• by Larissa Faw , February 13, 2019

Agencies are celebrating Valentine's Day with special initiatives that go beyond the standard social post and in-office treats.

Digitas is recognizing work families with the #BeMyUnicorn project. According to an HP workplace survey, 56% of U.S. full-time employees spend more time with their “work family” than they do with their real family. 

The initiative kicks off with a :55-second video showing Digitas employees taking the classic Valentine’s Day candy heart sayings and applying them to work friendships.

On February 14th, Digitas is posting the video across the agency's North American social channels to drive users to a custom microsite  where they can select from nine unique pieces of Valentine’s Day candy heart art to share on their Twitter pages, tagging their work families or real families, with #BeMyUnicorn.

All work was created in house across Digitas teams in the U.S., Costa Rica, and Mumbai. “But even if you're not a Unicorn (aka Digitas employee) you can go to the site and 'click a heart to share some love' to your work fam, whomever that may be," says Peter McCann, SVP, Head of Production, Digitas. 

NYC's The Gate is sending out more than 250 packages of specially-designed candy hearts treats — similar to the iconic NECCO candy hearts — that carry messages like "Be my point person?" and "You had us at KPI." The gifts are being sent to new business prospects, though agency staffers might be able to snatch up a few for themselves. 

Austin-based agency T3 is encouraging employees to show their appreciation for others through "Thank You Grams." Workers write notes on artfully-designed cards and T3 will hand them out to addressees on the 14th with a treat attached.

The Community's Miami office is doing something similar, inviting staffers to fill out a card and "Cupid will hand deliver them with rosé – not a rose but a small bottle of champagne rosé. Employees are also encouraged to post the grams they receive on the Gram – Instagram that is – by using the hashtag #tcMIA. 

BSSP is having a Happy Hour at its Sausalito office with wine, cheese, craft beer and, for some reason, hundreds of chicken nuggets. The agency will be setting up a “prom” photo booth in its studio so people can take photos with props, balloons, and co-workers. 

Additionally, the shop is putting on a “Friendly-Wed” game with five friend couples at work that mimics the Newlywed Game to test how well they know each other. The featured couples include founders Greg Stern and John Butler. Social media will document the event.  

Agency Haha OK is helping one local man find his soulmate by streaming a social experiment at 6pm on February 14. It will live stream those that decide to meet one single man (described as a blockchain developer)  at a trash can at the corner of Telegraph and 19th St in Oakland, CA. 

“Who says love can only be found by swiping?” the founders of Haha OK asked. “We wanted to take the guesswork out of going on a date and simplifying Valentine’s Day. Inspired by our own romantic misfortunes and how easily it is to be discouraged, we asked ourselves, how can we make this better for someone else?” 

Yeah, love can be pretty trashy sometimes.

This story has been updated.