Blumz… by JRDesigns in Ferndale and Detroit is one of dozens of Michigan floral businesses participating in a new campaign, spearheaded by the Great Lakes Floral Association, that promotes the powerful health benefits of flowers.
Dozens of retail florists in Michigan are participating in a new campaign that promotes the powerful health effects of flowers to consumers. The “Hugs and Smiles” effort brings together industry groups from across segments to leverage university research from the Society of American Florists on the benefits of flowers. It includes a public service announcement set to air through the end of September on radio and TV stations around the state.
The campaign comes at a time when Americans are increasingly feeling the effects of the ongoing pandemic. The National Center for Health Statistics recently reported that one in three Americans now reports symptoms of an anxiety disorder, up from one in 12 this time last year. Rod Crittenden, CEO of the Great Lakes Floral Association (GLFA), said those kinds of shifts were a big motivator behind the new campaign.
“During the spring and early summer, I was sitting at home myself and reading headlines about people’s declining mental health,” he explained. “I knew about the SAF research about the power of flowers and the scientific proof of their health benefits — and so that got me thinking.”
Crittenden also knew anecdotally from his members that around Michigan there had been a pent-up demand and then renewed appreciation for flowers and plants among consumers after the state suffered through one of the country’s most restrictive lockdown periods from mid-March to late April.
“Our businesses were shut down totally in that period, and we weren’t sure at the time when customers would come back once we were allowed to reopen — or if they’d come back,” he said. “But what we saw at Mother’s Day and then through June and July is that our Michigan shops have been busy. People missed flowers.”
Drawing on a long professional relationship with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB), Crittenden pitched an idea for a public service announcement (PSA) that would share a simple message: Flowers make people feel better. In video and radio announcements, the 30-second spot highlights some of the topline takeaways from SAF’s catalog of university research, including the fact that the group’s university studies “prove that flowers reduce anxiety, increase happiness, and help people live in the moment.”
“I’d been wanting to do something with MAB for a long time, and one of the ways to qualify as a PSA is to have a public health benefit you’re trying to promote,” Crittenden said. “So, a lightbulb went off in my head: I thought, ‘This is perfect.’”
To fund the project, Crittenden reached out to other industry groups, including the Association of Flower Importers of Florida, the American Floral Endowment and the Floral Marketing Research Fund, CalFlowers and Asocolflores. At press time, the PSA was set to run on dozens of Michigan radio and TV stations through Sept. 30 up to 7,500 times.
To complement the PSA and build revenue through the campaign for individual businesses, GLFA asked member and non-member florists to create their own “Hugs & Smiles” designs. So far about 40 retailers have signed on to participate. Based on feedback from GLFA’s board of directors, Crittenden purposefully did not include a recipe or strict parameters for the individual shop’s campaign designs. Instead, “we wanted to give people the freedom to create what works for them, in terms of design style and flowers,” he said. “We’ve seen some shops really run with the idea though and sell versions of the design in three different sizes.”
Once the campaign wraps at the end of September, Crittenden said he and his funding partners plan to evaluate their efforts, with the hopes of expanding the effort to other states. “We’ve already gotten good, positive feedback from our members, nonmembers and the community,” he said.
Find out more about the “Hugs & Smiles” campaign, including how Michigan florists can sign up to participate and receive materials, support and more information.
SAF members have full access to the association’s catalog of university research on the health benefits of flowers. Find out more here — and look for updated shareable graphics and local marketing support on how to put the research and findings to work in your market soon.
Mary Westbrook is the editor in chief of Floral Management.
