If you haven’t already, now is the time to create and order Petal It Forward logo materials in advance of your Oct. 11 event. The Society of American Florists provides members with a customizable Flower Card Template and a T-Shirt Template, as well as a host of other resources and advice, atsafnow.tempurl.host/petalitforward.

Bloomtastic Florist used SAF’s templates to create Flower Cards and T-Shirts last year. The shop in Columbus, Ohio is preparing to Petal It Forward 2017. Jayson Waits, director of business development for Bloomtastic, said the plan is to give away twice as many flowers, increase the media buzz and have 100 percent staff participation.

In 2016, Bloomtastic gave away 150 bouquets in less than 30 minutes. One of those bouquets landed in the hands of a newly engaged consumer who ended up booking her wedding flowers with Bloomtastic.

This year, Bloomtastic’s goal is to reach more consumers by handing out 300 bouquets. “We will approach our wholesalers about donating some of the flowers or supplies, such as the wraps and flower picks, or give a reduced price,” Waits said. “Since this is a nationwide event started by SAF to promote the entire industry and raise awareness for the local flower shops, we hope that we can gain support from our wholesalers.”

Bloomtastic plans to Petal It Forward during the lunch hour in a high-traffic area in downtown Columbus within 10 minutes from the shop in an area it serves daily. “That way, when office workers return to work after lunch, their coworkers will see their bouquets of flowers and ask about it,” Waits said, “giving us even more exposure.”

The shop is ramping up its publicity efforts. “Several days prior to the event, we will post teaser ads on social media,” he said. “We will use Facebook Live while the event is going on, and we will invite the media to be onsite during the event.”

SAF Vice President of Marketing Jennifer Sparks points out the resources available to members, including advice for Contacting the Media as well as a customizable Media Advisory, Press Release and suggested Talking Points.

“It’s also important to give your ‘Happiness Ambassadors’ something easy and impactful to say when they’re handing out flowers to engage consumers,” Sparks said, noting the suggested Flower Event Messages.

Bloomtastic plans to close its store for a couple of hours so its entire staff can participate in the giveaway. Each staff member will wear a Petal It Forward branded t-shirt in emerald green and will encourage consumers to post pictures of their flowers on social media and tag Bloomtastic and #petalitforward.

“Having the opportunity to get in front of the public and hand out hundreds of bouquets makes us feel good, but more importantly seeing the smiles it creates is awesome,” Waits said. “You never know who maybe having a bad day and you just cheered them up with flowers or someone that has never been handed a bouquet of flowers before.”

Wait encourages other florists to Petal It Forward. “This is a great grassroots marketing event and an opportunity to get free media coverage and social media exposure,” he said. “People remember promotional events like this. The more flower shops that can participate in the event, the better the media and social media coverage we all can gain from it.”

Sparks added, “If you plan to hold an event on Oct. 11, fill out the participation form at safnow.org/pifform. This will help SAF compile a list of Petal It Forward events to show the media it is happening all over the country. Our goal is for Petal It Forward to again take place in all 50 states on the same day.”

The 2016 campaign included 262 events in 234 cities in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, generating more than 328 million consumer impressions showcasing the positive impact flowers have on emotional well-being.