Keeping flowers and plants constantly top of mind with the consumer - that’s
what we at the Flower Council of Holland (FCH) devote ourselves to every day.
We make sure that consumers become and remain inspired to buy flowers and
plants. We have set out the most significant activities and results in 2016 below.
In 2016 the growers who are members of Royal FloraHolland and the traders who are its
customers jointly invested in the generic promotion of flowers and plants. With a total sum of
€14.5 million, FCH has been able to reach and engage millions of consumers, and thereby
given a positive boost to sales of flowers and plants in Germany, France, the Netherlands and
the United Kingdom.
Optimum return in the most important markets
FCH promotes the sale of flowers and plants in four countries with an attractive market size
and substantial Dutch market share. With its consumer brands
Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk and Thejoyofplants.co.uk FCH provides inspiration in each
country in the language of the country concerned, taking account of local preferences and
trends. The campaigns, content and promotions thereby reach a large international group of
consumers.
High profile campaigns, scintillating content, surprising promotions
FCH develops effective campaigns with flowers and plants in the leading role. In-depth
market research shows that these eye-catching campaigns hit the mark, and ensure that
people talk about flowers and plants. Alongside campaigns, inspiration is also provided with
relevant and sparkling content, both online and off-line. This is of interest to consumers, the
flower and plant sector and the press. From handy tips, detailed information, remarkable
stories and fun facts through to inspiring images. All the images and text can be downloaded
free of charge and used for marketing purposes. FCH therefore works with the sector to
ensure that flowers and plants remain high on the consumer's agenda, all the time and in
different ways.
Content and PR campaign: Flower Agenda
January to December
The spotlight is on different flowers every 3 to 4 weeks. We thereby offer the
press and consumers newsworthy inspiration about flowers every month.
The aim is to enable consumers to discover that flowers bring plenty of joy,
prompting them to buy more flowers. For the trade and retailers, the
Flower Agenda is a year-round programme to engage with. The stories and
the images based on the Horticulture Sector Style Trends lead the online
content, and are actively used for PR purposes. On average the campaign
results in 230 mentions and the reach of 900,000 per month.
Content and PR campaign: Houseplant of the Month
January to December
With this campaign we want to give the press and bloggers a (news) hook
for writing about houseplants every month. The trade can also easily tap
into this by using the posters and photographs that the Flower Council
produces. The PR campaign results in many online and off-line mentions
every month. Up until June the campaign was co-financed by the EU.
Germ any
France
T he Netherlands:
United Kingdom
Av e. reach
per m onth
Av e. # m entions
per m onth
190 million
25 million
2.5 million
9 million
255
22
80
8
Content and PR campaign: Garden Plant of the Month
January to December
The spotlight is also on different garden plants every month. The press and
consumers are thereby provided with newsworthy inspiration about garden
plants every month.
Av e. reach
per m onth
Germ any
T he Netherlands:
United Kingdom
326 million
4.6 million
34 million
Av e. # m entions
per m onth
322
40
17
Content video series: Exposé
January to November
Exposé is a series of video portraits of people who have one thing in
common: a passion for flowers and/or plants. For one it’s a hobby that’s got
out of hand, whilst another might be a professional devotee. Whatever the
case, they’re happy to show why. Five new videos were produced this year,
with a combined total of over 80,000 organic video views.
Exposé
Video v iews
Page v iews
7,892
11,232
4,977
16,166
42,212
#9 The Wunderkammer
#10 T age Andersen
#11 T ina Guillory
#12 Py rus
#13 Katie Scott
2,409
50,225
2,294
3,644
7,576
Media campaign: Valentine’s Day ‘Command Cupid’
1 to 14 February
Following earlier successes with the guerrilla marketing campaign ‘In Case
Of Love On First Sight’ (2014) in Paris, and the ‘Cupidrone’ video (2015),
we again managed to highlight flowers even more as the ideal Valentine’s
gift to an international audience. The video in which Command Cupid was
sent out using the mobile app Periscope to bring lovers together with the
aid of flowers has been viewed almost 15 million times. In Berlin and Paris
people could also experience it live on the day before Valentine’s Day, under
the watchful eye of the media. The ‘Command Cupid’ video was also
broadcast in full during the popular TV programme Télématin on France2,
which attracted 1.3 million viewers.
Video v iews
Germ any
France
T he Netherlands
United Kingdom
6.1 million
4.3 million
1 million
3.8 million
Content special: Easter
8 to 28 March
For Easter we produced a video and photos in which we showed the
consumer how they could decorate their Easter brunch or dinner entirely
with flowers and plants. A new-style Easter table which matches today’s
trends in terms of the basics and supplements them with a floral touch. We
created a table with all sorts of applications for flowers and plants in terms
of interiors, dining and personal care.
Article
Page v iews
26,981
1,052
2,350
3,632
790
2,877
1,031
Easter
A gift to giv e away at Easter
DIY : moss eggs for the Easter table
DIY : decorating Easter eggs of flowers and plants
Adv ocaat with a floral twist
DIY : nature on the table with a tree trunk etagère
A delicious Easter lunch starts with a beautiful menu
PR campaign: Balcony & Patio Plant 2016
April - May
The Balcony and Patio Plants of the Y ear are chosen annually by a Media
Jury which includes Elle Decoration, Home and Garden, Libelle and Eigen
Huis & Tuin etc. The selected Balcony (Geranium) and Patio (Hibiscus)
Plants were promoted from the start of April with the aim of showing
consumers how easy and fun it is to bring a summer mood to a balcony or
patio, and to provide a hook for the press - the balcony and patio must-have
for the season.
Reach
T he Netherlands
Mentions
20.6 million
83
PR and Media campaign: Vitamin Plant For Men
4 April to 15 May
Following the successful launch of the Vitamin Plant for Men campaign in
the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in 2015, we continued it in France
and Germany. This campaign was directly aimed at a different target group
for once: men, because a man with houseplants is apparently more
attractive. It was high time to draw attention to this fact. We did that with a
touch of humour. Five appealing plants in rugged apothecary jars were
designed to seduce men, together with a mini-documentary in which three
men talk about their relationship with plants.
Im pressions
Germ any
France
13.5 million
21.3 million
PR reach
Mentions
1.6 million
1.4 million
47
19
PR event: The Plant Agency
5 to 30 April
We opened the first modelling agency for plants in the centre of
Amsterdam: The Plant Agency. The temporary pop-up agency offered the
free loan of plants for productions by stylists, editors, photographers and
bloggers, with the aim of gaining coverage for the Houseplants of the Month
through relevant magazines, websites and blogs. An unexpected side-effect
was that we generated immediate publicity after the opening through RTL
Boulevard, De Wereld Draait Door, Radio 2, Harper’s Bazaar, LINDA.,
NU.nl and even the NOS Journaal news programme, amongst others.
Reach
The Netherlands
Mentions
6.3 million
29
E-magazine: The Green Gallery
#3. 12 April | #4. 15 September | #5. 15 November
The online magazine The Green Gallery introduces trendsetting consumers
to the beauty of flowers and plants in a totally unique way. Aesthetic, raw,
feminine, enchanting and contemporary. The magazine is an online gallery
in which flowers and plants are presented as a source of inspiration for
lovers of fashion, food, design, art and interiors. The Green Gallery is
published several times a year (3 times this year).
Readership
Page v iews
135,897
377,000
PR event: Schrebergarten Deluxe
30 April to 5 June
In order to draw more attention to garden plants in Germany, consumers
were able to book a one night stay (via Airbnb) in a specially created trend
garden in the hip ‘Schrebengarten’ (large urban garden) in Berlin.
Following a kick-off event for press and bloggers, spending the night in the
‘Schrebengarten’ became very popular and was rapidly fully booked.
Germ any
Reach
Mentions
19.5 million
54
Content special: MR.LILIUM
June
Around Father’s Day we launched an exclusive natural shaving soap with
the nourishing properties of the lily: MR.LILIUM. This unusual product,
made from the petals of the white Madonna lily (Lilium Candidium), was
created in collaboration with designer Katja Gruijters and grower Gerben
Ravensbergen. Consumers were able to win a real shave with this
remarkable soap in a barbershop.
Page v iews
Germ any
France
T he Netherlands
United Kingdom
Mentions
89,137
75,608
27,714
25,400
13
0
17
2
PR event: The National Gallery
2 to 6 June
In June visitors to the National Gallery in London were greeted with a
sensational floral artwork that was visible from virtually everywhere in
Trafalgar Square. A 35 m² living painting made using 26,430 real flowers
was displayed on the west side of the museum’s main entrance. We were
thereby linking up with the ‘Dutch Flowers’ exhibition, bringing flowers to
the attention of a wide audience in a surprising way.
Reach
Mentions
4.3 million
United Kingdom
39
PR event: Pothole Gardeners
July 2016
Guerrilla marketing campaign whereby mini gardens were created in
potholes in the road surface in central London. The gardens were designed
and created by Steve Wheen, the famous ‘Pothole Gardener’.
We thereby drew attention to garden plants in a surprising way. The 3 mini
gardens each had a topical theme.
Reach
United Kingdom
Mentions
1.1 million
12
Media campaign: EU Favourite Flower
15 September - 14 October
Giving (or receiving) a Favourite Flower is even more rewarding than just
any old bunch of flowers. If you give someone their favourite flower, you’ve
taken account of their personal taste. The campaign, which was co-financed
by the European Union, had optimum visibility in Germany and France
through video networks, social media, advertisements in magazines and onstreet marketing. Press releases and large-scale PR events such as a pop-up
gallery in Berlin encouraged media and bloggers to cover our message.
According to research (Ipsos), the campaign substantially raised awareness
of flowers as a gift. Research shows that the campaign had a positive effect
on the intention to purchase, particularly amongst the intended target
group: Cultivated Performers.
Germ any
France
Reach
Web v isits
Video v iews
31 million
43 million
185 K
187 K
5.2 million
6 million
PR event: Rent a Balcony
20 to 30 September
An online competition offered people in Munich, Hamburg, Cologne and
Berlin the chance to win a temporary balcony full of plants for a day. A
mobile work platform packed with autumn plants allowed the winners to
enjoy a colourful Indian Summer. Whilst one person was served a high tea,
another couple enjoyed a barbecue on the balcony. But we particularly
wanted to let them sample and smell all the beautiful autumn garden
plants, and extend the outdoor season a bit. A combination of winners via
Pflanzenfreude.de, bloggers and singer-songwriters ensured maximum
reach. Broadcaster WDR even showed pictures of it on the news.
Germ any
Reach
Mentions
25 million
75
Media campaign: #FavouriteFlower
10 October to 15 November
This new campaign focuses on the stories behind Favourite Flowers. With
Favourite Flower #hashtagstories we bring beautiful, moving and
sometimes naughty stories around Favourite Flowers to life. And we
literally show that it’s ‘funny how flowers do that’. The style of photography,
the tone of the stories and the fact that no brand has ever done this before
make this a very modern campaign which offers innumerable opportunities
going forward for years. The campaign was carried out on a large scale in
the media: video networks, social media, advertisements in magazines, eyecatching on-street marketing. Press releases and large-scale PR events such
as handing out favourite flowers at tube stations in London encourage
media and other influencers such as bloggers and vloggers to cover our
message. This highlights flowers as an ideal gift to our primary target
group: Cultivated Performers. This new campaign also appeals to the
promising ‘Individualistic Performers’ target group.
PR event: Plants in Virtual Reality
19 november
Paris, Galeries Lafayette Maison - How do you really know what the effect
is of plants in your home? Whether it’s large plants that create atmosphere,
or small decorative specimens. Y ou can look at a lot of pictures, but they’re
just images, rather static. Solution: experience it with virtual reality.
Examine the plant you want from all sides. As much as you want, large,
small, shades of green, colourfully blooming, exotic, vintage… Choose a
plant, select a pot, place it in your interior and see the result: the plant
creates atmosphere, is decorative, provides a good feeling. And now you can
experience that virtually and realistically.
Online
The number of average sessions and unique visitors for almost all four
country versions of Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk and
Thejoyofplants.co.uk have increased substantially. Alongside the attention
that we generate through free publicity, media campaigns and content
collaborations, a lot of traffic also comes via search engines. This is partly
through the use of Search Engine Advertising (SEA). In terms of devices,
our pages are most viewed via mobile (46%) followed by desktop (36%) and
the rest via tablets (18%).
Ave. #
sessions per
month
Website (to 16 November)
T ollwasblumenmachen.de
Pflanzenfreude.de
Lajoiedesfleurs.fr
Maplantemonbonheur.fr
Mooiwatbloemendoen.nl
Mooiwatplantendoen.nl
Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk
T hejoyofplants.co.uk
T hegreengallery.com
Unique v isitors
4 4 ,886
40,864
47 ,474
29,585
25,932
31 ,455
20,099
1 9,529
1 3,886
393,861
356,374
404,800
265,063
234,246
271,585
189,644
209,670
117,088
Social media
There has been considerable growth in the number of followers and the
reach of our social media channels:
Socials
(to 16 November)
Facebook
Fans
Twit ter
Followers
Pint erest
Followers
Inst agram
Followers
2,272
739
1.276
1,230
1,416
2,009
1,034
672
540
Ma plantemonbonheur.fr
877
1,045
1,356
Mooi watbloemendoen.nl
5,030
1,559
976
Mooi watplantendoen.nl
4,041
1,351
1,750
Fu nnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk
3,110
253
1,793
T h ejoyofplants.co.uk
2,105
509
3,643
T h egreengallery.com
322
1,002
8,947
On 1 March, just before British Mother’s Day, the leading luxury
department store Harvey Nichols posted a video on Facebook (178,743
fans) and Twitter (343,000 followers) in which they urged consumers not to
buy clichéd gifts like flowers for mothers. In an instant response, we place a
variant of our Mother’s Day message from 2015 on their timeline. We
received support from their own fans. Harvey Nichols responded rapidly
with a compromise: a vase filled with flowers next to a handbag from the
department store.
T ollwasblumenmachen.de
Pfl anzenfreude.de
La joiedesfleurs.fr
2 9 ,758
7 5,813
31 ,7 50
47 ,522
1 8,7 95
1 3,172
26,986
9,457
7 ,231
Trade prizes and nominations
We again enjoyed some notable marketing communications nominations
and prizes for our activities in 2016:
Launch of The Green Gallery
18 May
Winner bronze Esprix 2016
Category Cross-sector
See http://www.esprix.nl/esprix/esprix-2016
Flowers bring art to life at the National Gallery
Announcement on 30 November!
Nomination Social Buzz Awards 2016
Catergory Best Social Event
See http://www.socialbuzzawards.com/social-buzz-awards-2016/best-socialevent/flowers-bring-art-to-life-at-the-national-gallery-0
Das „Sieh-Fühl-Riech“-Lookbook (Houseplant 2015)
22 November 2016
Winner PR Report Awards 2016
Category Corporate Media – Analog
See http://prreportawards.de/gewinner/gewinner-2016/
Schrebergarten DeLuxe
22 November 2016
Finalist PR Report Awards 2016
Category Event- und Livekommunikation
See http://prreportawards.de/gewinner/gewinner-2016/