SAF members have found that participating in Petal It Forward pays off. “We received a call from a bride wanting to book a consultation. She called us because last October she received flowers during Petal it Forward,” said Anne Morris of A Wildflower Shop in Edwardsville, Illinois. “She told us that she wasn’t even engaged at the time but knew when the time came, she was going to use us for her wedding. She said, ‘it was the nicest thing and I knew you must be good and honest people if you were doing something as sweet as giving away flowers.’ They booked the wedding at the consultation. We are super excited and plan on participating again this year.”
Do you want to generate local visibility with potential customers, and establish loyalty among existing ones? Do you want to position yourself as a do-gooder in your community? Then look no further than participating in the Society of American Florists’ Petal It Forward event on October 24.
For the fourth year in a row, the Society of American Florists is leading the industry in a nationwide feel-good promotional effort that shows consumers and reporters how great it feels to both give and receive flowers.
Participation in as many cities and states as possible is vital to the success of Petal It Forward from a public relations standpoint, said SAF Vice President of Marketing Jennifer Sparks. “The more florists participating on October 24, the better chance of news coverage and social media posts promoting flower power,” she explained. “We need to know where local events are happening, so we can tell the media, and so you can tell your local media that you are part of an effort happening nationwide.”
SAF is compiling a list of participating florists holding events on October 24 to share with the media. Members are encouraged to fill out the participation form at safnow.org/pifform as soon as possible, as media outreach efforts will begin soon, including sharing the list of nationwide participants, Sparks said.
In 2017, industry members held 573 local Petal It Forward events in 467 cities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, resulting in nearly 82 million impressions through SAF-generated and local member public relations and social media efforts.
SAF members have found that participating in Petal It Forward pays off.
“We received a call from a bride wanting to book a consultation. She called us because last October she received flowers during Petal it Forward,” said Anne Morris of A Wildflower Shop in Edwardsville, Illinois. “She told us that she wasn’t even engaged at the time but knew when the time came, she was going to use us for her wedding. She said, ‘it was the nicest thing and I knew you must be good and honest people if you were doing something as sweet as giving away flowers.’ They booked the wedding at the consultation. We are super excited and plan on participating again this year.”
“The Petal It Forward concept is simple and easy to do yet is one of the most engaging floral promotions in the industry’s history,” said SAF Vice President of Marketing Jennifer Sparks. “The results are phenomenal for industry participants, as the program’s random-acts-of-kindness premise builds interest in the news and on social media.”
The premise behind Petal It Forward: passersby receive two bouquets — one to keep, and one to share — and are asked to post a picture about it on social media with the hashtag #petalitforward.
“You can make your Petal It Forward local event as big or small as you want — even handing out 20-50 bouquets or single stems can make an impact,” Sparks said. “It’s a win-win to participate. For little effort, you give consumers the opportunity to experience the scientifically proven happiness that occurs when you give and receive flowers. At the same time, you position your business as a positive force in your community. That makes consumers feel good about you, which goes a long way in establishing customer loyalty. And, you give a morale boost to employees who play a part.”
With just over two months to go, now is the time to start thinking about your event and sign up so that SAF can get you on the list of participants they will share with media nationwide. SAF makes it easy and provides members with step-by-step advice on program logistics, as well as easy-to-implement materials and resources at safnow.org/petalitforward.
