{"id":888224,"date":"2025-12-14T22:45:51","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T03:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/?p=888224"},"modified":"2025-12-14T22:46:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T03:46:07","slug":"holly-haveman-on-winning-safs-marketer-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/holly-haveman-on-winning-safs-marketer-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Holly Haveman on winning SAF\u2019s Marketer of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a recent episode of\u00a0The Bloom Show<\/a><\/em>, host Sahid welcomed Holly Haveman, who appeared on behalf of Kennedy\u2019s Flowers & Gifts<\/a>, the recipient of the 31st Annual Society of American Florists Marketer of the Year Award at SAF Phoenix 2025. The shop\u2019s winning campaign \u2014 a refillable vase program that pairs creativity with operational discipline and community connection \u2014 illustrates how thoughtful ideas can build long-term customer loyalty. For the floral industry, Kennedy\u2019s story shows that impactful marketing doesn\u2019t require a large budget; sometimes a heartfelt, well-executed system makes the biggest difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Family Legacy With Modern Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haveman shared the history of Kennedy\u2019s Flowers & Gifts, a shop established in the 1940s. After her mother spent decades running the business, Haveman and her brother stepped into leadership roles. She noted that their Marketer of the Year honor did not happen overnight; the team submitted the campaign four or five times before winning. Their persistence reflects a key lesson for floral professionals: strong marketing grows through iteration, dedication and belief in the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Refillable Vase Program That Stood Out<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur campaign that we won Marketer of the Year for was our refillable vase program,\u201d Haveman said. Customers purchase a petite vase and can bring it in weekly for free flowers. The program is built around intentional design choices \u2014 small vessels, narrow necks and controlled stem counts. What began as a one-off idea inspired by her mother\u2019s birthday tradition evolved into a complete system featuring programs such as Magic Vase, Tidbit, Gift of the Seasons, Queen of Hearts, Magic Mama and Scatter Joy. The model is sustainable, loyalty-driven and adaptable for flower shops of all sizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free Flowers, Smart Tracking and Real ROI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though rooted in generosity, the program is supported by strong operational discipline. Staff log each refill through the point-of-sale system using phone numbers and refill codes, allowing the shop to track visits, measure conversions and see which refills lead to purchases. When the team added meaningful coupons \u2014 especially those tied to popular gift shop items \u2014 conversion rates increased significantly. Haveman\u2019s approach shows that \u201cfree\u201d can still be profitable when paired with smart backend tracking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growth Through Listening and Adjustment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The refillable program began modestly. For Lori\u2019s birthday, customers who shopped that day received a small vase as a gift. \u201cWe continue to just listen and go off feedback and make life easier for ourselves,\u201d Haveman said. Customer insights drove strategic changes, such as extending programs into January, creating seasonal versions for snowbirds and refining vase designs for ease of production. The evolution underscores how customer-led adjustments can shape sustainable, high-impact marketing ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loyalty, Emotion and Community<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the most meaningful stories came from customers who incorporated their refillable vases into personal moments. Haveman recalled families bringing in their mother\u2019s Magic Vase to use in funeral flowers because of its significance. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely built loyalty and community,\u201d she said. Beyond sales, the program has become woven into customers\u2019 lives. Haveman believes the future of floral marketing lies in systems that honor emotion \u2014 such as subscriptions, standing orders and the thoughtful use of new visual technologies like AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closing Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sahid closed the conversation by recognizing Kennedy\u2019s Flowers & Gifts for its creativity, discipline and dedication to community connection. The SAF Marketer of the Year Award reflects a team effort built on consistency, clear systems and heartfelt service. For floral professionals, the shop\u2019s success is a reminder that when creativity aligns with process, it can produce marketing that lasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upcoming Shows<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dec. 18, 2025, 1 p.m. EST<\/strong>
The Penny and Ace Show Holiday Special: Deck the Blooms \u2013 Holiday Design Trends That Spark Joy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dec. 19, 2025, 1 p.m. EST<\/strong>
The Bloom Show Correspondent: Tim Huckabee | Episode 4 \u2013 Customer Service Moves That Boost Sales<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Message to the Community<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At New Bloom Media, the mission is to share knowledge, uplift one another and celebrate the creativity that drives the floral industry forward. Kennedy\u2019s Flowers & Gifts\u2019 Marketer of the Year achievement reflects that spirit \u2014 a testament to teamwork, consistency and the power of serving customers with sincerity and structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you grow, design, distribute, retail or educate, you play a vital role in the floral ecosystem. Each idea, initiative and act of generosity strengthens the industry. New Bloom Media encourages the community to keep exploring new systems, listening to customers and building marketing that connects people to flowers in deeper, more joyful ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent episode of\u00a0The Bloom Show, host Sahid welcomed Holly Haveman, who appeared on behalf of Kennedy\u2019s Flowers & Gifts, the recipient of the 31st Annual Society of American Florists Marketer of the Year Award at SAF Phoenix 2025. The shop\u2019s winning campaign \u2014 a refillable vase program that pairs creativity with operational discipline […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":888225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[11648,11649,11600,11599],"class_list":["post-888224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-floral-marketing","tag-florist-marketer-of-the-year","tag-society-of-american-florists-2","tag-the-bloom-show","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/floristsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Blog-Holly-Haveman-2048x1152-1.jpg?fit=2048%2C1152&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888224"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":888226,"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888224\/revisions\/888226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floristsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}