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Alive and Kicking

Flowering bulbs and plants leave a lasting impression

Few gifts are more memorable than flowers, says Jay Danielson, marketing manager of BloomingBulb.com, a Medford, Ore. -based supplier of bulbs and live plants. That pitch convinced a start-up company to rely on BloomingBulb.com for help with a direct mail campaign. “Flowering plants are so personal and are tended to with great care that people remember who gave the plants to them. That type of reaction really appealed to this customer,” he says.

The start-up wanted to create buzz around its launch, so it targeted a list of 140 influencers in its market, which consists of mothers and soon-to-be mothers. The start-up challenged Danielson and other potential vendors to suggest products that would convey a personal touch and generate a “wow” factor. With those criteria, vendors who offered pens, stress balls and other standard fare didn’t have a chance. “Due to environmental concerns, it’s becoming more difficult to sell some types of promotional products,” he says. “People get them, say ‘thanks,’ and then they end up in the landfill.”

On the other hand, flowers grab a recipient’s attention over and over. “It’s a promotional item that doesn’t promote the organization just once,” he says. “It works when the product is given and then again when the flowers bloom and grow.” Because people generally keep flowers and take care of them, “The recipient is reminded of the giver for years,” Danielson says. “Just getting and giving plants is so personal that people are always impressed when companies decide to go that route.”

Danielson packaged iris bulbs for the start-up company’s campaign, so they could be mailed in the spring and bloom in the summer. One hundred of the recipients received pillow boxes imprinted with the company’s logo. The bulbs were wrapped in pink tissue paper and accompanied by the company’s marketing collateral, as well as instructions on how to care for the bulbs. The other 40 recipients received the bulbs and literature in imprinted hatboxes. BloomingBulb.com took care of fulfillment as well. The start-up considered the campaign a success. “It went beyond what they thought they could do for the amount of money they spent,” Danielson says.

BloomingBulb.com is the online retail arm of Western Promotions, a company founded to serve the fundraising community with donor gifts. The company recently expanded its focus to new channels of distribution. A key element included offering imprinted packaging for their unique products.

The company offers a range of products and options. Its customers visit the company’s website to find out what flowers currently are offered, since they change with the season. “We have different items available at different times of the year,” says Danielson. “If the website doesn’t say that the flowers ship during the time of the promotion, organizations should call to find out what will be available at the time of their specific event.” On one end, packaging options include bags with custom labels applied to them. Custom imprinted boxes are also available. At the other end, BloomingBulb.com offers custom embroidered bags with gardening tools and embroidered aprons inside. In all cases, the company works with customers to choose the best colors for the campaign—whether they’re to convey a marketing message or reinforce a brand. Order sizes vary by campaign. “We’ve had very large orders, such as 10,000 packages of 14 bulbs, all the way down to 100 packages of five and 500 packages of one,” says Danielson. “We can get below $1 a package, but the perceived value is so much higher. Our gift baskets and collections can go all the way up to $100. We offer a range of price points.”

When purchasing flowers, Danielson emphasizes the importance of working closely with suppliers. “Be very aware of timeframes,” he says. “I had a customer who was concerned that we wouldn’t deliver on time, so he purposely gave me the wrong date—two weeks before the start of the promotion.” Because plants are living, a promotion can be ruined if they’re delivered too early or late. “You just have to be real up front when you want the product to arrive,” says Danielson. “We have an outstanding track record of delivering plants around the country on time that are ready to grow and bloom.”

—Andy Brown