Be honest: what usually pops to mind when you think of Memorial Day?
All too often, the holiday’s true meaning – honoring soldiers who gave their lives for their country – gets buried beneath excitement for barbecues, beach trips and the unofficial start to summer.
Ramiro Penaherrera and Kevin Clifford aim to change that. As co-directors of Memorial Day Flowers, a foundation now in its fourth year, they rally the industry to provide flowers to decorate veterans’ gravesites, paying tribute to those who served and showing their loved ones that flowers can express what words cannot.
“There’s a dual purpose behind Memorial Day Flowers,” Penaherrera said. “For one, it’s important to recognize the people who gave the ultimate sacrifice and to reflect on their lives and what they were fighting for.” The other objective: to get flowers in the hands of more Americans.
“It’s really powerful marketing,” Clifford said. It’s the opportunity to speak directly to hundreds of potential customers in one day, place a flower in their hand and connect the product to an extremely moving moment. “There’s no real way to convey what emotions it stirs until you’ve done it,” he said.
Both men have countless anecdotes of visitors’ surprise and appreciation upon receiving roses at Arlington National Cemetery, but each could name one response they’ll never forget. In section 60, dedicated largely to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, one mother cried when Peneherrera offered her a rose and said, “his father sent me flowers when he was born.” Clifford recalled a female veteran who asked for three roses. When he offered her more, she said, “I just need three. There were only four of us that day.”
In its inaugural year, 12 people spent Memorial Day handing out 5,000 roses to visitors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. In 2013, the organization recruited 3,300 volunteers who distributed 200,000 roses and 188 sites throughout the country, Clifford said.
This year, Memorial Day Flowers has even grander goals.
“We want everyone involved – not just florists,” Penaherrera said. The foundation reached out to retail expert Bob Neegan for recruitment efforts. He wrote about the value of the event in a recent edition of his WhizBang! Training newsletter, and shared how anyone, whether or not they’ve ever handled flowers, can participate.
As of this week, 50 non-floral retailers have signed on to sponsor Memorial Day Flowers.
Want to get involved? Here's the promotion laid out for you, step by step...
Step One: Order Your Memorial Day Flowers Kit(s)
For $275, you can get a Memorial Day Flowers Kit from the Foundation containing:
250 long stemmed roses
250 handouts about the event that have a space for your store information sticker
1 large "Memorial Day Flowers" banner
10 flower food sachets with care instructions
20 Memorial Day Flowers Foundation ”Certificates of Participation”
Your Memorial Day Flowers Kit will arrive via FedEx freight directly from farms to your store on Thursday May 22nd or Friday 23rd ... right before Memorial Day.
For every kit purchased, The Memorial Day Flowers Foundation will place 150 additional roses on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day.
Last day to order is May 9th.
Step Two: Invite Your Customers To Honor A Veteran
Invite your customers to come in to your store on the Saturday and Sunday before Memorial Day (and even on Memorial Day if you are open!) and take a free flower to place on the grave of a veteran in your local cemetery. If they don't have a deceased family member who is a veteran they can still take a flower and decorate the grave of ANY veteran to remember them.
Be sure to mention that you are limited to 250 flowers and the offer is only good while supplies last. If you've got a large customer base, you could consider ordering two or more kits.
Ask your customers to take pictures of their families decorating the graves and post them to your Facebook page or send them to you via email. This would make a great Pinterest board or a photo collage to put in your newsletter.
Step Three: Write a Press Release
Actually, you should write two press releases. One for before the event to try and get people into your store to get the flowers and one for after the event to share the results. Include pictures of folks laying their flowers in your "after the event" press release.
Possible headlines for your "before the event" press release:
[Your City Name] Veterans to be Remembered with Roses this Memorial Day
[Your Store Name] Enlists the Aid of Customers to Honor Fallen Vets this Memorial Day
Free Memorial Day Flowers Given to Remember [Your City Name] Veterans
All too often, the holiday’s true meaning – honoring soldiers who gave their lives for their country – gets buried beneath excitement for barbecues, beach trips and the unofficial start to summer.
Ramiro Penaherrera and Kevin Clifford aim to change that. As co-directors of Memorial Day Flowers, a foundation now in its fourth year, they rally the industry to provide flowers to decorate veterans’ gravesites, paying tribute to those who served and showing their loved ones that flowers can express what words cannot.
“There’s a dual purpose behind Memorial Day Flowers,” Penaherrera said. “For one, it’s important to recognize the people who gave the ultimate sacrifice and to reflect on their lives and what they were fighting for.” The other objective: to get flowers in the hands of more Americans.
“It’s really powerful marketing,” Clifford said. It’s the opportunity to speak directly to hundreds of potential customers in one day, place a flower in their hand and connect the product to an extremely moving moment. “There’s no real way to convey what emotions it stirs until you’ve done it,” he said.
Both men have countless anecdotes of visitors’ surprise and appreciation upon receiving roses at Arlington National Cemetery, but each could name one response they’ll never forget. In section 60, dedicated largely to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, one mother cried when Peneherrera offered her a rose and said, “his father sent me flowers when he was born.” Clifford recalled a female veteran who asked for three roses. When he offered her more, she said, “I just need three. There were only four of us that day.”
In its inaugural year, 12 people spent Memorial Day handing out 5,000 roses to visitors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. In 2013, the organization recruited 3,300 volunteers who distributed 200,000 roses and 188 sites throughout the country, Clifford said.
This year, Memorial Day Flowers has even grander goals.
“We want everyone involved – not just florists,” Penaherrera said. The foundation reached out to retail expert Bob Neegan for recruitment efforts. He wrote about the value of the event in a recent edition of his WhizBang! Training newsletter, and shared how anyone, whether or not they’ve ever handled flowers, can participate.
As of this week, 50 non-floral retailers have signed on to sponsor Memorial Day Flowers.
Want to get involved? Here's the promotion laid out for you, step by step...
Step One: Order Your Memorial Day Flowers Kit(s)
For $275, you can get a Memorial Day Flowers Kit from the Foundation containing:
250 long stemmed roses
250 handouts about the event that have a space for your store information sticker
1 large "Memorial Day Flowers" banner
10 flower food sachets with care instructions
20 Memorial Day Flowers Foundation ”Certificates of Participation”
Your Memorial Day Flowers Kit will arrive via FedEx freight directly from farms to your store on Thursday May 22nd or Friday 23rd ... right before Memorial Day.
For every kit purchased, The Memorial Day Flowers Foundation will place 150 additional roses on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day.
Last day to order is May 9th.
Step Two: Invite Your Customers To Honor A Veteran
Invite your customers to come in to your store on the Saturday and Sunday before Memorial Day (and even on Memorial Day if you are open!) and take a free flower to place on the grave of a veteran in your local cemetery. If they don't have a deceased family member who is a veteran they can still take a flower and decorate the grave of ANY veteran to remember them.
Be sure to mention that you are limited to 250 flowers and the offer is only good while supplies last. If you've got a large customer base, you could consider ordering two or more kits.
Ask your customers to take pictures of their families decorating the graves and post them to your Facebook page or send them to you via email. This would make a great Pinterest board or a photo collage to put in your newsletter.
Step Three: Write a Press Release
Actually, you should write two press releases. One for before the event to try and get people into your store to get the flowers and one for after the event to share the results. Include pictures of folks laying their flowers in your "after the event" press release.
Possible headlines for your "before the event" press release:
[Your City Name] Veterans to be Remembered with Roses this Memorial Day
[Your Store Name] Enlists the Aid of Customers to Honor Fallen Vets this Memorial Day
Free Memorial Day Flowers Given to Remember [Your City Name] Veterans
