Adios
This will be my last post on this blog, as I am no longer a part of Banana Florist. Special thanks to everybody who took the time to read, comment and email.
-- Joe Jarvis
April 02, 2008
March 25, 2008
Barbie Bandits sentenced
Yesterday, Georgia meted out justice upon the Barbie Bandits, who helped inspire Banana Florist's The Heist. We notice that the more comely of the pair received the lighter sentence. Just sayin'.
March 23, 2008
Imagination
One of our colleagues at Flower Chat posted a thread, saying that same-day delivery was the only differentiator that "real florists" have against the mega-middlemen like 1-800-Flowers and ProFlowers.
We couldn't disagree more. There's no one collective differentiator that all independent florists share. Rather, each florist has something that nobody else has -- not the big boys, and not even other real florists: the opportunity to express individual identity.
Take a look at Flower Bar, one of our competitors in Atlanta. (Case in point: imagine the reaction that Jacqueline at the Teleflora blog would face if she were to brag on one of TF's competitors in her blog. That's the kind of opportunity -- freedom -- I'm talking about.) Flower Bar offers bouquets themed on mixed drinks, like the Mojito Bouquet and White Russian Bouquet. With a trademark on every bouquet, literally nobody else can offer what they have. But the one thing that truly makes them unique isn't their portfolio, but the personality it represents. And that pesonality has been justly rewarded with exposure in DailyCandy Atlanta, where we popped up last month, scads of ATL print media and Good Day Atlanta, where we hope to be for Mother's Day.
Regardless of your industry, the monolithic corporations will always seek control through the mechanics of commerce, but your imagination transcends all obstacles.
March 22, 2008
Details, details
I've been reading Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This. The author reminds me of Seth Godin, in that both guys have a gift for presenting questions and solutions that seem excruciatingly simple once I've read them, but that I'd never think of on my own. To wit:
- "Find the central truth about your product." (Cameras don't take photos; they freeze moments in time. Banana Florist isn't a flower shop; we're a happiness brokerage.)
- "Brand = adjective." (Volvo = safe; Banana Florist = ?)
It's pretty embarrassing to admit, but we're not sure what single adjective we want people to associate with BF. I started scribbling down my own questions, some of them discussed in Whipple, if not explictly addressed. These questions are familiar ones, as I ask them whenever a client or project lead presents me with a writing job:
- Who do you want to talk to?
- What do you want to say?
March 15, 2008
Anna Jarvis, spinning in grave
Teleflora's Flower Blog just posted on Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day. There's a tidy overview of Anna's efforts to get Mother's Day recognized as a formal holiday, which segues nicely into a Teleflora promotion. Jacqueline, who edits the site, writes:
Anna Jarvis was definitely inspired by her mother. Bet she’d appreciate America’s Favorite Mom contest presented by Teleflora.
Yeah, probably not so much. Jacqueline nicely avoids mentioning how the commercialization of Mother's Day ate Anna alive, driving her to denounce the popularized holiday with twice the vigor that she originally pushed for it. The infallible Wikipedia quotes Anna:
A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother—and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment!
We've been mulling over how Banana Florist should celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of the first Mother's Day celebration. There's more to it for us than the big centennial.
See, I'm related to Anna. She and I both go back to when Daniel Jarvis left behind spotted dick for corn meal and venison, depriving all future generations of cool English accents and a droll sense of humor. (Well, maybe not all of us on that last count.)
Here's what we're currently thinking:
I wriggle my way onto Good Day Atlanta and chat with Suchita about the 100th anniversary, Banana Florist, etc. The hook being: Relative of woman who started Mother's Day is co-founder of Atlanta-exclusive florist. Maybe Suchita would even let me set something on fire. (If you haven't seen our video, check it out, here.)
But if we're going to pimp Anna's name along with everyone else, we should at least pay homage to her ideals. Anna thought so highly of her mother, Ann, partially because of the elder Jarvis' community work. Ann provided care to soldiers returning from the Civil War. More importantly, she busted ass to reconcile communities ripped apart by the War, introducing mothers of Rebs to mothers of Yanks, prompting healing within the community.
So, for every Mom Likes Me Best purchased for Mother's Day, a donation to an Atlanta veteran's group seems appropriate. All of this stuff is still in the idea stage; we're still not exactly sure how we'll move forward. Any thoughts?
March 13, 2008
Banana Aeronautics
David K. recently posted about us -- and even featured our video on his site. Thanks, David!
David's been chatting with us since we launched, always offering honest feedback. Most recently, he pointed out that nowhere on our site do we actually say that Banana Florist delivers fresh-cut flowers to the Atlanta Metro area -- at least, not in so few words.
Our home page points out that we "proudly serve Metro Atlanta." You click on the link up in there in the right-hand corner and read why "we (focus) our flower power exclusively on the ATL." Our about page explains our policies on substitutions (we think substitutions stink and that you should get exactly what you pay for); our pricing; etc. So, all the information is there, presuming that our visitors take the time to read our oh-so carefully rendered copy. And that presumption -- for us, at least -- is at the heart of David's observation.
If I came across a company named Banana Aeronautics, I'd have a pretty good idea of what they offered. But a splashy branding job is no excuse to overlook details, especially when you only make space shuttles for Atlantan cosmonauts.
In the age of copy written to scan and of businesses presented the choice of immediacy or irrelevancy, feedback like David's is gold. When you're living and breathing a project, the most obvious details often go overlooked, and it's a blessing to have people interested enough in your brand to keep reeling you back in.
March 10, 2008
The Better Part of Valor
This one's a bit dusty, but we'd forgotten about 1-800-Flowers blowing a philanderer's cover, resulting in his wife filing for divorce. Gift-giving for mistresses is way overlooked. We once had a spec-ad idea for Coach bags that featured the tagline: The Official Bag of Your First Affair. Really hit the burgeoning arriviste set, you know?
Maybe Banana Florist should offer a selection called The Better Part of Valor, with accompanying text explaining our discretion regarding personal information provided by our partners in crime. People spend hundreds of millions every year on gifts for the Other Woman, and boy toys, for that matter. Yet no goods/service/experience providers want to touch it. Pity.
