looking to entice large groups in, and keep them there longer.
Whilst the bottomless brunch has been popular for several years, bars and restaurants are now looking at new ways to elevate the experience and raise themselves up over their competitors, and music could be the key to their success!
According to a recent survey of UK women by PPL PRS****, over 64% of people who enjoy attending Bottomless Brunch events were in the age bracket of between 30 and 50 years old, and when asked, 50% of respondents placed music in 3rd and 4th place when choosing a Bottomless Brunch event, only behind choice of food and drinks. Music and artist themed bottomless brunches have steadily risen since the pandemic, with events ranging from Pop to Country Music, from 80s to Rock. There is a Bottomless Brunch for everyone, no matter what your preferred music genre is.
Pop reigns supreme
When asked about a preferred music theme for Bottomless Brunch, Pop was the top choice with those who took part in our research, with 90s music close behind. Additionally of those surveyed, over 61% said they would be more likely to attend a Bottomless Brunch if it was music themed, and 36% would if it was their preferred genre of music.****
What better way to celebrate Galentine’s Day with some food, cocktails/mocktails and the music that binds you together as friends. The sheer joy of remembering a song from your school days, or that crazy weekend away where what happened stayed there, music has the power to turn a bottomless brunch into a wonderful festival with dancing, singing and a celebration of all things Gal!
References:
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1371601/online-searches-galentines-day-united-states/
- https://www.statista.com/chart/31033/key-figures-from-swifts-the-eras-tour/
- https://trends.google.com/trends/ (Numbers represent search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.)
- Survey conducted by PPL PRS via Attest of 500 UK women, aged between 20 and 65 in employment.
Author
Alexandra Carr
Alexandra Carr is a Member of The Chartered Institute of Public Relations and has worked in communications roles for over 20 years. Prior to her current position she worked for The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (UK) and Transport for London. Alexandra joined PPL PRS as PR & Communications Manager in December 2017, bringing together her love of writing and music.
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