Nic Faitos’ Starbright Floral got excellent placement in an InStyle.com piece on “hot guys” and the flowers they give because he picked up a phone call from a photojournalist and made sure he was accessible and easy to work with.
What does it take for a florist to land front and center in a national style magazine article about Valentine’s Day flowers and the “hot guys” who buy them? Or to have your shop at the center of an enthusiastic post on a popular blog?
For many florists this holiday, primo press coverage was less about having extensive media connections or a high-priced PR agency and more about answering the phone, being accessible and making reporters’ and writers’ lives oh-so-easy.
That was the case in New York, when Nic Faitos of Starbright Floral Design took a “random call from a photojournalist” who wanted to stop by the store and spend a few hours taking pictures of customers (specifically, those “hot guys”) on their way out with bouquets in hand. The resulting, light-hearted story, posted to InStyle.com on Feb. 15, showed men of all ages with their flowers and insight on why and how they chose their floral gifts for their loved ones.
“The holiday went very well,” said Faitos, who also picked up great exposure from a CBS and The New York Post and later shared his tips on how to make the most of press exposure on his blog.
In Vienna, Virginia, it was a school connection that helped Karin’s Florist land a leading role in a BeliefNet post by Colleen Sheehy Orme. Orme spent the holiday helping out at Karin’s—an experience that (as she chronicled in the blog) helped her go from seeing flowers as a luxury to an expression of love.
“I went to high school with Colleen,” explained Maris Angolia, AAF, the company president, who also hosted the local Fox affiliate in-store on the holiday. “When I sent out an email to see if my friends knew anyone who would like to help out for the holiday, she said she’d love to do it and then wrote that amazing article.”
The pay-off for exposure of this kind is impossible to calculate, said Jennifer Sparks, vice president of marketing for the Society of American Florists, in part because each positive news story can create a ripple effect, with additional outlets picking up the same article and more people hearing good things about your business.
“Media coverage of your business, whether featured in an entire story or as part of a bigger piece, is a third-party endorsement, which holds credibility with the consumer,” she explained. “News coverage provides unique credibility that doesn’t come from advertising or self promotion, and helps to position you as the expert to customers and potential customers.”
Sparks recently shared some of her favorite industry media hits from Valentine’s Day this year, and she also offered her perspective on what made them great:
In Vienna, Virginia, a high school connection played an unexpected role in helping Maris Angolia, AAF, score great coverage in a BeliefNet post.
Millennial Pitch. SAF took part in a Washington Post article that gave pointers for “novices” buying gifts on Valentine’s Day. “This was a fun topic with tips for a younger audience” that might not otherwise think to buy flowers,” Sparks said, noting that the Chicago Tribune later picked up the same story, a common occurrence within the media world that demonstrates how one story can have that “extended reach.”
Draw Back the Curtain. “We saw some great behind the scenes stories about how flowers get to market,” Sparks said, adding that coverage this year was “unusually positive with no negative messages or misinformation, which was refreshing.” Among the standouts: A Miami Herald story with smart input from Christine Boldt of the Association of Floral Importers of Florida, a NYCityLine article that includes SAF stats, quotes from area florists (including Faitos) and educational info on the logistics of the holiday; and a Fox affiliate story on all the hard work for the holiday at Memorial Florists & Greenhouses in Appleton, Wisconsin. A UPS ad also highlighted the floral industry supply chain and the role logistics play in getting flowers from field to flower shop and finally consumer, in a high profile spot that ran in The Washington Post. Sparks called that spot “nicely done and informative.”
Show Personality — and Use Social Media. In Trumbull, Connecticut, Sue Palazzo hosted a local news crew and used the opportunity to move its coverage beyond Valentine’s Day. The story emphasized deep roots CityLine Florist has to its community, and its third-generation ownership. Palazzo later posted the clip and a video of Valentine’s Day prep to her Facebook page; Memorial Florists & Greenhouses took a similar approach on their page. Those savvy social media marketing moves give shops “personality and build customer loyalty to their channel, exposing them to daily floral messages,” Sparks said.
Show Your Grit. Valentine’s Day stories this year weren’t universally features and soft profiles either. Some florists showed how they’ve overcome adversity, while keeping their cool on camera. That was the case at Blue Iris Florist in Halethorpe, Maryland, when Allison Glascock described the extreme hardship of suffering a fire at her shop on Feb. 7 to local NBC reporters. “This is a great example of grace under pressure,” Sparks said. “Her comments in the interview were all focused on making making sure they will still be able to fulfill Valentine’s Day orders, and she gives credit to her community.”
Another feel-good story, also via an NBC affiliate, about tough times involved florist friends who came together to help out at Gustaf Greenery in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after health complications kept co-owner Pat Gustaf out of the shop on Valentine’s Day.
For tips on how to make your media hits from Valentine’s Day valuable year-round, read “Make Your Holiday Media Hits Last” in this week’s issue.