Content Creation Agency

PR & Reputation Management Company

PR Stunt: Interflora ‘Pollen Station’

objectives

Interflora, the world’s largest flower delivery network, wanted to introduce a UK retail sector first — a new ‘Skill’ allowing customers to place orders using only their voice, with a little help from Amazon Alexa… Interflora needed a Consumer PR Stunt that made real impact to make this happen.

That’s because our client needed to launch in the run up to its busy Christmas period, with go-live falling on 12th December. The same day the country went to the polls in the most hotly contested British General Election for decades.

we were asked for

Social engagement of 10,000

2 pieces of national media coverage

A boost to downloads of the Skill

strategy

In order to stand a chance of getting attention among the political noise we had to think unconventionally. Rather than seeing the vote as a separate problem, our Consumer PR stunt team saw a potential to leverage this momentous event for the good of the brand.

This included:

A London-based stunt that would provide digital content and deliver media interest around the launch.

This took the form of a Pollen Station in Westminster, nodding to polling stations across the country. Amazon Echo devices were placed inside each ‘pollen booth’, with the public asked to vote with their voices on who they wanted to receive a free bouquet.

We newsjacked real General Election social media content, for example using flower-clad basset hounds tied up next to the Pollen Station inspired by the social trend #DogsAtPollingStations

This video and photo content was released via Interflora’s social media channels throughout the day

6 Instagram influencers— with a combined following of 80,000 — were drafted to drive awareness of the Skill through Pollen Station content, with personalised bouquets gifted and reviews of the Skill produced after orders placed

Instagram Stories were created, alongside grids and blog posts with backlinks to campaign webpage

Video content promoting Alexa Skill beyond the Pollen Station PR stunt, including vox pops and demo animation

results

12,232

Instagram Stories views and 3,797 grid post engagement

19,682

total reach

18-minutes

of video content

Best social engagement

Interflora’s best social engagement in Q4

18 pieces of overage

Our consumer PR Stunt gained 18 pieces of media coverage across national news, lifestyle and tech pages — including The Times and London Evening Standard

17

backlinks to the website

90%

of coverage containing Pollen Station photography, all hits featured key messaging

25million

Total reach

Skill downloads up 25%

on predicted volume

Complete repositioning

Our Pollen Station was at the centre of Interflora’s positive internal comms centred on brand reappraisal, with Smoking Gun now leading on a complete repositioning