You never know when inspiration will strike. During her past few trips to the bank, Tiffany Fulton Jones, of Blomma Flower Farm in San Clemente, California, became acquainted with her latest marketing muse: Frances, a toy dinosaur, whose head ware changes with the season. (In December, he sported a Santa hat; in January, he switched to a knit cap.)

Earlier this month, Jones asked the teller, Lauren, about the bank’s quirky greeter. “She said he’s a great way to make customers smile and that she loves to change up his look,” Jones said. Then, describing Frances as “the kind of guy who goes to Coachella,” Lauren pulled out one of his upcoming accessories: a bottle cap ring with some lavender silk flowers threaded through the middle.

“The fake flowers were stacked like Oreos,” Jones said. “I took one look at the sad thing and told Lauren that Frances needed a better crown and promised to bring a fresh one soon.”

Jones returned a few days later with a tiny headdress (roughly the size of a young girl’s bangle bracelet) adorned with ranunculus buds, tea tree buds, seeding dara, straw flower buds and a few small leaves — and a business card.

“It was pretty much a spontaneous outburst on my part,” Jones said of the promotion, which took about an hour of her time (including harvesting products from her farm, designing the crown, delivery and cleaning up her work station).

Lauren and her clients admired Frances’ fashionable new look, “and I got an unusual marketing opportunity across a large, mixed population,” Jones said. “As a bonus, given it’s at a bank, the people who see Frances, his crown and my business card are likely to have money!”

Katie Hendrick Vincent is the senior contributing editor of the Society of American Florists.