In addition to campaigns to inspire consumers with regard to flowers and plants such as ‘We Need More Flowers’, ‘Thanks Plants’ and ‘From Grey To Green’, the Flower Council of Holland (‘Bloemenbureau Holland’) also develops shopper activations. It does so together with trading parties and growers. Royal FloraHolland is also often involved as a coalition partner. “Projects are often launched in Product-specific Promotion Groups (PSPs). Retail Services can play an important role when it comes to connecting parties."
Despite the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the floriculture market, the Flower Council of Holland activation team nevertheless managed to realise eleven shopper activations last year. "The team was founded in mid-2018 and its work grows every year," says activation team manager Ivo van Orden. The activation team brings growers, trading companies and consumers closer together. "We started with four activations in six months, while ten took place in 2019.Last year, of course, started dramatically. The first activation had just been launched when everything closed down." He remains positive. "We have a number of plans for this year as well. Eighteen shopper activations have been tentatively added to the agenda. Of course, whether or not these will actually take place depends on the duration and effect of the coronavirus situation."
Specific sales channel
Trading partners and a number of grower groups have now found the team to bring flowers and plants to the attention of consumers. "We usually develop shopper activations for a specific sales channel, such as florists, garden centres, webshops or supermarkets. We focus on an entire category, for example garden plants, or a specific product, such as orchids. We do not offer discounts on flowers and plants, but always added value. We do so through mechanisms such as: 'Buy this flower or plant now and receive…', 'Win a ...' or a 'Special Edition'. By making this offer temporarily available, we also encourage consumers to act quickly and we can better measure the effect."
Strengthening each other
"We launch shopper activations together with our growers and trading companies who are customers of Royal FloraHolland. After the start-up, we also cordially invite sales outlets and other parties to join. This includes the likes of companies and organisations both in and outside of the floriculture industry. This way, we jointly entice consumers to buy more flowers and plants more often, at a reasonable price. Our team plays a central role therein and we manage the communication."
The collaboration with Team Retail Services of Royal FloraHolland is twofold. "When looking for trading partners for an activation, we can make good use of their network. Retail Services provides added value when it comes to connecting parties. Someone like Fred van der Hoeven has such a strong network. This opens doors just a little faster. Orchidee Nederland, for example, uses these services. Its knowledge of the market is also interesting and so is the research it does. For example store checks. If we have a promotion running, we like knowing how things look in the store. Enticing consumers is our business. The category developers are part of Team Retail Services. Together, we strengthen each other and achieve a good end result."
Long-term success
According to Ivo, a perfect shopper activation starts with a collaboration with points of sale that have wide coverage, for example many branches, or a webshop with a large reach. There must also be a good link with the current campaign of the Flower Council of Holland. "From a commercial point of view, an activation is a long-term success if the promoted product continues to be presented better and is sold more. Results do not necessarily come in the short term. A discount promotion is often an excellent temptation to buy something. In the long-term, however, it is bad for the price perception of the consumer. The ultimate goal is to positively influence the price."
As examples of activations that performed well with consumers, Ivo points out competitions and giveaways. "Blume2000 in Germany had a DIY kit for customers to hang orchids with moss and steel wire for a unique effect. Jumbo gave away a free watering system with the purchase of a plant. And when purchasing an amaryllis bouquet from Fleurop in Germany, customers had a chance to win one of the 300 bouquets from the winter collection."
Qualitative knowledge
The Flower Council of Holland also did research into shopper activation behaviour in France and Germany. "This yields qualitative knowledge about which target group can best be enticed in which way. A certain group of plant buyers do not necessarily go for discounts. They are willing to pay for a beautiful plant, and if they get something extra , it must be relevant. Plant food or a beautiful pot, for example, are more appealing to them than a free trip. Consumers can also be triggered by an attractive plant shelf. With the knowledge of Team Retail Services, we want to look at this together, as there is certainly still a challenge there."
For more information:
Royal FloraHolland
www.royalfloraholland.com