In Sacramento, California, Relles Florist sold all of its “Total Eclipse of the Heart Bouquet.” Alicia Relles, the shop’s chief creative officer, said the business fielded many calls from potential customers scrambling to find the ISO-approved eyewear included with the design.
Quick-thinking florists around the country leveraged the excitement surrounding the week’s solar eclipse, with designs themed around the singular event.
In Sacramento, California, Relles Florist promoted a “Total Eclipse of the Heart Bouquet,” a $59.99 playful design with a prominent sunflower and ISO-approved eyewear.
“We sold out before we opened on Saturday,” said Alicia Relles, the shop’s chief creative officer, who placed the order for the store’s glasses 30 minutes before that online vendor sold out. National chains in the city also had moved through their entire inventory of glasses, creating a lot of excitement around the store’s designs. “We had hundreds of phone calls inquiring about them … From a marketing standpoint, it was a great campaign with great ROI, in one of the slower times of year.”
Thanks to some fast media outreach by Relles, the promotion landed in the local newspaper and on TV. “In hindsight, I wish that I had bought 100 more pairs ,” she said.
In Charleston, South Carolina — the last U.S. city along the eclipse’s “path of totality” — Manny Gonzales of Tiger Lily had a different, far more frustrating, experience with his eclipse promo.
In Charleston, South Carolina, Tiger Lily handed out themed “Great Eclipse” gift boxes to wedding vendor partners. The boxes, at a cost of $13 each to the store, included items such as gourmet moon pies, Sun Chips and Oberon beer.
Gonzales and his wife, Clara, purchased 500 certified glasses to hand out in person and include in designs, a generous outreach that created excitement in a city “crazy” for the eclipse, and a lot of energy around the business in the “dog days of summer,” Gonzales said. The shop also created themed “Great Eclipse” gift boxes for its wedding vendor partners. The boxes, at a cost of $13 each to the store, included the glasses and items such as gourmet moon pies, Sun Chips and Oberon beer.
Unfortunately, on Sunday, the day before the eclipse, the glasses manufacturer alerted Tiger Lily to safety concerns. The shop had to issue a press release, discouraging customers from using the glasses.
“I spent four hours Sunday putting together the press release, and getting it to the local news stations, TV and on our social media,” said Gonzales, noting that many customers also proved supportive and understanding. “I turned out to be a frustrating, head-against-the-wall experience … ‘No good deed goes unpunished,’ as they say.”