{"id":2842,"date":"2018-03-16T11:02:03","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T15:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/?p=2842"},"modified":"2018-03-16T11:16:08","modified_gmt":"2018-03-16T15:16:08","slug":"what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry","title":{"rendered":"What FTD&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this week, our friends at Bloomerang <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomerangsolutions.com\/blog\/a-brutal-valentine-s-day-lands-ftd-in-the-red\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">outlined the devastating effects<\/a> of FTD Inc.&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s 2018 market campaigns. According to the article:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>FTD launched an aggressive marketing campaign for Valentine\u2019s Day by combining brand marketing for two of its flagship labels \u2013 ProFlowers and Shari\u2019s Berries &#8211; urging consumers to \u201cthink inside the box\u201d by eschewing traditional florists and instead purchasing a box containing pre-packaged flowers and chocolate covered strawberries direct-shipped from the a[sic] warehouse to the customer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This approach lead to a Valentine&#8217;s holiday that underperformed their expectations by as much as $20 million. The company is considering $50 million in credit support from their largest shareholder, Liberty Interactive Corp.<\/p>\n<p>But this article isn&#8217;t about FTD. At least, not directly.<\/p>\n<p>You see, this latest incident with FTD is not a new problem, but is actually symptomatic of a much larger problem in our industry. It&#8217;s a problem that is perpetuated much more frequently by retail florists than the various conglomerations of online and order gathering outfits.<\/p>\n<h2>Ultimate Commodity<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2845\" src=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Commodity-Definition.png\" alt=\"Commodity Definition\" width=\"583\" height=\"172\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Commodity-Definition.png 583w, https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Commodity-Definition-300x89.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 583px) 100vw, 583px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For years now, anyone who has attended one of my sessions at a floral conference has heard me talk about the commodification of flowers (this is both one of my Red Flag signs of impending doom, and a component of my Essential Marketing Recipe session). The concept is simple: That flowers have increasingly become a product to\u00a0by searched by SKU and compared by price, rather than a service that conveys an emotional component.<\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.me%2Fp6CUyJ-JQ&#038;text=When%20a%20consumer%20sees%20the%20same%20designs%20and%20SKU%20numbers%20on%2010s%20of%20thousands%20of%20florist%20websites%20that%20look%20the%20same%2C%20they%20are%20being%20told%20that%20the%20florist%20is%20simply%20a%20distributor.%20The%20customer%20now%20shops%20for%20flowers%20the%20same%20as%20they%20would%E2%80%A6&#038;via=florist_20&#038;related=florist_20' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">When a consumer sees the same designs and SKU numbers on 10s of thousands of florist websites that look the same, they are being told that the florist is simply a distributor. The customer now shops for flowers the same as they would\u2026 <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.me%2Fp6CUyJ-JQ&#038;text=When%20a%20consumer%20sees%20the%20same%20designs%20and%20SKU%20numbers%20on%2010s%20of%20thousands%20of%20florist%20websites%20that%20look%20the%20same%2C%20they%20are%20being%20told%20that%20the%20florist%20is%20simply%20a%20distributor.%20The%20customer%20now%20shops%20for%20flowers%20the%20same%20as%20they%20would%E2%80%A6&#038;via=florist_20&#038;related=florist_20' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n<p>How do we all shop for mass-produced products? We research to find the right product, then we seek out the cheapest source available to us. If we pay any premium it&#8217;s for some measure of convenience that overcomes a problem (ex: rush shipping, better shopping experience). When most florists sell the same products from the same<\/p>\n<p>FTD&#8217;s emphasis on selling flowers in a box this Valentine&#8217;s Day is simply the natural progression of this way of thinking. And the consumers responded with an unmistakable response.<\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.me%2Fp6CUyJ-JQ&#038;text=Consumers%20are%20clearly%20telling%20us%20they%20don%27t%20want%20commodity%20floral%20items.%20And%20competing%20at%20that%20level%20is%20a%20losing%20battle%20for%20florists.%20It%27s%20time%20for%20florists%20to%20emphasize%20their%20uniqueness%20and%20build%2010%2C000%20awesome%20local%20brands.&#038;via=florist_20&#038;related=florist_20' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Consumers are clearly telling us they don&#039;t want commodity floral items. And competing at that level is a losing battle for florists. It&#039;s time for florists to emphasize their uniqueness and build 10,000 awesome local brands. <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.me%2Fp6CUyJ-JQ&#038;text=Consumers%20are%20clearly%20telling%20us%20they%20don%27t%20want%20commodity%20floral%20items.%20And%20competing%20at%20that%20level%20is%20a%20losing%20battle%20for%20florists.%20It%27s%20time%20for%20florists%20to%20emphasize%20their%20uniqueness%20and%20build%2010%2C000%20awesome%20local%20brands.&#038;via=florist_20&#038;related=florist_20' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n<p>Toys &#8220;R&#8221; Us gives serves as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:6380413935178387456\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tragic example<\/a> of what happens when you are forced to rely on the brands that you sell, instead of creating and evolving a compelling identity of your own. Blaming Amazon for the demise of this American icon is a lazy narrative at best &#8230; in reality, the equity group controlling Toys &#8220;R&#8221; Us left them with too much debt to invest in staff training, store experience, and brand building. The result was nearly 900 warehouse stores with bored, under-trained staff and shelves piled with over-priced commodity items (that may or may not be in stock).<\/p>\n<h2>Whose Brand Are You Building?<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2847\" src=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-TF.png\" alt=\"Whose brand - TF\" width=\"643\" height=\"156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-TF.png 643w, https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-TF-300x73.png 300w, https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-TF-600x146.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2846\" src=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-Ace.png\" alt=\"Whose brand - Ace\" width=\"643\" height=\"157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-Ace.png 643w, https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-Ace-300x73.png 300w, https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-Ace-600x147.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When a customer is interacting with your business, whose brand are they experiencing? When they look at your\u00a0website, are they seeing a national brand presented as much or more often than your own?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2848\" src=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-Product.png\" alt=\"Whose brand - Product\" width=\"612\" height=\"103\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-Product.png 612w, https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-Product-300x50.png 300w, https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whose-brand-Product-600x101.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px\" \/><\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.me%2Fp6CUyJ-JQ&#038;text=Who%20gets%20the%20credit%20for%20the%20flowers%20you%20sell%3F%20Your%20shop%20and%20your%20team%3F%20Or%20the%20national%20brand%20that%27s%20plastered%20all%20over%20your%20website%2C%20store%20signage%2C%20and%20brochures%3F&#038;via=florist_20&#038;related=florist_20' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Who gets the credit for the flowers you sell? Your shop and your team? Or the national brand that&#039;s plastered all over your website, store signage, and brochures? <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.me%2Fp6CUyJ-JQ&#038;text=Who%20gets%20the%20credit%20for%20the%20flowers%20you%20sell%3F%20Your%20shop%20and%20your%20team%3F%20Or%20the%20national%20brand%20that%27s%20plastered%20all%20over%20your%20website%2C%20store%20signage%2C%20and%20brochures%3F&#038;via=florist_20&#038;related=florist_20' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2849\" src=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire.png\" alt=\"out of the frying pan into the fire\" width=\"609\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire.png 609w, https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire-300x265.png 300w, https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire-600x529.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 609px) 100vw, 609px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you are tired of representing someone else&#8217;s brand with your time, sweat, money, stress, and work, then it&#8217;s time for a brand overhaul. But take caution: The solution to decades of floral branding fail is not to abandon wire services for independent providers that take the same templated approach! There&#8217;s a real danger in thinking we&#8217;re taking a big step forward when that leap is actually taking us from the frying pan to the fire.<\/p>\n<p>The solution happens at a higher level. When you decide to embrace your identity as a strong, unique, local, independent business then the ramifications flow throughout your company. The real fix is not a new website, it&#8217;s a new way of thinking about your company.<\/p>\n<p>Then, whether you decide to stay with a wire service solution, or opt for a <a href=\"https:\/\/striderseo.com\/florist-websites\/\">custom-built florist ecommerce website<\/a>, you will be able to build your brand through the floral designs you offer, the content and expertise you share, and the way that you thoughtfully approach every element of customer interaction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this week, our friends at Bloomerang outlined the devastating effects of FTD Inc.&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s 2018 market campaigns. This approach lead to a Valentine&#8217;s holiday that underperformed their expectations by as much as $20 million. The company is considering $50 million in credit support from their largest shareholder, Liberty Interactive Corp.<\/p>\n<p>But this article isn&#8217;t about FTD. At least, not directly.<\/p>\n<p>You see, this latest incident with FTD is not a new problem, but is actually symptomatic of a much larger problem in our industry. It&#8217;s a problem that is perpetuated much more frequently by retail florists than the various conglomerations of online and order gathering outfits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-florists"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What FTD&#039;s Valentine&#039;s Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This latest incident with FTD is not a new problem, but is actually symptomatic of a much larger problem in our industry. It&#039;s a problem that is perpetuated much more frequently by retail florists than the various conglomerations of online and order gathering outfits.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What FTD&#039;s Valentine&#039;s Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This latest incident with FTD is not a new problem, but is actually symptomatic of a much larger problem in our industry. It&#039;s a problem that is perpetuated much more frequently by retail florists than the various conglomerations of online and order gathering outfits.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Florist 2.0 Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Florist.WebSites\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ryankfreeman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-16T15:02:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-03-16T15:16:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Ultimate-Commodity.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"theRKF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@RKF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Florist_20\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"theRKF\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"theRKF\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/91773e6a67ad6ebba6ae1ce9c8471bc5\"},\"headline\":\"What FTD&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-16T15:02:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-16T15:16:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry\"},\"wordCount\":787,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Ultimate-Commodity.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Florists\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry\",\"name\":\"What FTD's Valentine's Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Ultimate-Commodity.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-16T15:02:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-16T15:16:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"This latest incident with FTD is not a new problem, but is actually symptomatic of a much larger problem in our industry. It's a problem that is perpetuated much more frequently by retail florists than the various conglomerations of online and order gathering outfits.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Ultimate-Commodity.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Ultimate-Commodity.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Ultimate Commodity Floral Industry Low\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/florists\\\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What FTD&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Florist 2.0 Blog\",\"description\":\"Online marketing tips and floral industry news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Florist 2.0 Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/08\\\/logo-web.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/08\\\/logo-web.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":111,\"caption\":\"Florist 2.0 Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/Florist.WebSites\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/Florist_20\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/91773e6a67ad6ebba6ae1ce9c8471bc5\",\"name\":\"theRKF\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/35e9272bc0599a1906dc1d8b844ed5e78489ca53e6f491a76b5b40661b283b77?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/35e9272bc0599a1906dc1d8b844ed5e78489ca53e6f491a76b5b40661b283b77?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/35e9272bc0599a1906dc1d8b844ed5e78489ca53e6f491a76b5b40661b283b77?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"theRKF\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/StriderSEO.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ryankfreeman\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/RKF\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.florist20.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/rkf\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What FTD's Valentine's Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry","description":"This latest incident with FTD is not a new problem, but is actually symptomatic of a much larger problem in our industry. It's a problem that is perpetuated much more frequently by retail florists than the various conglomerations of online and order gathering outfits.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What FTD's Valentine's Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry","og_description":"This latest incident with FTD is not a new problem, but is actually symptomatic of a much larger problem in our industry. It's a problem that is perpetuated much more frequently by retail florists than the various conglomerations of online and order gathering outfits.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry","og_site_name":"Florist 2.0 Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Florist.WebSites","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ryankfreeman","article_published_time":"2018-03-16T15:02:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-03-16T15:16:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Ultimate-Commodity.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"theRKF","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@RKF","twitter_site":"@Florist_20","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"theRKF","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry"},"author":{"name":"theRKF","@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/91773e6a67ad6ebba6ae1ce9c8471bc5"},"headline":"What FTD&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry","datePublished":"2018-03-16T15:02:03+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-16T15:16:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry"},"wordCount":787,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Ultimate-Commodity.png","articleSection":["Florists"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry","url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry","name":"What FTD's Valentine's Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Ultimate-Commodity.png","datePublished":"2018-03-16T15:02:03+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-16T15:16:08+00:00","description":"This latest incident with FTD is not a new problem, but is actually symptomatic of a much larger problem in our industry. It's a problem that is perpetuated much more frequently by retail florists than the various conglomerations of online and order gathering outfits.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Ultimate-Commodity.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Ultimate-Commodity.png","width":1200,"height":600,"caption":"Ultimate Commodity Floral Industry Low"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/what-ftds-valentines-failure-reveals-about-the-floral-industry#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What FTD&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s Trouble Reveals About The Floral Industry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/","name":"Florist 2.0 Blog","description":"Online marketing tips and floral industry news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Florist 2.0 Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/logo-web.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/logo-web.jpg","width":300,"height":111,"caption":"Florist 2.0 Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Florist.WebSites","https:\/\/x.com\/Florist_20"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/91773e6a67ad6ebba6ae1ce9c8471bc5","name":"theRKF","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/35e9272bc0599a1906dc1d8b844ed5e78489ca53e6f491a76b5b40661b283b77?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/35e9272bc0599a1906dc1d8b844ed5e78489ca53e6f491a76b5b40661b283b77?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/35e9272bc0599a1906dc1d8b844ed5e78489ca53e6f491a76b5b40661b283b77?s=96&r=g","caption":"theRKF"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/StriderSEO.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ryankfreeman","https:\/\/x.com\/RKF"],"url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/author\/rkf"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Ultimate-Commodity.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6CUyJ-JQ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1575,"url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/news\/valentines-day-bbb-florist-warning","url_meta":{"origin":2842,"position":0},"title":"Valentine&#8217;s Day BBB Florist Warning: Top Source of Complaints","author":"admin","date":"February 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Valentine's Day flower shopping advice abounds. Yesterday, Chicago\u2019s BBB reported that complaints filed against florists were up 47% from 2010 to 2011 and urged sweethearts to shop wisely for the best blooms. A 47% complaint increase? Quite an alarming statistic - one that really begged for a closer look. So\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":822,"url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/florists\/ftd-websites-add-drop-ship-items-unsuspecting-florists","url_meta":{"origin":2842,"position":1},"title":"FTD Websites Add Drop Ship Items To Unsuspecting Florists","author":"theRKF","date":"February 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"First reported yesterday morning, florists with FTD website woke up to find several new categories of items active on their websites, just in time for those Valentine's shoppers. The kicker? The items are all FTD Drop Ship gifts! This comment was posted by one affected florist: Look what appeared on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Florists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Florists","link":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/category\/florists"},"img":{"alt_text":"FTD Drop Ship on Florist Websites","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/FTD-Drop-Ship-On-Florist-Websites.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/FTD-Drop-Ship-On-Florist-Websites.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/FTD-Drop-Ship-On-Florist-Websites.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/FTD-Drop-Ship-On-Florist-Websites.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1461,"url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/real-florist-blog\/frozen-roses","url_meta":{"origin":2842,"position":2},"title":"Frozen Roses","author":"admin","date":"February 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Real florists have taken a verbal\u00a0beating from paid radio personalities telling listeners that our flowers are inferior and urging shoppers to purchase the cheap blooms from\u00a0companies like ProFlowers.com.\u00a0Last week we discussed how flowers from a box take the professional presentation\u00a0and the romance out of receiving Valentine's Day flowers, especially at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Consumer News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Consumer News","link":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/category\/real-florist-blog\/news-145\/consumer-news"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1385,"url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/real-florist-blog\/news-145\/florist-news\/ftd-group-files-for-180-million-ipo","url_meta":{"origin":2842,"position":3},"title":"FTD Group files for $180 million IPO","author":"Boss","date":"December 12, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/fi...storyID=6900634 Florist FTD Group Inc, Green and Group seems to want to try and emulate the success Perry Capitol realized with FTD while under the direction of Robert L Norton. You can read it here FTD Group files for $180 mln IPO As I see it the FTD Group will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Florist News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Florist News","link":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/category\/real-florist-blog\/news-145\/florist-news"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":682,"url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/seo\/ftd-follows-tfs-example-siphoning-pagerank","url_meta":{"origin":2842,"position":4},"title":"FTD Follows TF&#8217;s Example in Siphoning Pagerank","author":"theRKF","date":"September 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Florists with FTD-hosted websites should be aware of a recent change to their website templates that introduces a Pagerank-siphoning link back to an FTD-branded website. In a move reminiscent of Teleflora's poorly-executed effort to build links for the term \"florist\" off their clients' websites, FTD has introduced a link at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;SEO&quot;","block_context":{"text":"SEO","link":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/category\/seo"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vampire Red Dress","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Vampire-Red-Dress-644.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Vampire-Red-Dress-644.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Vampire-Red-Dress-644.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2447,"url":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/news\/ftd-campaign-celebrates-women","url_meta":{"origin":2842,"position":5},"title":"FTD Campaign Celebrates Inspiring Women","author":"Katie Hendrick","date":"March 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Throughout the month of March, FTD is urging people to recognize the influential women in their lives and show their appreciation with flowers. The company kicked off its campaign, #ILooktoHer, on March 8 (International Women's Day). Volunteers huddled around a retro van from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to shower\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NO0A6285.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NO0A6285.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NO0A6285.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NO0A6285.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NO0A6285.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NO0A6285.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2842"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2851,"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2842\/revisions\/2851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}