The floral industry’s only national marketing campaign has delivered the proof many have been waiting for. A 24-week market test in Texas showed That Flower Feeling’s advertising doubled sales growth compared to similar markets, confirming the campaign’s effectiveness in driving consumer purchases.
“When I first saw , I about fell off my chair,” Chris Drummond, AAF, PFCI, chair of the That Flower Feeling board, said during a recent conference call to stakeholders.
Over the 24-week period, sales in the five control markets without advertising rose 5.28% compared to the previous year, while the Odessa-Midland test market — where ads ran — posted a 10.59% increase.
That Flower Feeling promotes flower sales through nationwide marketing campaigns. Its first campaign, “Flowers. Self Care Made Easy,” launched in 2021 and encourages consumers to purchase fresh-cut flowers as a form of self-care. The most recent campaign, “Just Add Flowers,” launches this month and highlights the joys of giving and receiving flowers. CalFlowers (the California Association of Flower Growers and Shippers) funded the creation and launch of That Flower Feeling and has been its largest contributor. Now operating independently, the That Flower Feeling Foundation relies on industry donations to continue its campaigns.
The test market campaign targeted “aesthetic explorers” — consumers aged 25 to 35 with household incomes of $60,000 or more who prioritize creativity, self-care and home décor. Ads ran on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, local billboards and radio.
“One of the things that jumped out at me was the actual relatively small amount of investment, just over $100,000,” Drummond said. “In a market like Odessa-Midland, what would that drive with regard to sales?”
The answer: a significant return. According to Drummond, $100,000 in advertising translated into $1.5 million in increased flower and plant spending, or $854,000 in cut flowers alone.
In other words, each advertising dollar produced $15.44 in total retail floral sales, and $8.52 in sales when measuring cut flowers alone. Put another way, That Flower Feeling advertising costs only 6.4% of the revenue it generates, which Drummond called “A great return on investment.”
The campaign also sparked increased consumer interest online. Google search volume for flower-related terms in the test market grew 8%, even as searches for other non-essential goods declined.
Joe Don Zetzsche, vice chair of the board, underscored the results.
“We’ve proven to folks that with just the self-care messaging that we had … we can double sales growth,” he said on the conference call. “That’s powerful. And it’s real data, it’s real numbers. The sales actually happened.”
The findings come as the That Flower Feeling Foundation launches its new campaign, “Just Add Flowers,” which spotlights the joys of giving and receiving flowers.
Zetzsche and Drummond hope the findings demonstrate the importance of continued investment in That Flower Feeling as the new campaign begins.
“We know that this advertising is highly effective,” Drummond said. “Our third-party data scientists proved it. And now the future increases in floral consumption really just depend on the amount of investment.”
Amanda Jedlinsky is the senior director of content and communications for the Society of American Florists.
