Walter Knoll Florist in St. Louis is capitalizing on the power of a contest to increase store traffic during the mother-of-all-floral-holiday weeks.

The online contest, which launched April 10 and ends May 9, invites local customers to nominate top moms by submitting photos and essays to the florist's Web site, where the public will ultimately vote for the top contender. The contest winner will be announced Friday morning during a ceremony at Walter Knoll's main Florist Row location where she will be awarded the grand prize: a year of flowers, valued at $1,500, and a professional family portrait. The winner will also be honored during the florist's 125-year celebration party, which will be on Saturday May 17. At press time, 29 women had been nominated for the contest.

For Walter Knoll, the contest (which has no connection to Teleflora's) is a new twist on an old tradition. "We've done four or five contests, but this is the first essay contest," says Walter Knoll, III, president of Walter Knoll Florist. "Everybody's got a mom," he points out. "You need to know more about her before you can vote for her."

To pull off the contest (and keep costs in check), Knoll relied on area co-sponsors, including local radio stations such as KLOU, which has promoted the contest via its Web site and through on-air commercial spots. For the grand prize family portrait, a photographer the shop has used for marketing materials donated his services for the winner as well as the nine runner-ups. The shop also promoted the contest through a press release and highlighted it in its spring promotions.

The contest already has created tangible benefits for the store, beyond its public relations appeal. Contestants help increase the florist's web traffic by directing family and friends to cast their vote. To cast a vote for a nominee, you have to register through the Walter Knoll Florist Web site. Knoll estimates that well over 1, 000 new registrants have signed up via the Web site.

Despite a few technical problems — some customers needed help uploading pictures — Knoll says the contest has been a success, and he expects to hold another, if slightly tweaked, photo and essay contest for Mother's Day 2009.

 "We might put a different flair on it and expand it," Knoll says. "We're excited about it."

Have you ever held an in-store contest? In addition to the Favorite Moms essay and photo contest, Walter Knoll has asked customers to submit their "Best Spring Garden Photo" and "Funniest Pet Christmas Picture." If you've gotten customers to participate in a competition of any kind, we want to hear about it. E-mail your story to mschimminger@safnow.org.

--Morgan Schimminger
mschimminger@safnow.org

 

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