Anniversary cards are soooo 20th Century! They’re also impersonal, predictable and the embossed, flowery cards can cost as much as $7-bucks a pop!
This last anniversary (our 15th on July 29th), I wanted to do something special and very different from what I’ve done in the previous 14 years.
So I turned my back on a fourteen year tradition of spending about 20 minutes on the day of my anniversary, scouring through dozens of anniversary cards on the rack to find that “special one.” It’s a challenge to find a greeting card that resides comfortably between cheesy and tacky, sappy and schmaltzy, and devoid of the annoying glitter and butterflies on the cover. (I admit that the ultimate decision was made after looking at the backside of the card).
For our 15th anniversary, I decided to write a private blog post to my wife (yes, you can go ahead and view it: 15 Highlights in 15 Years with My Bride).
One of the challenges I faced with the blog post was how to help her find it.
In the previous 14 years, I would place the sealed card in a prominent place for her to see it throughout the day (usually next to a vase of flowers), that built up the anticipation for its unveiling until sometime after dinner. But with a blog post (a private one), how in the heck would she find it?
Just posting it seemed a little impersonal. Emailing it seemed a little corny.
Then I had a spectacular idea. I would place a Facebook ad and link it to the blog.
I created a Facebook ad with our wedding picture, geo-targeted the heck out of it (by age, gender, marital status and hometown so she was one of 40 potential married women in our area to have the ad pop up), and then referenced her name in the ad so there was no mistake she would see it. This idea was unfolding perfectly.
So, what happened? Did she log on to Facebook and see the ad? What did she think when she clicked on the ad and came to her own special blog post? Did she cry tears of joy that she had married such a romantic and technologically-savvy guy?
Well, my gameplan didn’t turn out the way I had envisioned it. Yes, the message got posted on MarriageJunkie.com. Yes, Facebook accepted the ad. And yes, the ad was linked to the blog.
What foiled my sure-fire, belt-it-out-of-the-park, romantic-idea-of-the-century? The flippin’ weather.
July 29, 2009 was the HOTTEST DAY EVER RECORDED IN SEATTLE. Seattle hit 103-degrees and our hometown hit 112-degrees. For some people around the country, triple digit temperatures are not a big deal (but they’re usually set up with ample amounts of air conditioning). In Seattle, air conditioning, especially in homes is more of a luxury. Because A/C is only needed a handful of times per year, having it installed is fairly uncommon.
So, while my wife was on Facebook quite a bit on our anniversary, she accessed her Facebook on her phone while we attempted to stay cool at the mall, the theater, and the various restaurants (all with air conditioning).
The few moments that day that we were home, I logged onto her Facebook on her computer and kept refreshing the screen to make the ad appear. It never did.
Viewing my Facebook Ad Manager, the ad was making an appearance for some of the women of Maple Valley, but not my woman of Maple Valley. (Thankfully, no one clicked on the ad, so I wasn’t charged).
I hoped, I prayed, I did everything in my power to manipulate the ads on her Facebook Profile.
I waited as long as I could for “fate” to occur. With the inside house temp registering a blistering 97-degrees at 11:30 pm, I submitted to the fact that my plan would fail to materialize.
I pulled my wife aside, logged onto my Facebook Ads Manager and showed her the ad she should have stumbled across, and then took her to the blog and showed her “her special page”.
She loved it and appreciated my efforts to do something special for her. I was pretty frustrated that my hard work had been thwarted by Mother Nature, but our 15th anniversary, nonetheless, was one we will never forget!
So with all the possibilities out there, what can you do to take an online tool or website and make your next “anniversary card” something especially meaningful?
Here’s some ideas, but I want to hear from you too!
Flickr: Create a collection of pictures of the two of you and your journey together.
YouTube: Make a special video message expressing your love to your mate.
Twitter: Send your spouse a direct message with a link to a blog page or web site with a special anniversary message.
Facebook: Create a Group/Fan page, make it private membership, and invite your spouse as the only invitee. Deck it out with photos, messages, and postings that scream out your adoration for your spouse.
WordPress: Make your own private blog devoted to your marriage — kind of your own digital scrapbook of memories, poems, photos and more!
Share your own ideas of how to express “Happy Anniversary” with 21st century tools by leaving a comment.
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