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APRIL 24, 1918. 



The Florists' Review 



IS 



^as paid for jointly by five retail flo- 

 fists and one wholesale firm. The or- 

 iginal intention was to have a much 

 larger ad than this appear earlier in. the 

 week. However, when it came to the fi- 

 nal question of paying for it we found 

 only a few florists who were willing 

 to support it. I have consulted all of 

 thoae who contributed toward this ad 

 an.l everyone has expressed himself as 

 gratified with the result. They report 

 an increase over last year's business 

 froi.i 100 per cent to 300 per cent. No 

 doubt the inserting of this ad played 

 an important part in this result. 



' ■ It is apparent to me now, while the 

 maner is fresh in my mind, that the 

 flo lists by combining and properly ad- 

 vertising can popularize this day and 

 educate the people so that the demand 

 for colored flowers will be as great as 

 the demand for white. After explain- 

 in? the distinction between the pur- 

 pose of the white and the bright flow- 

 ers, I find that the public likes this 

 idea better than all white flowers. It 

 is only a question of getting them to 

 understand that the bright flower is 

 the appropriate flower for the living 

 mother. Then the demand for these 

 for bouquet* and boxes will be equal 

 to the demand for white, which are 

 worn in memory. 



"The advertising for this day should 

 be carefully planned and the field 

 could be well covered by inserting 

 three large ads, one on the ^cond 

 Thursday before Mothers' day, an- 

 other on the Sunday next to Mothers' 

 day and the third on the Thursday 

 preceding Mothers' day. The ad we 

 used, putting a little more emphasis 

 on the colored flowers, would fill the 

 bill. 



"I also think there should be an 

 understanding and a limitation as to 

 the price of flowers, both wholesale 

 and retail. In some instances I know 

 where the price was increased to three 

 times the usual price. From observa- 

 tion, I am confident that this was a 

 big mistake." 



Commenting on the same point, W. F. 

 Gude, of Gude Bros. Co., said: "In 

 reference to our joint ad in the Wash- 

 ington Herald for Mothers' day, we 

 beg to advise that we believe this was 

 one of the best things ever done by 

 the Washington florists. It not only 

 benefited the few who put up the 

 money for the advertisement, but 

 every florist, large or small, in the na- 

 tional capital was directly benefited by 

 It. We believe it demonstrated, as 

 The Review has pointed out, that Moth- 

 ers ' day can be worked up to be a 

 fnost profitable one, both to the grower 

 snil to the retailer, also the commis- 

 sion man. 



''But from our point of view one 

 thing is to be deplored, and that is 

 the abnormal raising of prices by some 

 florists, particularly in taking orders 

 8t one price and then telling the cus- 

 tomer that the order cannot be filled 

 inless they pay two or three times the 

 amount that the flowers were promised 

 'or in advance. Our firm disposed of, 

 *t wholesale and retail, some 30,000 

 <^ainations, about one-t^ird of them 

 J^hite. The stock was exti-'a 'fine. On 

 '"C colored ones we did not raise the 

 P'''^", and the priCe on the whites was 

 nxi 1 a week in advance, retail and 

 Wholesale. We filled all orders up to 4:30 

 ^ rlock in the afternoon of Saturday for 

 J^nites and then we had to stop selling, 

 "^'' did not advance the price, either 



MOTHER'S DAY 





•tr 



Sunday, May 12 



REMEMBER HER 



BY WEARING OR SENDING 



FLOWERS 



Reduced Reproduction of Card Cleveland Florists Used Last Year. 



(They got It put In the windows of hundreds of stores, other than flower stores.) 



retail or wholesale. On Sunday morn- 

 ing there was an enormous demand 

 from every quarter for white carna- 

 tions. We were fortunate to be able 

 to pick enough carnations Sunday 

 morning to supply all callers, including 

 those of the florists who wanted them 

 at the same price we fixed a week in 

 advance. One case came to our notice 

 of an order being placed fifteen days 

 in advance of Mothers' day for a Sun- 

 day school and church, at a fixed price. 

 On Saturday at noon the customer was 

 told by the florist who had the order 

 that the order could not be filled un- 

 less the customer paid twice as much as 

 the carnations were sold for. This to 

 our mind is most unbusinesslike. The 

 parties came to us in despair late Satur- 

 day evening and were willing to take 

 colored carnations, but we had some 

 extra fine white sweet peas and we 

 fixed them up with these. They were 

 much pleased and they cost them a 

 good bit less than the carnations would 

 have cost. 



"To our mind the slogan should be, 



not a carnation, but just a flower, in 



line with The Keview's lines copied 



into our ad: 



White flowers for Mother's memory. 

 Bright flowers for Mothers living. 



"We believe the public is willing; 



why should not the florists be?" 



WHAT INDIVIDUALS DID. 



Besults from Seview Suggestions. 



After Mothers' day, which was May 

 12, last year, The Review received a 

 large number of letters telling what the 

 writers had done in the way of boosting 

 the day, and of the results obtained. 

 It is impossible to print them all, or 

 many of them in full. But here are 

 extracts that carry hints good for 1913: 



Push and a Profit. 



Each Mother's day shows a good in- 

 crease; as the idea gets fixed in peo- 

 ple's minds it becomes easier and easier 



Wear a Flower for Mother's Sake 



To honor the best mother who ever lived — your 

 own. That is the purpose of Mothers' Day — 



SUNDAY, MAY 11, 1913 



Bright flowers for Mothers living, 

 White flowers for Mother's memory. 



We shall be prepared Saturday, May 10, and Sunday, May 11, with a 

 large assortment of fine, fresh flowers, appropriate for Mothers' Day, offered 

 at our usual moderate prices. All customers served promptly. 

 Special rates to Sunday Schools, Lodges, etc. 



Posey & Blossom, 



SEND MOTHER A BOUQUET ON MOTHERS' DAY 



We have correspondents to deliver flowers fresh anywhere in the United States 



Progressive Florists, 



Main Street. 



Suggestion for Newspaper Advertisement to Help Push Mothers' Day. 



(This Ad, suggested by The Review, was used last year with great success by Florists in all parts of the 

 country. Many used it verbatim, but it can be modified to fit special conditions.) 



