Can one 30-second commercial on the world’s biggest stage make a difference for the floriculture industry? Would a spot be worth the $3 million fee? And what would our message for an audience of nearly 100 million people have to be?

Those are just a few starter questions about advertising during the Super Bowl. The thought of advertising is certainly intriguing – Lord knows the spots have done wonders historically for giants like Budweiser and Coke – but is there really a place for us on the most-watched event of the year? Could we possibly deliver a message that benefits every segment of our industry?

The short-term answer is no, and a look at the message floral wire service Teleflora delivered in the ad that appeared during the second quarter of this year’s game reveals why.

When I first read Teleflora was among the few first-time TV advertisers for this year’s Super Bowl, my eyes widened thinking its ad might benefit all distribution channels of our industry. One mass message about the benefits of floral products could, I thought, do wonders for everybody involved. Although Teleflora pushes fresh cut flowers, its Super Bowl message could have had positive secondary effects for every grower and retailer – whether you grow bedding plants, sell blooming potted plants or operate somewhere in between.

Boy, was that wishful thinking. Rather than focus primarily on the benefits of its own service and the rewards of receiving hand-delivered flowers, Teleflora deliberately attacked another floral distribution channel – the ProFlowers model of delivering flowers in a box – in an attempt to transfer sales from its competition to its network of florists

Live Together, Die Alone

Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with a little competition. Teleflora should be competitive, as should all growers with their own marketing and advertising. But competition should be driven by the strengths of your own products and not the so-called faults we manufacture for another’s. We moan collectively when other industries put our products down to lift their own up. We saw that plenty around Valentine’s Day, and those are among the few times floriculture seems to unite.

Yet, despite our collective cry, one floral distribution channel always seems to be talking smack about another. We’re probably all guilty of it. Who among us, for example, can honestly say they haven’t berated a big box store’s floral products?

Many growers have, for the obvious reason that big box stores shift sales from the distribution channels they serve to one single gargantuan channel. And many growers may look at the big box model as the Evil Empire. But why bring one model down – a model that’s clearly working – when you can bring your own up?

We’re segmented as an industry in large part because of the distribution channels we serve, yes, but we’re all driven by the same motives. We all believe our products are the best – and they may be based on the quality, price or assortment you offer in your market – so why don’t we all take that messaging route?

That way, one 30-second Super Bowl spot – or 30 million casual conversations about the many pluses of our products – can benefit us all.