Cause Marketing in the Floral Department

Today’s panel “The Floral Squeeze: Doing More With Less” gave tips on ways to connect shoppers to floral products, when many shoppers may see the department as discretionary.

One idea Wakefern’s Floral Category Manager Perno Young suggested is that floral departments integrate cause marketing programs—like Susan G. Komen for the Cure for breast cancers or Shop Rite’s Partners in Care to fight hunger.

"They’re feel good programs. They generate a lot of interest. Customers want to know their dollar in this discretionary period is going to a worthy cause," said Young.

Young also mentioned a fair trade floral display Wakefern did, using brightly colored signs to call attention to the cause.

Integrating these kinds of programs lets shoppers like to know that when they are buying something nice for themselves, they are also benefiting others.

One of the many applications of QR codes that can be scanned by smart phones is to give floral customers more information about campaigns.

“We do a lot of cause bouquets for people and that application with a QR code could direct you directly to the Susan Komen website if you wanted more information or The Smile Train or Austism [charitable organizations],” said Karen Leggett, Regional Sales and Marketing Director at Sunshine Bouquet Company. “And that’s a tremendous link to different companies’ websites.”