Chicago, IL: Kennicott Brothers and Nordlie, Inc. coordinated an online showcase of sympathy floral designs from 23 of their customers in 5 of their 17 markets. The catch? Each designer had to use the same flower choices, paired with a limited selection of hardgoods. The result was a tour de force of creativity followed by an uptick in user-engagement across multiple social media feeds.
Crissey’s article addresses the “in lieu of flowers” movement that has all but become a default setting for funerals and sympathy announcements. Eliminating flowers in favor of charitable donations (in the name of the deceased) has become commonplace, undermining the emotional impact that a beautifully designed arrangement has on the bereaved. As the Midwest’s leading wholesale provider of flowers, Kennicott felt compelled to pick up where Crissey left off.
Kennicott Brothers, with help from Rosa Flora Ltd. (flower grower), WM. F. Puckett Inc. (greens grower), Oasis Floral Products and Syndicate Sales Inc. (floral supplies), invited 23 florist-customers to use a pre-set recipe of flowers, greens, containers and/or mache products to each create a unique funeral arrangement. Once the design was completed, participating shops were asked to share their work on social media as a means to re-connect the notion of flowers as an irreplaceable message of love and support for grieving families.
The result not only demonstrated the many talents of the shops’ designers, but a noteworthy boost in related engagement on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. At the time of this release, the micro-campaign generated 5300 shares, likes and comments across Instagram and Facebook for floral shops throughout Cleveland, Ohio, as well as Michigan shops in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Grandville and Saginaw.
“We were excited to see how a small group of floral artists would each apply their own creative spin while adhering to a limited list of flowers,” said Cathy Davidson, location manager for Kennicott’s distribution center in Cleveland, Ohio. “We were not only blown away by the results, but also the willingness of our flowers, greens and hardgoods providers to donate their products in an effort to help re-connect the public to sympathy flowers.”
