A newspaper ad thanking people who sent flowers to a funeral did more than just share one family's message of gratitude. It also amplified the power of flowers to celebrate a life.

The children of a Colorado teacher placed the ad in The Louisville Times. It says, in part, "Many thanks to all who sent flowers for our mother's funeral. We want you to know how much we appreciate your kindness. Mom loved flowers and would have been delighted with your beautiful bouquets."

Lafayette Florist Gift Shop & Garden Center in Lafayette,  Colo., did several arrangements for the service, says Lori Wheat, AAF, the shop's merchandise and marketing director. Wheat was pleasantly surprised to discover the ad while reading the paper.

"I hope more people see that and will also do that," she says.

The family's heartfelt thanks and deceased's personal connection to flowers are just some of the facts SAF is working to make funeral directors aware of so they'll remove "in lieu of flowers" wording from obituaries.

Building on last year's public relations outreach to funeral trade publications, SAF launched an advertising campaign in the National Funeral Directors Association's magazine, The Director. SAF's full-page color advertorial will run in the May, August, and November 2008 issues of the magazine and reach potentially 13,500 funeral service professionals.

Send a copy of SAF's ad with a letter to funeral directors who use the "in lieu of" phrase. Just log onto safnow.org/sympathy and click "Suggested letters to local funeral directors." Then click "Letter to Complement SAF's Advertisement in The Director" for the letter and ad. Send the letter and ad to funeral directors in August or November 2008 when the ad is running.

--Morgan Schimminger
mschimminger@safnow.org

 

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