US: Field to Vase Dinner Tour Earns Marketer of the Year Award

The American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour has earned the 2017 Marketer of the Year Award from the Society of American Florists’ (SAF) Floral Management magazine.

The prestigious award recognizes original, highly successful marketing campaigns that increase awareness and the overall sales of cut flowers. The award includes a $5,000 cash prize sponsored by Design Master Color Tool Inc.

The official presentation of the award and prize, scheduled to take place at the SAF Annual Convention in Palm Beach, Florida, was instead made today via a Facebook Live event hosted by SAF due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Irma. SAF cancelled its convention earlier this week.


Click here to watch a video created in celebration of the Marketer of the Year Award

“Marketer of the Year judges were impressed with the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner campaign on several fronts. It was so professionally executed – the branding is beautiful and carried throughout all elements of the campaign so thoroughly. And the media pickup was impressive. But what the judges really liked was that it is a smart and effective use of experiential marketing,” described Kate Penn, SAF chief content and publishing officer. “The campaign immerses the consumer in a floral experience in such a unique way – they’re on the farm with the farmers and the designers, and then they’re surrounded by the beautifully designed flowers during the dinner, and then they leave with their own bouquet. As one of the judges commented, ‘when a consumer experiences flowers in this way, it’s a win for the industry.’”

“The Field to Vase Dinner Tour has certainly inspired a national conversation about the importance of buying American Grown Flowers, while providing an intriguing way for consumers to show their support,” said Kasey Cronquist, administrator for Certified American Grown. “Thanks to the vision and commitment of our flower farmers, the Certified American Grown logo is now the largest consumer-facing brand in the floral industry, spotlighting the homegrown origin of flowers.”

The American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour, now in its third year, is a cross-country series of elegant, intimate pop-up gatherings located on flower and foliage farms from coast to coast. Seasonal, homegrown and sustainable blooming flowers dazzle on beautiful tablescapes elegantly dressed by top U.S. floral designers, while scrumptious meals are prepared by local farm-to-table chefs.

At each unique meal and through the accompanying farm tour and design demonstrations, guests, who attend from all areas of the country, make a personal connection between flowers and agriculture as part of America’s floral landscape. Along the way, they experience the age-old art and science of flower farming while being served platters of delicious, seasonal and locally grown fare through four courses, including specialty desserts accompanied by vintage wines, micro-brewed beers and floral-inspired cocktails.

Each event includes a tour of the host farm by the resident farmer and a floral design demonstration with one of the nation’s premier floral designers.

The American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour is annually presented by Certified American Grown Flowers, a unified and diverse coalition of U.S. flower farmers, including small and large farms located throughout the country. Certified farms participate in an independent, third-party supply chain audit to verify U.S. origin and assembly of the flowers they grow.

The dinner tour has been featured in Sunset Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Martha Stewart’s online blog and in local print and broadcast media in nearly every city it visits. The American Grown Field to Vase Dinner format was also recently adopted by a floral industry group in Canada that deemed its event “Petals to Plates.”

Previous winners of the Marketer of the Year award, now in its 24th year, include an app that drives customer loyalty and engagement, a re-imagined florist’s business in Pennsylvania and a campaign to celebrate Women’s Day in the U.S.

As the Marketer of the Year Award winner, the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour will be the cover story on the September 2017 issue of Floral Management. Read the Floral Management feature story here.

source: American Grown