It was a familiar type of email, and one that I’d usually just delete, but in the interests of the Surveys that Work book I’m writing I opened it. “Valentine’s Day Romance Survey Results” from Fresh Flowers and Gifts in Australia. I assume that it’s a seasonal promotion so here are the key points.
I’m guessing that the panel referred to in the survey consisted of a couple of people in the Fresh Flowers and Gift’s marketing office. In other words, they made it up. No worries, the survey was just for fun and that comes across pretty clearly in the results.
Read on and enjoy – and then I’ll discuss some more scientific surveys.
An unscientific survey of Valentine’s Day views in Australia
“A panel of Australian women, all experts in the fields of being women and receiving Valentine’s gifts, revealed today some special advice for men seeking Valentine’s Day romance. Here are the main findings from the Valentine’s Day survey.
- All women expect Red Roses on Valentine’s Day – especially the ones that say they don’t.
- The message on the card must be romantic. Be prepared to say “I love you”.
- Diamonds may be considered as a suitable Valentine’s Day gift but should be accompanied by a red rose and a romantic message.
- Proposals of marriage on Valentine’s Day are encouraged but should also come with diamonds, red roses, a romantic message and a prenuptial agreement.
Australian men were asked their views on Valentine’s Day and receiving gifts. All men admitted being totally baffled by the concept of giving flowers. Writing a romantic message was really pushing the boundaries. Nevertheless, through years of observation, all men surveyed have witnessed and experienced the powerful benefits of sending flowers, especially on Valentine’s Day. Men understood sending roses on Valentine’s Day is considered a sound investment decision. Men’s views on receiving gifts held little surprise.
- Food good
- Chocolate good
- Alcohol good
- Alcohol, food and chocolate great
- Card? Did it come with a card?
A more scientific marketing survey in the U.S.
Have there been real surveys of views about Valentine’s day? Intrigued by the fun survey above, I had a look. Mostly, they were about as scientific as the Australian one – and less amusing.
I found one that received quite a lot of press and internet coverage, released by a PR agency under the headline “Valentine’s Day Survey: Many Lovers Prefer Sincere Cards Over Costly Dates and Flowers“.
The announcement goes on to say: “over a third of women (37%) appreciate Valentine’s Day cards with a love note more than a romantic date, flowers or candy — meaning guys, your wallets can breathe a big sigh of relief. In fact, even a third of men (31%) would prefer a greeting card with a love note over a dinner date, proving that many men’s hearts are not in their stomachs”.
This is both accurate and misleading.
Accurate, because this was a reputable survey conducted by a bona fide market research business, and they carefully include a paragraph explaining how they did it in the press release. The headline is accurate because 31% of the U.S. population is a lot of people, and they said ‘many’.
Misleading, because of the way that the press announcement is framed. When you read ‘many’, did you think ‘most’ or ‘less than half’? Would you think that skipping the red roses in favour of a nice card has a good chance of being welcomed by your loved one, or not?
The press release doesn’t actually say: “you’ve got a good chance here”, but it implies it.
In fact, if your loved one is a typical member of “total U.S. population ages 18 and over”, then you’d have over 50% chance of messing up if you went for the card-only option for a female recipient – and the odds are quite a bit worse if your recipient is male.
Of course, your own loved ones aren’t typical and you won’t be swayed by surveys like this. But it’s worth thinking about how statistics can be manipulated to make a point.
A survey we can learn from in Japan
I was more impressed with another survey that I found on Japan-guide.com, a site that aims to explain Japan to foreigners who plan to travel there. They looked at Valentine’s day and White day.
Japanese women give their menfolk chocolate on Valentine’s day, expecting them to reciprocate with a gift on White day a month later.
From the point of view of the survey designer, the interesting part about this Japanese survey is the meticulous opening paragraph, which explains:
- how many surveys they sent out,
- how many responses they received,
- the likely bias in the results.
Bravo, Japan-guide.com!
And to everyone, if you observe the holiday: happy Valentine’s day to you.
#surveys #surveysthatwork