Swan Street Florist in Salamanca, New York celebrated the opening of the Barbie movie with customers by organizing a giveaway that included pink flower arrangements and “Barbie berries.”
The nation is in a pink frenzy following the July 21 release of the live-action Barbie movie, and some florists are getting in on the hype with pink floral designs and giveaways on social media.
“It’s important for florists to look at pop culture and see ways they can cross it into their business, especially if you have a visual item,” says Jackie Levine of Central Square Florist in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “Pink is so easy.”
Levine got the idea to make Barbie-inspired arrangements after she purchased advanced tickets for the release of the movie. She quickly took stock of the store’s pink inventory, from flowers to vases, and put together a few designs.
“Nothing special was purchased — that made it even easier and more profitable,” she says.
Jackie Levine of Central Square Florist in Cambridge, Massachusetts quickly created a Barbie-inspired design and arranged for a photo shoot so she could market the arrangement.
Then, she got ready for a photoshoot. She chose a pink dress from her closet, found a pink mural in Cambridge for the backdrop, and had a photographer snap a few pictures of her holding the arrangement (even her nails were pink). Those were posted on social media with a link that took shoppers to a web page to purchase Barbie-inspired designs. The quickly executed campaign resulted in sales and inquiries about custom arrangements that were Barbie-themed, Levine says.
“It’s a good opportunity when florists can hop on pop culture,” she says, noting that other businesses — even restaurants serving Barbie cocktails — are also cashing in on the hype. “It’s good content and it makes you look relevant.”
In Charleston, South Carolina, Tiger Lily Florist sold out of pink flowers. Some customers visited one of the business’s two locations wanting to do photo shoots of themselves putting together pink arrangements, says general manager Emilie McClain.
“I’m glad it’s been such a popular and positive thing,” she says.
Swan Street Florist in Salamanca, New York, also got in on the fun. Owner Amy Rivera had recently read SAF Now story “Tap Into Trends,” which detailed how to incorporate trends into designs work, and asked her summer intern what was trending. The answer: Barbie, of course!
The team there put together a Barbie giveaway on Facebook that included movie tickets, an arrangement of pink gerbera daisies, roses and snapdragons, and “Barbie Berries,” strawberries dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with pink sugar.
“Because we are a small town, people really went crazy for it,” Rivera says. “It was honestly to the point with the notifications that we were like, ‘Now how do we turn the button off?’ People were so excited.”
Madeline’s Flowers in Edmond, Oklahoma asked Facebook followers to post pictures of their favorite vintage Barbie for a chance to win free flowers.
And in Edmond, Oklahoma, the design team at Madeline’s Flowers had some fun creating designs inspired by vintage Barbies. They asked followers to share a picture of their favorite vintage Barbie for a chance to win a Barbie-inspired arrangement.
Some growers and wholesalers also made the most of the opportunity.
FernTrust, a cooperative of foliage growers in Florida, turned to social media to show off its painted pink plumosus in a reel with audio from the movie.
“We all drank the Barbie Kool-Aid for a while,” said Victoria Register Hunter, director of sales and marketing. “It’s definitely a trend.”
And at Jet Fresh Flowers in Miami, which is known for its painted roses, sales of painted flowers that go along with the theme and sales of pink flowers were up, says Mimi Pacheco, marketing and communications specialist.
“We all knew it was coming,” she says. “It’s been huge.”
Amanda Jedlinsky is the managing editor of SAF NOW.