Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

I'd look for ways to play with the number "75" ...

Run some print ads in local neighborhood papers with special anniversary offers ... $75 for xxx; $7.50/stem ... that sort of thing.

You could also do a small postcard mailing to loyal customers inviting them to come in during a specified period of time for a free gift (can be small) or a discount (again work around the "75"). This would depend if they maintain a database of customer addresses.

You could hold a special event at the shop ... "how to" floral arrange; include fresh lemonade/ice tea ... balloons/banners outside shop and around town ... advertise in paper ... The how to could be free one day only with purchase, or offered for "$75" ...

Just some ideas to increase store traffic while still celebrating!

GOOD LUCK ...

You could approach the local press, radio etc and conduct PR with stories from loyal customers about the florist shop, their flowers and customers service. Also you might want to consider including other local retailers in joint promotions such as retailers who sell cards.

Leading up to the event think up 75 ways flowers add happiness, say thank you etc and you could easily print them perhaps with a special offer and distribute them in offices, railway or bus stations.

Best of luck

A free gift for anyone who's 75 years old?

A contest (free flowers for a year?) for people who write 75 word stories involving flowers.

People are motivated to buy flowers on valentines day, birthdays and anniversaries. Sometimes they need reminders. Get their attention by drawing a connection between the Business's 75th anniversary and their own anniversary.

Honestly, people are motivated to solve their own needs and don't care if the florist has been around for 75 years...unless it translates into something for them. Top it off with one of the clever incentives above.

This seems like a really great PR opportunity if you play it right with the local newspapers and TV stations...

Does this business have an archive of photos of events they've supplied flowers for in different eras? I think the public loves nostalgia about local places and personalities, and I can imagine the appeal of seeing so-and-so's wedding with flowers at such-and-such ballroom back in 1940-50-60. It would make a cool little news feature and would give the business some effective but low-cost exposure. But it wouldn't be of much interest without pictures, you know?

If those kind of photos exist (maybe old customers can help provide them?), you could also create a wall of framed images with captions describing the significant events, too. Have an open house and invite locals and loyal customers to see it.

Think "75 years and always fresh."

I wouldn't necessarily approach this as an opportunity to promote discounts or incentives. It's about branding and getting publicity and mindshare. That way, when it's time for that wedding or funeral or whatever, the consumer remembers your particular florist.

Good luck!

The fact that they’ve been around for 75 years actually says quite a lot about this florist – namely that they are good and have survived in tough markets over the last 75 years. Making a big thing out of that in local PR is very worthwhile.

Also the mailing list of existing and past customers is an excellent idea. We have a client which is a Mayfair Florist (London W1) which supplies to the royal family and although in many ways very old fashioned, they put in a Maximizer CRM system in order to communicate better with their customers. The data had until that time been held in ad-hoc lists and the accounts system. The trigger for them to do this was an 50th anniversary and they wanted people to know how long they’d been going, and to communicate directly on a more regular basis from that point on.

It involved quite a bit of data entry work, but their General Manager told me that they had increased their repeat business by about 35% as a result and how surprised many of their customers were to learn that the were “By Appointment To The Queen Mother, a supplier of flowers to Clarence House”

You should be able to find enough interest in the 75th anniversary to cover the costs of the exercise and to use it as an on-going medium to let customers know about special offers and to remind them of their existence by entering and using critical dates, such as birthdays and anniversaries in the same way as the big operators like Interflora do.

Best wishes


Steve Alker
[URL deleted by staff. Again.]