SAF Wednesday E-Brief - 04/04/2007 (Plain Text Version)Danbury Mint Apologizes to SAF Member
The Danbury Mint, whose Valentine's Day jewelry promotions since 2005 included phrases such as "Flowers wilt and fade," sent an apology to SAF member Richard Criley, Ph.D., of the University of Hawaii. In a letter, Danbury Mint's Peter Maglathlin writes: "I apologize if we have offended you, as this certainly was not our intention. Your comment has been forwarded to our marketing department for their review." This response follows Criley's request to be removed from the company's mailing list after reading "SAF Responds to Danbury Mint Negative Ad" in the Feb. 15 Dateline newsletter. To date, SAF has not received a response from the Danbury Mint. See the related stories in E-Brief, "Danbury Mint 'Has No Interest' in Changing Its Tune" (January 31) and "Readers Respond to Danbury Mint" (February 7). — Vanessa Machir
Reminder: Cats and Lilies
With Easter just days away, you might get some questions from concerned pet owners about the toxicity of lilies. Here is information you can post in your shop: "The National Animal Poison Control Center says that certain types of lilies can cause renal failure in cats that have ingested any part of the lily. (Your shop name) recommends keeping lilies out of the reach of cats. It is important to note that lilies do not pose a problem for other pets or humans." Questions? Contact Jenny Stromann at jstromann@safnow.org. — Mary Westbrook
Andean Trade Bill Introduced
Legislation has been introduced that will extend trade preferences for two years to the Andean nations of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA). These benefits, renewed as part of the tax and trade package signed by President Bush last December, are set to expire on July 1. If passed by Congress, the bill would allow those four nations to continue to export flowers to the United States duty-free. The bill also would sever the link between Andean trade preferences and free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the United States that were part of the December legislation. In that legislation, only countries that have completed FTA's with the U.S. — notably Peru and Colombia — were allowed to extend the ATPDEA to bridge the gap between July 1 and official implementation of those agreements. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Subcommittee on Trade Chairman Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) introduced the bill, H.R. 1830. Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Dan Burton (R-Ind.) also are co-sponsors. In addition, the government of Ecuador is seeking a five-year extension of the ATPDEA instead of negotiating an FTA with the United States. Last year the United States withdrew from talks on an FTA with Ecuador in a dispute over the treatment of U.S. companies, and Ecuador was not happy with the status of the negotiations. Having a five-year ATPDEA extension would provide more negotiating time for the two countries. — Drew Gruenburg
SAF Joins Merchants Payments Coalition
Lowering credit card interchange fees for all segments of the retail and online community is the goal of the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC), which SAF has joined. Interchange is a percentage of each transaction that Visa or MasterCard collects from retailers every time a credit or debit card is used to pay for a purchase. The fee varies with the type of merchant, transaction and card, but it averages close to two percent for most credit card and debit transactions. According to the MPC, Visa and MasterCard interchange fees totaled $30.7 billion in 2005, up 17 percent over 2004 and an 85 percent increase over 2001. Unlike other fees that show up on cardholders' monthly statements, interchange fees are not disclosed to consumers. Interest in the interchange issue is growing in Congress. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said earlier this year he intends to hold a hearing on interchange as part of a series of hearings looking into credit card industry practices. — Jeanne Ramsay
Self, Good Housekeeping Plug Flowers
Talk about a call to action. When Self magazine reported on The Home Ecology of Flowers Study in its April issue, editors didn't mince their words: "Fresh blooms brighten more than a room; they also lift your mood... Buy a bouquet today!" And at Good Housekeeping magazine, which also picked up the study in its April issue, the message was just as clear: "After a few days living with the blooms, subjects reported a decrease in negative emotions like anxiety and depression and an increase in positive feelings like compassion for others and energy and enthusiasm at work." Self magazine generated 4.8 million consumer impressions, and Good Housekeeping generated 14.7 million. Conducted at Harvard University, the Home Ecology of Flowers Study and the public relations campaign publicizing its findings are a result of a collective effort and strategic alliance by SAF and the Flower Promotion Organization. Find out more about the study here. — Mary Westbrook
Happy Save the Rhino Day!
When Clay Atchison III of McAdams Floral in Victoria, Texas, promoted Employee Appreciation Week earlier this year, he stumbled upon another holiday: National Diagnostician's Day. "Honestly, we had to look it up just to spell it," Atchison admits. But when customers started calling in about the day, Atchison and his staff weren't about to turn away the orders — even though they'd never heard of the holiday. "This isn't something I would promote heavily next year, but I am going to put it on my calendar because, obviously, there's some interest in it," he said. "It would be easy enough to post something on my Web site. I think some of these smaller holidays have potential." Upcoming small holidays that may not have made your calendar include:
Check out Earth Calendar for an extensive list of other small holidays and events. — Mary Westbrook
From Canvas to Container
Fifty floral designers saw their work displayed next to world-class works of art late last Month during the annual Flowers and Art Exhibition at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Va. The three-day event is "a perennial favorite in the community," says Teresa Sowers, the museum's director of communication. "The main attraction... features floral interpretations of fine and decorative art from the [museum's] permanent collection by some of the region's expert floral arrangers." Among the highlights was a "Tiffany lamp" by Janie C. Hargette and Kelly Hankins, who used delphinium, variegated bayberry and wire to complement a 20th century electric lamp from Tiffany Studios in New York. Another highlight? Floral designer Emma Gorsie interpreted the wildly colorful "Ravencrest" by Grace Hartigan using a character absent from the 1969 painting: a raven. Gorsie's flat floral raven was displayed in front of the painting. The event also featured lectures, demos and a children's event, "Fun with Flowers," that offered hands-on activities just for kids. — Mary Westbrook
Social Sites Get More Selective
Because popular social networking Web sites including MySpace and Friendster are built for everyone they are, increasingly, not for everyone. At least, that's the premise of a recent BusinessWeek story that follows the growth of new "niche" social networking sites. "The inevitable reaction to when something gets too big? Leave for a smaller, more personal experience," Debra Aho Williamson, a senior analyst at eMarketer, explained to BusinessWeek. Social networking has become big business online. Advertisers are expected to spend $1.9 billion on social networks by 2010, up from $280 million in 2006. For some advertisers and users, the problem with big sites such as MySpace and Friendster is that their appeal is too broad, making it difficult to create a lasting impression or form a real connection, critics say. New niche sites include Yub.com for shopaholics and Gather.com for older users. (Even though more than half of MySpace users are over 35, the site has a reputation for being home to a young, party-loving crowd.) "MySpace is for everyone," Michael Ragan, chief operating officer of itLinkz, a social networking company with 13 planned targeted networking sites, said to BusinessWeek. "Our focus is on communities." — Mary Westbrook
Committed Parents, Good Employees
Parents who are committed to their families — and all of the Girl Scout meetings, soccer games and orthodontist visits that commitment implies — are among the best employees, according to researchers at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Workforce magazine recently reported, "parental commitment actually helps people perform more effectively at work," adding that the center's findings " [contradict] conventional wisdom that parents are easily distracted by their responsibilities at home — in particular their children — and therefore are more likely to be ineffective at work." Instead, the research found that parenthood can improve a person's ability to deal with stress, develop new skills, understand others' points of views and manage time efficiently. — Mary Westbrook
Prom Promo Preferences -- Schools, Ads, Signage and ?
In last week's e-poll we asked about the primary method you use to promote prom business. Through the School topped the list (28%); interestingly, the next highest option chosen was Other (15%). After that came Newspaper Ads (13%) and Shop Signage (10%). Direct Mail and Flyers/Handouts each came in at just under 8% and Special Events made up the rest. What other ways are you promoting proms this year? Please e-mail us and share what works for you. — Vanessa Machir
Talk on the Forums
On the Increasing Walk-In Traffic Forum, a member is baffled about loss leaders in retail florist shops because, unlike grocery stores, most retail florists don't get the add-on sales of other items that make loss-leaders feasible. Weigh in. Also, on the SAF Discussion forums: Don't forget to subscribe to the forums that interest you so you can be notified by e-mail when new posts arrive. — Vanessa Machir
Product Spotlight: Flowers By George Puts MagnetMail to Work
Two weeks before Valentine's Day, SAF member Dave Boulton, AAF, of Flowers By George in Arlington, Wash. got his customers thinking flowers by delivering an e-mail newsletter right to their in-boxes. "It was fun to see how fast they opened it," says Bolton. He's sending a newsletter to about 300 customers every other month. You can create and send colorful, interesting messages like this to customers in minutes using SAF's MagnetMail program. We've even created ready-to-use articles and photos in an online library. Just point and click to insert them into your newsletter, load your list and send! Choose from one of SAF's attractive customizable templates or let us create a special design just for you. It's all discounted for SAF members. Check out SAF's MagnetMail service now. — Vanessa Machir
The Skinny on APW
Florists were divided in what they called the APW/Secretaries Week holiday in their promotional materials and advertising. Almost a third (30 percent) referred to the holiday as "Professional Secretaries Week." Eight percent less (22 percent) used "Administrative Professionals Week." Hedging their bets, 31 percent used both names.
Source: SAF 2006 Zoomerang survey of retail florists with e-mail addresses. Based on 319 responses. (Response rate: 8.5 percent) — Ira Silvergleit
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