Central Square Florist got a little cheeky with its name game, referencing a recent scandal on ABC’s “The Bachelor.”
Earlier this month, a popular reality dating show involved even more drama than usual when the star rescinded his choice of fiancée during the season’s finale. Ever mindful of popular culture’s significance among her millennial customer base, Jackie Levine, manager of Central Square Florist in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was quick to capitalize on the fiasco with a funny and timely promotion.
For the past three years, Central Square Florist has played “the name game,” offering a free rose to people with the name of day, which Levine posts on Facebook, Instagram and on a dry erase board outside the shop’s entrance. The shop’s rose giveaway dovetailed nicely with a tradition on the aforementioned TV show, “The Bachelor,” in which the guy offers roses to the women he’d like to keep around and get to know better. In the now infamous finale, March 5, Arie Luyendyk originally proposed to Becca Kufrin, only to backpedal in favor of Lauren Burnham. In honor of the beaming bride-to-be and the brokenhearted Becca, Levine wrote the following:
“Come in for a Free Rose if your name is Becca Lauren”
While the game always brings several people into the shop, this particular post received exceptionally high attention, including more than 900 likes and dozens of comments on Instagram.
“It’s totally increased awareness of the shop,” Levine said. “We are in a high- foot traffic area, so we saw a lot of people stopping to photograph the sign throughout the day.”
As customers wait patiently for their name to be chosen, Levine finds more creative ways to engage her patrons. In the past, she has advertised free roses to Boston Marathon runners, people named “Donald” or “Hillary” on Election Day 2016 and city police officers.
“I attend a lot of events in the community and when I introduce myself and the shop, people say ‘I’m waiting for my name!” Levine said. “I think we make the game fun. The sign is colorful and we post it on social media. We’ve built our social following, so it works well.”
Looking for more ways to boost your social media following? Check out another one of Levine’s clever initiatives here.
