Starbright Floral Design paired flowers with movie and theater tickets for a memorable Mother’s Day promotion.
Mindful that — above all else — moms prize quality time with their kids, Starbright Floral Design in New York City latched onto not one, but two experiential promotions, both connected to pop culture, for Mother’s Day: tickets to a new comedy, “Life of the Party,” and bouquets given to Broadway-goers during a performance of “Waitress.”
Allied Integrated Marketing approached the Manhattan shop, well known for its high profile corporate and event work for clients such as Lord & Taylor and The Grammy Awards to partner in promoting Melissa McCarthy’s latest film about a middle-aged mother who returns to college after her husband abruptly asks her for a divorce. The marketing firm offered Starbright 30 pairs of tickets, which the shop attached to a red and yellow arrangement (corresponding to the colors in the movie poster). The shop sold 25 themed arrangements, and mothers received flowers and an opportunity to see the movie with their children.
“Waitress,” the Tony-nominated musical composed by Sara Bareilles and currently starring Katharine McPhee, is one of the hottest shows on Broadway. The Starbright team coordinated with producers to pull off a bouquet giveaway. Starbright promised bouquets to theatergoers who messaged their seat assignments to the @WaitressMusical Instagram account — which a number of grown kids did as a Mother’s Day surprise.
“Moms were so excited to see the play. And to walk out of there with a bouquet of flowers? It was something they weren’t expecting,” said Evan Hayes, Starbright’s director of social media. He said the shop’s goal was “making sure mothers had the best day possible.”
Hayes delighted in seeing mothers and their children posting Instagram stories with pictures and videos of their bouquets, tagged with the @StarbrightNYC handle. “In a world of technology, Twitter, and paid Google ads, it’s important to remember to move with the times,” he said.
Pop culture is an effective marketing muse, said retail expert Nicole Reyhle, a former speaker at SAF’s annual convention. Tapping into the crazes of our media-obsessed, celebrity-drenched society “lets you milk the excitement the mainstream press has already created,” she said.
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