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PLANNING A DRIVE ^ 

 M FOR MEMORIAL DAY 



In the battle for husiness the trade must take advantage of every favor- 

 able opportunity. Such an opportunity is at hand. Custom has established 

 Memorial day as one of the great selling days of the year. But it can he 

 made greater by the right kind of effort. 



AMPAIGNING for busi- 

 ness is not unlike the mil- 

 itary operations in Eu- 

 rope. Careful preparation, 

 proper alignment of all 

 forces that will tend to- 

 ward success and then the 

 ' ' drive ' ' bring results to 

 liim who is best prepared 

 and who puts the greatest 

 amount of constructive thought back of 

 his efforts. Tlie trade recently has 

 made two successful "spring drives." 

 Business at Easter was the greatest in 

 the history of the trade; Mothers' day 

 was a big success. Now comes the 

 ' ' drive ' ' for Memorial day business. 



Memorial day, originally set apart as 

 a day upon which to honor the memory 

 of the soldier dead, has become so much 

 more than that it is commonly called 

 Decoration day. Custom has made it 

 the day for everyone to pay homage to 

 the loved ones who have passed away, 

 but who have not been forgotten. And 

 custom has also made the decoration of 

 graves \vith flowers and plants the 

 method bvjKhich this reverence for the 

 memoryyWthe depart- 

 ed is shown. 



Time to Get Busy. 



This year, the coun- 

 try being at war will 

 bring back to the mind 

 of everyone the sig- 

 nificance of the day. 

 War will not detract 

 from, but rather in- 

 crease the observance 

 of Memorial day. Thus 

 conditions are ideal for 

 the Memorial day 

 "drive" of the florist. 

 All he has to do is to 

 plan his campaign 

 carefully, bring all of 

 his selling forces into 

 the battle for business, 

 and victory is sure. 



If that campaign has 

 not already been 

 planned, there is not a 

 minute to waste before 

 doing it. Because the 

 greater the prepara- 

 tory artillery fire of 

 publicity, the more cer- 

 tain is the success of 

 the campaign to re- 

 place stock in the store 

 with money in the cash 

 register. And that tells 

 the story of the suc- 

 cess or failure of the 



campaign for Memorial day trade. 

 To get the greatest results from the 

 drive, a leader should be chosen. Then 

 concentrate your selling efforts on this 

 one thing. That has been proven to be 

 the best means of gaining commercial 

 victory. Be tliis leader a certain style 

 of wreath, or plants, or cut flowers, it 

 should be tlie shell constantly fired at 

 tlie buying public. 



The Wreath the Staple. 



Wreaths, of course, are staples for 

 Memorial day trade. They have been, 

 ;iud still are, tlie most popular pieces 

 for grave decoration. The public likes 

 tliem because they will last — the buyer 

 gets a longer run for his money tlian 

 with loose cut flowers or bouquets. 

 Wreatlis, too, liave the advantage in 

 that they can be made up in advance 

 and tliose unsold can be kept for future 

 funeral work. 



After tlie leader has been selected 

 and the price of it fixed, start your sell- 

 ing campaign. The first moves are to 

 decorate the show window and to ad- 

 vertise. 



Wreaths, Plain or Elaborate, Are Memorial Day Favorites. 



The objects of a window display are: 

 First, to get the attention of the pedes- 

 trian; second, to interest him in what 

 you liave for sale, and, third, to make 

 that interest so intense that he will 

 have a desire to possess what he sees. 

 Then the sale is the same as made. 



There is a fine sentiment back of Me- 

 morial day. Everyone has that senti- 

 ment, but in many it is dormant. It is 

 up to us to arouse it. Consequently our 

 window should have some sentimental 

 appeal, such as that of patriotism. War 

 is uppermost of the impersonal things in 

 everybody's mind. Consequently some 

 novel arrangement of flags, such as 

 those of the countries of whicli the 

 United States is now an ally, would at- 

 tract attention to the window, as it is 

 doubtful if one person in fifty has seen 

 or would recognize the flags of Belgium, 

 France, Great Britain, Russia and Italy, 

 with a greater percentage ignorant of 

 the colors of Servia, Eoumania and 

 Montenegro. 



There we have a suggestion, which, 

 carried out, would attract the crowds. 

 The balance of the decoration should be 

 made up of seasonable 

 tilings we have for 

 sale. A card with a 

 snappy selling argu- 

 ment with a sentimen- 

 tal appeal would not be 

 out of place. 



Keep to Day's Spirit. 



Not alone should the 

 window breathe the 

 spirit of Memorial day. 

 The interior of the 

 store, also, can be made 

 to impress the mind of 

 the visitor with the 

 one idea all florists 

 want to impress — that 

 Memorial day is near 

 and that a wreath, or a 

 plant, or flowers of 

 some kind should be 

 purchased and taken or 

 sent to the cemetery. 



This can be done by 

 putting out of sight 

 for a few days those 

 things which will dis- 

 tract the mind from 

 thoughts of Memorial 

 day and by exposing 

 those things especially 

 designed for the occa- 

 sion. As an example: 

 Even though we have 

 just completed elabo- 

 rate bouquets for a 



