October ushers breast cancer into public consciousness. Soon, you can expect to see pink plastered everywhere from yogurt containers to cosmetic counters to professional football players’ uniforms, as a sign of companies’ and organizations’ support for fighting the disease. Join in the crusade and earn customer favor for promoting a good cause.
Dykstra Florist & Greenhouse in Spring Valley, New York, prepare for a breast cancer awareness party.
Here are a few ways florists have gone pink:
- Dykstra Florist & Greenhouse in Spring Valley, New York, participated in a breast cancer walk, hosted a party with pink lemonade and “mammo-grahams” (a marshmallow squished between two graham crackers), and offered free pink carnations to cancer patients and survivors, and anyone who wore pink when they visited the shop.
- Rebel Hill Florist in Nashville has held a complimentary champagne and strawberries reception to toast breast cancer patients and survivors. Owner Anna Page, who lost her mother to breast cancer, donated 10 percent of purchases made during the party to the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition.
- Jenny’s Floral in Custer, South Dakota, has encouraged customers to “buy their bosom buddy a bloom,” offering pink roses for $1 each. In its “thanks for being squeezed,” promotion, the shop also gave away a dozen pink roses to women who brought in proof of their mammogram in the last 12 months, or six roses to those who made an appointment for the screening test in the store.
- University Florist in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has served as the distribution center for free pink ribbons, courtesy of a local breast cancer clinic, people can use in their own breast cancer promotions.
A few easy ideas to try:
- Offer a discount on pink bouquets or make a donation to breast cancer research with every purchase. Have cards with breast cancer info available for the customer to include.
- Attach awareness info and a pink ribbon to single pink stems. (Hint: Here are some beautiful, bright varieties to market.) Hand them out with purchases or have an employee give them to passers-by in front of the shop. Put your company name and website on the slip.
- Spread the word about what you’re doing through social media pages and your blog.
- Send info to the local media.
Look for more coverage of a shop promoting breast cancer awareness in next week’s issue.
