An advertising campaign to encourage women to treat themselves to flowers is set to get underway on television and radio.
The £700,000 promotion has been launched by the Flowers and Plants Association and continues to use the ‘Why wait? Buy your own!’ slogan from previous campaigns.
Veronica Richardson, director of the FPA, said the television adverts will be expanding into two new areas this time, Scotland and Central, as well as Granada and Yorkshire, and airing with programmes aimed at women, such as Sex and the City.
A series of new radio adverts has also been created, featuring voice-overs from DJ Edith Bowman, and comedians Hugh Dennis and Arabella Weir. The total campaign is set to run for around four weeks.
The FPA is also celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and Richards said during that time the average spend on flowers per capita had grown from £8 a year to £27 a year.
She said: “More than 70 per cent of people buy 10 bunches or more a year and only three per cent never buy plants.
“From the start, it was recognised that what was needed to change consumer behaviour and attitudes was a long term strategy.” Initial bouts of advertising saw purchases of flowers increase in Yorkshire by 127%, she said.
The FPA was also one of the first trade associations in the industry to have its own website, set up in 1997.
Richardson said: “We’re very proud of our website and the fact we predicted it as a growing trend. From around 500 visitors in the early days, during August this year, we had 95,000 visitors and we’re hoping to break the 100,000 mark soon.”
As for the future, she said the association would continue producing hard-hitting, brave advertising and continue to build on the industry’s internet coverage.”
