Videos Build The Philly Shop's Star(dom)

SAF’s Floral Management – December 2012
Hands On – Tips, Trends and Tactics for the Savvy Retailer
First Hand Account

Videos Build The Philly Shop's Star(dom)




WORK IT - Jennifer Kelly picked up an “Elvis”
 wig to transform her father, Patrick Kelly,
into PSY, the South Korean pop star behind
the surprise international hit “Gangnam Style,”
for a YouTube video that’s gotten more
than 5,400 views.

When Jennifer Kelly sees that latest sensation on morning TV or hears about a cause that needs support, she takes action… with a video camera. Kelly, whose family owns Stein Your Florist, is one of the masterminds behind an impressive and growing catalog of videos – some of them poignant and other hold-your-sides funny – starring staff members from the 125-year-old business’ two shops in Philadelphia and Burlington, NJ.

In recent months, the prolific florists-turned-filmmakers have produced an anti-bullying public service announcement, a timely update about shop operations during Super Storm Sandy and spot-on parodies of both the South Korean hit “Gangnam Style” and a Brad Pitt commercial for Chanel No. 5. (You can see these videos, and many more, on the shop’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/SteinYourFlorist.)

                The videos, Kelly said, help define Stein Your Florist as a local business with personality, and keep the shop top-of-mind among customers year-round, rather than just during the holidays. For the lighthearted “Gangnam Style” video, Kelly’s father, Patrick, donned a black wig and danced alongside his designers, sales staff and family members. The video was shot at Stein’s shops and at a family member’s house over the course of a few days. And thanks to some savvy thrift-store finds, the total cost, including costumes and flowers, was less than $300. After a quick edit, Kelly posted the parody to YouTube, the shop’s website and social media pages; she even created a “Gangnam Style” board on Pinterest with hilarious behind-the-scenes pics.




PERFUME PARODY - Stein Your Florist was on the same
comedic wavelengths as Saturday Night Live in October. Both
the flower shop and the late night show created parodies of
Chanel No. 5 commercials that feature a rugged and
rambling Brad Pitt.

At press time, “Oppa Stein Your Florist Style” had racked up more than 5,400 views on YouTube, but that figure isn’t the only return on investment that the shop is tracking. By jumping on fast-moving topics of conversation, promoting causes that matter to their staff and encouraging people to have a little fun, the Kelly family has created a professional team that’s not only open to new ideas, but ready to act on them quickly – before a trend moves from hot to ho-hum. And that environment, Jennifer and Patrick Kelly said, is good for business.



                “Keeping our name in front of our customers and potential customers is key, and when we can do that in a fun, different or innovative way, it really generates a great positive buzz and helps us stand out,” Kelly said. “There aren’t too many people these days who want another piece of junk in their mailbox from a company attempting to hawk their wares, but they seem to love when we put on some wacky costumes and dance like fools out on the street corner in front of our stores for the camera.”

 

Stop Bullying!

Almost everyone has been affected by bullying in some way. Whether you have been bullied yourself, have been a bully, or have witnessed bullying.

 

It is an epidemic that is sweeping our nation, causing pain, sorrow, and in the worst circumstances, death. Suicide as a result of bullying, known as bullicide, is an unfortunate reality that we hear about all too often on the news and in our communities.

 

October is Bullying Prevention and Awareness Month, so we thought it would be the perfect time to remind everyone that bullying is a real problem and it is not ok.

As in all things that we do, we always look to flowers to guide us, so we used a traditional technique for designing floral set pieces and created a floral plaque to convey our message:  Stop Bullying.

We then invited Stein’s employees, family, friends and neighbors to hold our sign and say something inspirational about bullying.

 

 

This created a rather touching and inspirational video. We hope you enjoy it and that you do your part to end the cycle of bullying, this month and always. Speak up, stand up, and don't let anyone be bullied.

 

Some statistics about bullying:

·         1 out of every 4 teens are bullied.
·         As many as 160,000 students stay home on any given
          day because they’re afraid of being bullied.
·         1 out of every 5 kids admits to being a “bully” or doing
          some bullying.
·         282,000 students are physically attacked in
          secondary schools each month.
·         80% of the time an argument with a bully will end up
          in a physical fight.
·         On the playground, a child is bullied every 7 minutes…
   o   4% of the time an adult intervenes,
   o   11% of the time a peer intervenes,
       o   85% of the time no one intervenes.
·         97% of middle schoolers are bullied while online.
·          33% of students have heard another student threaten
          to kill someone.


When we visited our neighbors at the convenient store we caught this young man off guard with our large sign and camera. When we told him what we were doing he was so moved that he opened up and said that he too had been bullied and would be happy to be in our video. Thank you for helping us spread this important message.

For more information about bullying prevention  visit

http://www.stopbullying.gov