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May 15, 1913. 



The Florists^ Review 



13 



MEMORIAL DAY » 

 Me OPPORTUNITIES 



The purpose of this issue is to g:et 10,000 florists to push Memo- 

 rial Day as eners^etically as many of them pushed Mothers' Day 



|ITH a wonderfully success- 

 ful Mothers' day business 

 to furnish the inspiration, 

 progressive retailers now 

 will turn to Memorial day, 

 only a fortnight away. 

 The florists made Moth- 

 ers' day — made it by combining in 

 proper proportion a suitable sentiment 

 and profitable publicity. The Eeview 

 showed the way. The trade did the 

 rest. As is stated by a big Kansas 

 City retailer, who has himself followed 

 The Eeview 's Mothers' day sugges- 

 tions, "it put thousands of dollars into 

 the pockets of florists" 

 all over America. And 

 now comes Memorial day, 

 with a ready-made senti- 

 ment, with the backing 

 of a custom almost half a 

 century old. 



There already is an 

 enormous business for Me- 

 morial day, but the same 

 methods and efforts that 

 proved so profitable for 

 Mothers ' day will add im- 

 mensely to it, will put 

 still other * ' thousands of 

 dollars into the pockets 

 of florists " all over 

 America. It is worth 

 thinking about. 



Modem Methods. 



provides a fine foundation on which to 

 build. 



Specialties for the day have been 

 developed that provide the basis for 

 advertising. 



There is the possibility of taking 

 orders in advance and working up 

 stock ahead of the time designated for 

 delivery. • 



It is an annual event of unlimited 

 possibilities for the resourceful retailer 

 who remembers that we take out of a 

 business just about in proportion to 

 what we put into it — in intelligent 

 effort. v* .. . 



To make the flower 

 business profitable in 

 these modern days, the re- 

 tailer must employ differ- 

 ent methods from those 

 in vogue a decade ago — 

 he must not be content 

 to await the buyers; he 

 must prepare specialties 

 for special days; he must 

 let the public know of 

 these seasonable sales; he 

 must book orders in ad- 

 vance; he must organize 

 his force so thoroughly 

 that he can put through 

 a big run of business on 

 time to the minute and 

 without mistakes. If the 

 details be neglected in any particular, 

 if any cog in the wheel does not per- 

 form its allotted task, the retailer will 

 see his more systematic neighbor pass 

 into the leadership. 



Memorial day affords one of the 

 best opportunities of the year for the 

 florist who is in touch and tune with 

 modern merchandising methods: 



The sentimental appeal of the idea is 

 strong. 



The custom already is well estab- 

 lisheci,^,.^^ 



It. me of business already done 



Memorial Day Wreaths 



'2.00 



Oanuinr .Southern Matr- 

 natur*! roMa aiM temm. 



Special 

 Price 



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JOHNSTON BROS.; Pl9rlst8 



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No Memorial Day advertisement, no matter how well displayed, 

 is complete witbont an appeal to seAtiment. Work in the vrords : 

 "There is a beantif al sentiment In connection with the remembrance 

 of loved ones departed, by piacina: some token of respect or affection 

 on their Braves on the nation's Memorial Day." 



The first thing to do is to arrange 

 for something to sell. You can't push 

 for special business without having a 

 specialty to offer. This time it will 

 be the cemetery wreath. The kind and 

 price will depend on the class of trade 

 you handle. Then you will arrange the 

 making up and delivery. Just what do 

 you purpose doing? What will the 

 stock be, how put up, how handled? 

 Do you wrap in paper, or pack in a 

 box? Are the customers to take their 

 purchases home or shall you deliver? 

 How about delivery on the grave in the 

 cemetery? 



Appeal to Sentiment. 



When you have decided 

 these details, and possibly 

 many more pertaining to 

 your individual establish- 

 ment, you are ready to 

 tell your public of your 

 plans. It is time to plan 

 your advertising. 



Above all things, don't 

 refer to the occasion as 

 an "old soldiers' day" — 

 it is far more than that. 

 So long as the graves of 

 war veterans were the 

 only ones ' ' decorated, ' ' 

 the day amounted to noth- 

 ing for florists. It was 

 when the general public 

 took it up that the de- 

 mand on the florists began 

 to grow. And don't call 

 it Decoration day — Me- 

 morial day is the oflScial 

 title and much the better 

 one for fostering the sen- 

 timent so valuable to our 

 business. Remember that 

 flowers are ' ' messengers 

 of sentiment." Don't let 

 your public forget it — you 

 will find that even the 

 gruffest are sentimental- 

 ists at heart. 



As One Advertiser Did It. 



Planning the Campaign. 



Busy days lie before the florist who 

 takes full advantage of the possibili- 

 ties of increasing his Memorial day 

 sales. First of all, he must lay his 

 plans with care. Then he must see 

 that they are carried out with the 

 closest attention to every detail. It 

 may sound rather difficult to the man 

 who never has studied selling, but to 

 the ones who have tried it along the 

 lines suggested by The Review it has 

 proved remarkably easy, as the great 

 success? of Mothers ' day demonstrates. 



Every Memorial day ad- 

 vertisement should con- 

 tain a reference to thfe 

 general observance of the day and to 

 the sentiment that prompts it, some- 

 thing like the following, cut from a last 

 year's advertisement of a Cleveland 

 retailer: 



"There is a beautiful sentiment in 

 connection with the remembrance of 

 those loved ones departed, by placing 

 sonie token of respect or affection on 

 their graves. Knoble makes a special 

 Memorial day wreath of galax or mag- 

 noha leaves at $1.50, $2 and $2.50 (cut 

 showing one at $2.50) that is just right 

 for this occasion and excellent value. 



