From online florists to delivery services and subscription boxes, the florist industry is bursting with life and isn’t slowing down any time soon. With Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays, graduations, congratulations, get well soon wishes and more, it’s always the right occasion. Flower-loving brands need campaigns that not only live up to the beauty of what they’re offering, but capture the hearts of its customers with thoughtful, story-driven marketing.
Here, we’ve rounded up florist brands that we believe creatively celebrate the beauty of connecting with others as the reason for giving and buying flowers.
Bloom & Wild
What they did
Bloom & Wild’s Care Wildly campaign was designed to celebrate the raw and honest intentions of care behind the flowers we send. The first TV advert does this, celebrating the strength and vulnerability of two sisters, while the second carries the message that while flowers may die, the intentions and thoughts behind them live on.
The result
Thanks to the successful TV campaign, Bloom & Wild’s brand consideration was up 50% and top of mind awareness doubled, boosting their share of search too, according to Charlotte Langley (Brand and Comms Director).
Why it’s achievable
- TV advertising costs can vary and even be within budget nowadays, but there are plenty of other platforms to host and spread videos for a lower cost.
- The second advert was a time-lapse of a vase of flowers – simplicity at its finest. With flowers, you already have something beautiful, so you can afford to be simple.
What you can do
Tell an emotional, powerful story through visuals. The more raw, human and relatable, the more impactful – think John Lewis’s Christmas adverts.
Interflora
What they did
To celebrate International Women’s Day, Interflora used the imagery of red and white roses to highlight and contribute to dismantling gender inequality. The advert for their Equal Power flower bouquet illustrated striking statistics on the gender pay gap and the lack of women in leadership positions.
Women would have needed to have worked over a month extra to earn the same as men in 2020. Got a spare 900 hours ladies? #IWD2021 pic.twitter.com/uSUoxWbabU
— Interflora (@InterfloraUK) March 8, 2021
The result
The campaign received positive coverage across tons of websites and publications aimed at women, as well as social and out-of-home advertising, getting people talking about the current state of the gender pay gap.
Why it’s achievable
- The statistics are what make this ad truly memorable, and finding statistics isn’t difficult, you probably already have some data from your own business, and if not, use a tool like Google Consumer Surveys to get some.
- It’s topical and well-timed. Every day is a new opportunity to make a relevant impact with high engagement. Check out websites like Days of the Year to plan ahead.
What you can do
Think about what your target market really cares about. Design a campaign around one of those topics or causes to show that you care about what matters to them.
Teleflora
What they did
Teleflora’s #OneToughMother campaign takes Vince Lombardi’s speech “What It Takes to Be Number One” from American Football and subverts it by showing mothers and their strength for Mother’s Day. While the speech speaks of the toughness of men, the video shows mothers with that same, if not more, toughness in an actions-speak-louder-than-words approach.
The result
The #OneToughMother video has nearly 7 million views on YouTube and gained plenty of coverage online, especially with motherhood blogs – one of the largest demographics of bloggers.
Why it’s achievable
- This video remixes other forms of media, building on the foundation of something already known and established. Finding your own spin on something existing just requires a little creativity – and the right to use that content.
- Motivational content is empowering, and therefore memorable. Products like flowers are symbolic of many things, you’ve just got to find what it symbolises for your brand.
What you can do
Think about what flowers symbolise for your brand. It isn’t all femininity and beauty. Whatever you decide, can it be motivational? Can it be inspiring? Flowers have many qualities, like toughness, resilience, connection and generosity – try building your campaign around one of these.
UrbanStems
What they did
UrbanStems used laser-focused targeting to reach busy urban commuters in Philadelphia and Washington DC. Through digital walls at transit hubs and striking adverts on buses and subway entrances, encouraging pedestrians to order same-day deliveries for the people they care about that same day.
As #OutofHome media continues to recover in the new year #Programmatic will be an important contributor providing advertisers with the speed, flexibility and scalability to support their campaigns. https://t.co/EPPVkk3LQD pic.twitter.com/glxh9DsKbt
— emc outdoor (@emcoutdoor) March 17, 2021
The result
The out of home strategy brought continued growth and awareness across those locations, and solidified UrbanStems’s place in their rather specific niche as well as causing them to reach their maximum delivery capacity.
Why it’s achievable
- Although we are champions of digital marketing, traditional forms of advertising can still be effective (and cost effective) if it targets a very specific target market in the right place at the right time i.e: why food delivery companies advertising to commuters on their way home from work just before dinner.
What you can do
Zoom in on your ideal customer and think about all of the different places they go. Work out how to be there and add value. From providing incredibly useful answers to your customers’ questions on Q&A platforms like Quora to earning features in popular magazines and newspapers.
The Bouqs Company
What they did
The Bouqs Company created the You’re Fancy Now campaign to launch its floral subscription service. The campaign pokes lighthearted fun at how the subscription lifestyle is a way to upgrade your life, with the concept decided upon based on testing social ads and monitoring clicks and conversions.
The result
The new subscription service gained the awareness it was looking for, with its YouTube version of the ad reaching nearly 1 million views.
Why it’s achievable
- Even non-creative minds can create campaigns with the right data. Use your analytics, ad platforms and testing tools to find out what your users respond to best and craft your campaign ideas around this.
- The video was actually shot remotely with the cast and crew in Buenos Aires and the team directing the video in New York. Don’t let distance be a barrier, you can use anyone, anywhere to work on your projects.
What you can do
Once you have an idea, test various versions on social ads to see how your target audience responds and keep adapting until you are confident about it. This way you have a strong foundation for a larger, more time-consuming launch.
Freddie’s Flowers
What they did
Freddie’s Flowers is a flower delivery service, but opened eight short-term pop up stores in two months throughout London to promote their service. The pop ups didn’t actually sell any flowers, and were usually only around for a day or two, but the intention was to grab the attention of passersby with creative, beautiful floral displays with the idea of one day offering flower arrangement courses.
Jack and Finn at our Westbourne Grove pop up doing what they do best, smiling and charming every passer by. We’re poppin’ up all over the shop! Have you come to say hello yet? With these charmers at the door it’s hard to walk past without having a little chat! pic.twitter.com/Dcnmt9l6UJ
— Freddie’s Flowers (@fredds_flowers) June 1, 2019
The result
The pop-ups helped to reinforce Freddie Flower’s brand in their target areas, got previous customers to re-sign up and acquired new customers.
Why it’s achievable
- Pop-ups and events can be an affordable way to engage with potential customers in the specific areas you target, especially if it’s not cost-effective or ideal to have a physical store. They are low commitment and creates the opportunity to bring your brand to life.
What you can do
If you’re primarily selling online, creating an experience can be a compelling part of your marketing strategy. Experiential activities not only help build strong relationships with potential customers, press and influencers but can often turn them into fans. This can also be a great way to build a bank of original photos and video footage to use for marketing activities in the future.
Related blog posts
Travel SEO, content marketing and digital PR strategies
Best creative website launches
