There are many types of trends; some have nothing to do\nwith the usual color, style and stories that we have traditionally followed. During\na 45-day period from May 31 through July 12, 2018, we had the opportunity to\nattend 4 floral industry events in the hopes of reporting on the movement of\nexisting trends and trend habits and the emergence of new trends. These events\nincluded Breeders, Growers, Importers, Floral Wholesalers, Bouquet Operations,\nSupermarkets, Mass-Market Chains, Retail Florists, Freelance and Event\nDesigners, Event Planners, Floral Internet Gurus and Floral Transportation\nExperts. We have learned that forcing a trend to show itself is not realistic.\nA \u2018shift\u2019 in transparency through blockchain Connectivity<\/strong> and collaboration\nseemed to be the only consistent message throughout all 4 happenings. The\ntrends that did emerge all connected to awareness. Is awareness itself a trend?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n AWARE: PMA FRESH,\nMIAMI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We are living in the \u201cAge of The Little Guy,<\/em><\/strong>\u201d as pointed\nout by Shawna Suckow, a buyer behavior expert and keynote speaker at PMA Fresh\nin Miami, FL. In 2013, Nikko Mele proposed this in his book, The End of Big: How the Internet Makes David\nthe New Goliath \u2013 <\/em>therefore, the Amazon Experience. Our modern 24\/7\/365\nconsumer has DISRUPTED how everyone does business. For the first time in\nhistory, the end-user is in control of what they want, when they get it, where\nit comes from, and who they buy it from. This has created a new global world\norder of consumerism. This internet educated \u2018Me\u2019 consumer is socially\nconscious and through transparency wants to Trust<\/strong> in each and every\npurchase. \u201cA rising tide lifts all boats:\u201d it is in embracing this awareness of\nthe consumer\u2019s needs and wants and how to satisfy them that will offer a solution\nto these disruptions and a Transcendence<\/strong> beyond the current normal\nfor how we connect with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AWARE: THE MIAMI\nFLOWER EXPERIENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At AFIF: America\u2019s Flower Connection\u2019s Miami Flower\nExperience, Executive V.P. Christine Boldt of AFIF explained the evolution of\nthe logistics of bringing flowers into the United States since their formation\nin 1982. With planeloads of flowers arriving daily in Miami there is an actual\nsemblance to what seems like utter Chaos<\/strong>. The logistics of transportation\nmaneuvering through the USDA, Department of Homeland Security, Customs and\nBorder Protection and the FDA is mind-bending. It was in these seminars that\nthe awareness of how we get the majority of flowers into the United States came\nto an understood fruition. It is also where many transportation\nrepresentatives, importers, wholesalers and retailers alike began to realize\nthe overwhelming need for transparency from the inside-out and why the consumer\nneeds to understand it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These attendees all had a basic awareness of the trending retail\nand consumer purchasing habits in the floral industry. They also are acutely aware\nof their competition. They all sell the same product at the same prices and\ntransport them on the same planes into Miami. The boutique-style niche that we\nare finding more and more florists turning to is the same concept that\nwholesalers are now trending towards: service. Concierge-style service that\nincludes knowing a purchaser\u2019s likes and buying habits. As in any business,\nthis service is not only a friendlier approach to the process of taking a\nfloral order; it is meant to reduce stress, increase Happiness<\/strong> and productivity and\nboost efficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n AWARE: IFE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the International Floral Expo (IFE) in Chicago we had the\nopportunity to sit in on Keith White\nAIFD<\/strong>\u2019s presentation of the American\nFloral Trends Forecast<\/strong> (AFTF) 2018-2019 (as\ncan be seen in Florists\u2019 Reviews January 2018 edition)<\/em>. Every worldwide\ntrend prognosticator has given their opinions on \u2018what will be hot\u2019 for these\nyears. Story boards upon more story boards have offered the crystal ball\nanalysis of the colors of the year. The AFTF goes beyond this with the color,\nstyle and story of why it works for today\u2019s floral consumers. This need for a Certainty<\/strong>\nof awareness of what the consumer sees and the colors that they surround\nthemselves with, in their everyday life, is a strong marketing tool that\nprovides us with the insight of what equates to Harmony<\/strong> in the life of the\nshopper. This awareness allows us to better understand who we sell to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AWARE: AIFD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1998 Archetype Analytics burst forth in the world of\nMarketing Research. What are Archetypes? In Carl Jung\u2019s Instinct and the Unconscious,<\/em> he first used the term in 1919 to\ndescribe images that derive from the collective unconscious and will often\nmanifest in behavior on interaction with the outside world. At the American\nInstitute of Floral Designer\u2019s 2018 Symposium in Washington D.C. they were\ngiven life and meaning for the floral world in a wonderful program by Talmage McLaurin AIFD<\/strong> titled \u201cTrend Archetypes: Unconscious\nMotivations.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Talmage transcended traditional marketing analytics of\nmotivators like Millennials are leaders in the Sharing Economy, retired\nBaby-Boomers who live in mid-western cities or single, Gen X moms over the age\nof 40 who have 2.25 kids, work and try to have hobbies. He showed, that though\nunderstanding traditional trends and why they are important in your Growth<\/strong>\nof awareness: there are decisive archetypes that play a deeper role on the \u2018stories we tell to sell flowers.\u2019<\/em> Talmage\u2019s\nContribution<\/strong>\nto AIFD\u2019s Symposium uncovered 9 specific unconscious motivators for the floral\nindustry and showed them in a visual style through design and the story of why (for the full presentation go to AIFD.org to\npurchase this 2018 Symposium presentation video\/the 9 motivators are in bold\nprint and underlined in this article<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the never-ending search for what consumers will do next, trend awareness is crucial. Our industry is paying attention, as witnessed in the realization of the need for B2B; to network and then collaborate with each other. The be more aware of not only what we do, but what others do, and how connected we all are, the better the chance of success in every part of our industry, Growers need wholesalers, importers need shippers, designers need everyone, and consumer\u2019s needs drive it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\nOriginally published in the October 2017 Issue of Florists Review\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bill Schaffer AIFD, AAF, PFCI & Kristine Kratt AIFD, PFCI There are many types of trends; some have nothing to do with the usual color, style and stories that we have traditionally followed. During a 45-day period from May 31 through July 12, 2018, we had the opportunity to attend 4 floral industry events in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[5,15],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n