Campaign Future Is Limitless

July 26, 2000 -- FPO recently unveiled their consumer promotion campaign, "Flowers. Alive With Possibilities."^TM to the industry, igniting enthusiasm among wholesalers, growers and shippers for the newest industry promotion effort. The presentations, at the Fun N' Sun convention in California and the Ohio Florist Short Course sponsored by the International Cut Flower Growers Association (ICFGA), were aimed at educating the industry on the current program plans and highlighting possibilities for a long-standing promotion effort. Support for the marketing campaign was overwhelming at both sessions.

The Fun N' Sun convention, the first collaborative effort between the Northern Association of California Growers and Shippers and the California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC), marked the largest industry presentation of FPO's program to date. "It was critical that we seize the opportunity prior to the program launch to share our unique marketing campaign with US growers," said Lee Murphy, head of CCFC and FPO Secretary. Patrick Busch, FPO Board member and ICFGA Specialty Cut Flower Committee Chair agreed. "With the campaign now set to launch, industry involvement throughout the next year is essential to our long-term success." The campaign, designed to promote the use of flowers throughout the house during non-holiday periods, will hit homes in five markets (Philadelphia, Houston, Chicago, Detroit and San Diego) next month. Industry growers, importers, wholesalers and retailers will be tapped to leverage FPO's dollars and ultimately reach more consumers.

The FPO program presentations covered background on the FPO, the campaign development process and the evaluation plan. The creative elements, including television commercials, full-page magazine ads, a radio spot and a wide range of point of sale materials, were also unveiled. Each example promotes the use of flowers in various rooms throughout the house. The creative approach, promoting the purchase of flowers to decorate the home or office, is unique to the floral industry, which has historically marketed cut flowers primarily as gifts based on their strong emotional appeal. The FPO believes that the positioning, coupled with the advertising and direct-to-consumer marketing approach, will increase cut flower sales and jump start flat consumer demand in the marketplace.

FPO has initiated a comprehensive evaluation plan to track the impact of the campaign on consumer purchases of cut flowers. Positive results will set the stage for a voluntary continuation of the campaign beyond the initial 30 months. According to the agreement under which FPO was created, the campaign will continue for an additional 30 months if US growers agree to contribute a proportionate share of the total budget, or about $1.4 million. Once U.S. voluntary contributions are secured, Colombian growers will be obligated to contribute approximately $7.5 million towards the budget for the 30-month extension. "We're confident that the program will help increase cut flower sales," said Will Carlson, FPO Co-President and President of the Floral Trade Council. "Once we have the data to demonstrate the potential for this campaign, we're going to be working with the industry to get commitments to keep the program in place long-term." "This may be the last chance for an industry-sponsored promotion effort," added Phil Nowers, Colombian Flower Council CEO and FPO Co-President. "As an industry, we need to do whatever it takes to build our customer base and increase consumer demand for our products," he continued. FPO hopes to have preliminary results available by spring, 2001.

The Flower Promotion Organization, an alliance between Colombian and American flower growers, was created to expand the US market for all cut flowers. The FPO is committed to increasing short term and long term consumer demand for fresh cut flowers.

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