Consumers are seeing and hearing the FPO message about using flowers as a home décor solution in their living room, on the highway, in their office, in the store, on the street, and across the airwaves throughout the day. The FPO is confident that this market-specific, multi-media marketing approach will deliver positive measurable results showing that effective media mixes increase cut flower sales.

"We developed a very deliberate mix of diverse media approaches this fall to allow us to evaluate the relative impact across markets and determine the best way to implement our integrated campaign in the future," said Augusto Solano, FPO Board member and Treasurer from Asocolflores in Bogotá, Colombia.

"This information will be invaluable to our long term planning, and will also be of use to other floral retail and wholesale groups and associations that participate in consumer marketing programs. The better we all learn to market to the consumer, the more successful we will be as an industry," he continued. New media types include billboards, bus signs, and shopping cart placards in addition to network and cable television, radio, a consumer web site and in-store point of purchase materials.

Beyond the selection of diverse types of media, the FPO has increased the level of radio advertising and promotions in all markets to further leverage and extend the media dollars. According to Lee Murphy of California Cut Flower Commission, "Since radio is so affordable relative to other media choices, we are able to add frequency to the plan and reach consumers more often with our message. Our research indicates that consumers simply don't think about buying flowers more frequently but that, if reminded, they are more likely to make the additional purchases."

Another message delivery system in the FPO's media arsenal is truck signing. Delaware Valley Wholesale Florist has partnered with the FPO and invested in the creation of truck signs using the "Flowers. Alive with Possibilities." creative designs. These are now affixed to nearly 100 delivery trucks that canvass the northeast US corridor. Each truck decal is estimated to generate 50,000 consumer impressions each day. The FPO is actively developing trade relationships to extend the campaign within the original five target markets and beyond. While the FPO's efforts have been concentrated in five markets, it has programs and materials available for use outside these geographic areas.