"We are confident that our integrated campaign including a variety of different vehicles to reach consumers has contributed to our success," said Patrick Busch, FPO Board member from Len Busch Roses. Billboard promotions start September 2nd, followed by radio advertising and promotions in all markets starting September 9th. The two weeks of radio will lay the foundation for television advertising in late September to help "close the sale," providing consumers with additional compelling visual reminders to buy flowers. "In addition," Mr. Busch continued, "we think the timing has worked to the industry's advantage. Our strategy has been to extend the flower-buying season by reminding consumers to buy them for their homes and offices before the heavy gift-giving season. We believe this strategy has a halo effect, in that by the holiday season they will have experienced new possibilities for using flowers themselves in the home, thereby boosting self-purchase for the balance of the year."

To this end, the FPO has developed a modest publicity campaign promoting the use of flowers as holiday home décor, leveraging consumers' enjoyment for the blooms before and during Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah. The newspaper release will feature flowers as a table decoration during the holidays. It will be distributed to up to 10,000 newspapers around the country, so even consumers outside the FPO's lead markets will be exposed to new Possibilities for using flowers before, during and after this holiday season. This is a natural extension for a campaign that has clearly made a difference in the industry. The FPO will continue to evaluate the results of the campaign for use in planning for advertising next spring.