Case Study

Business Besties:
B2B Valentine’s Day Cookie Deliveries

Client: CFA Empire Place

Overview

To celebrate Valentine’s Day and strengthen community relationships, Bethany created and executed Business Besties, a B2B appreciation campaign that delivered heart-shaped trays of cookies or nuggets to top catering clients and community partners. Deliveries also included a surprise visit from the Chick-fil-A Cow or Kid Cow, adding a playful and memorable element to each interaction. The campaign was designed to express genuine gratitude and reinforce key relationships, without relying on sales or traditional promotions.

Challenges

This campaign had to be thoughtful and impactful, without overcomplicating operations during a busy time of year.

  • Required meaningful partner touchpoints with minimal disruption to store flow

  • Needed to be simple and scalable to execute solo with limited support

  • Timing was sensitive, on both ends. Had to land during working hours without overwhelming partners

  • Had to balance sincerity with playfulness to feel authentic, not gimmicky

The Results

20
personalized deliveries

made to
local business partners and top
business catering clients

100%
client retention

with every business visited still using Empire Place for catering, strengthening long-term partnerships.

20% lift in B2B
catering inquiries

in the weeks following the campaign, driven by visibility and word-of-mouth.

The Solution

Bethany created and executed the Business Besties campaign independently, built around a key insight: while most Valentine’s Day marketing targets consumers, few brands acknowledge their business relationships. She saw the gap and turned it into an opportunity to launch a thoughtful, lighthearted B2B campaign that stood out by showing appreciation.

Bethany identified top catering clients and trusted community partners, then hand-delivered heart-shaped trays of cookies or nuggets alongside a custom thank-you note, a bottle of CFA sauce, and a small plush Cow for each to keep. The Cow or Kid Cow joined every visit, adding a joyful, unexpected element that made each stop memorable.

She handled every element, from partner selection and route planning, to content capture, mascot coordination, and social rollout. Throughout the day, Bethany captured video and photo content at each delivery, which was later edited into social media Reels and stories that highlighted each business and tagged them, amplifying the gesture while reinforcing community connection.

The campaign wasn’t designed for promotion, it was about relationship-building. By showing up when most weren’t, Empire Place left a meaningful impression. Several businesses posted about their experience, thanked the store publicly, and continued conversations that strengthened the partnership long after Valentine’s Day.

What began as a creative one-off has now become an annual tradition, used each year to deepen ties with catering clients, celebrate local partnerships, and keep CFA and their catering top of mind for B2B decision-makers in a way that feels authentic, warm, and uniquely memorable.

The Benefits

B2B Relationship Building

Reaffirmed long-standing partnerships through unexpected and meaningful gestures.

Client Retention Driver

Strengthened loyalty with key partners, many of whom remain repeat catering clients.

Holiday Campaign Differentiation

Stood out from typical Valentine’s promos by leaning into personal delivery and community care.

Relational Marketing Strategy

Used surprise-and-delight as a tool for deepening B2B relationships without a sales pitch.