February 7, 2001 -- In keeping with their non-traditional campaign approach, the Flower Promotion Organization (FPO) recently signed Lauri Ward, home design expert and author of the best-selling book "Use What You Have Decorating," as campaign spokesperson. Ms. Ward joins the "Flowers. Alive with Possibilities."^TMcampaign to support the spring advertising beginning February 26 and running through March 18.

Tapped as FPO spokesperson for her credibility and visibility in the home décor arena and with media, FPO hopes that Ms. Ward's involvement will bolster flower purchases as a staple in home decor. The partnership is a win-win for both Ms. Ward and the FPO. "I'm thrilled to be part of such an innovative marketing campaign for a product for which I have such passion," said Ms. Ward. "Flowers have always been a staple in my repertoire, and I'm thrilled to be associated with such a highly visible, award-winning program," she continued.

Using a home design expert to promote cut flowers leverages and extends FPO's cutting edge theme, which promotes the use of flowers throughout the house as home décor accessories. "Ms. Ward is a perfect fit for our campaign," said Anthony Vollering, FPO Board member from Sunshine Floral in Carpinteria, California. "Consumers are hungry for new ideas. We need to continue to provide new, simple usage ideas so they buy flowers more often. In addition, we want them to realize it's easy to create dozens of new displays just by using things they already have around the house." Ms. Ward's unique flower display ideas incorporate familiar household items such as seltzer bottles, drinking glasses, fruit bowls and apparel.

"Many people think you need to completely renovate a room to create a new look," said Ms. Ward. "It's amazing the huge impact a small addition such as flowers will generate. And, the best part is, you can transform the mood of a room just by getting creative with the container or changing around the types of flowers you use," she continued.

Ms. Ward will share her unique usage ideas at the Philadelphia Flower Show in March, where she will represent the FPO and demonstrate the new possibilities to almost 300,000 consumers attending the show. She will also be talking with consumers around the country via a satellite media tour hosted from the floor of the show. In addition, Ms. Ward will be developing tips and display suggestions to share with local media in each of the five FPO target markets. According to Augusto Solano, President of Asocolflores and FPO Board member, "Ms. Ward adds a whole new dimension to FPO's campaign, truly bring to life endless possibilities for flowers. Part of our communication strategy is to help consumers understand that there are infinite ways to use flowers, and Ms. Ward is helping us achieve this goal."

Ms. Ward expands on the unconventional approach the FPO has brought to floral marketing. The FPO campaign truly extends the traditional floral marketing mold by positioning flowers as home décor accessories, using a focused target-market approach, providing integrated point-of-purchase materials for retailers and implementing local media outreach to further the campaign messages. Ms. Ward's participation is expected to augment the documented increases in cut flower purchases resulting from the Fall 2000 campaign.

In print since 1998, "Use What You Have Decorating" remains on the bestsellers list and is fourth on Amazon.com in the home decorating category. Ms. Ward will follow up this success with a new book on home decorating featuring a section on using cut flowers, which comes out this spring.

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.

Bio

Lauri Ward, the pioneer of one-day redecorating, founded Use-What-You-Have^® Interiors in 1981. A remarkable interior design business that focuses on using what clients already possess, Ms. Ward has helped thousands of satisfied clients. The firm has received calls for help from Canada, India, Argentina, Australia, England, Greece, Japan, and Portugal as well as from all fifty United States. Additionally, she created the Interior Refiners Network® in 1996, a decorator training program which she directs.

Ms. Ward has applied her principles to every size home, from a one-room studio to a 30,000 square-foot estate, in locations throughout the United States and abroad. She holds national seminars for both interior designers and consumers, teaching them the principles of Use-What-You-Have® Decorating. Her non-professional audience consists of women who have seen her on television, heard her on the radio, or read about her in the many magazines and newspaper articles that have been written about her and her company.

Many organizations around the country continue to benefit from her live speaking engagements, and Ms. Ward appears frequently on many national TV shows including "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "CBS This Morning," "ABC Evening News," "Fox TV," "HGTV" and "QVC." She has written design stories for McCall's Magazine and is also a contributing Home editor on iVillage.com.

Ms. Ward's book, Use What You Have^® Decorating, published by Penguin Putnam in 1998, is now in paperback nationwide and in Canada. It is currently the number one best-selling decorating book of the Book-of-the-Month Club and the number two best-selling decorating book on Amazon.com. In a special feature, Book-of-the-Month Club editors and readers have also named Ms. Ward's book as the decorating book that "Changed Our Lives". Her next book, Trade Secrets From Use What You Have^® Decorating will be published in January 2002.

Since 1996 her firm's Web site, redecorate.com, has been one of the most popular interior decorating sites on the Internet and averages thousands of hits a day.

A native New Yorker, she lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

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