Digital Opps: 1-800-Flowers's CMO talks recent strategy shift details (Score 63)

Sales Lead: Jason John, the CMO of 1-800-Flowers since April 2022, recently detailed the company's current strategy.

• The company has started leveraging technology innovation all year round.
• For Mother's Day this year, 1-800-Flowers is running an AI-based campaign, "MomVerse."
• The company also relies on events such as birthdays, anniversaries, and funerals throughout the year.
• It has also started embracing live shopping and social shopping, along with a stronger focus on experiential aspects such as YouTube videos and presents opportunities and on premium opportunities such as partnerships with chefs and influencers.
• The company will likely:
  • Ramp up digital spend
  • Continue shifting strategy
  • Seek new agency partners
• Target demographic: 
  • Millennials with a skew toward gift-giving men
    • Much of the company's advertising has targeted Gen-X and boomers, but the digitized strategy likely reflects an effort to reach younger audiences.

Recent leadership shifts:

• Josh Peoples joined 1-800-Flowers in March 2023 as its food brands marketing SVP.
  • ​​​​​​​He most recently served as the NA sales SVP and CMO at Scotts Miracle-Gro.

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: So far this year, 1-800-Flowers has allocated roughly $3.5m toward national TV commercials, 25% more than the roughly $2.8m allocated within the same 2022 timeframe.
  • Last year: The company allocated around $5.7m toward this channel in 2022 after having spent much less, around $1.3m, in 2021.
  • 2023 ad programming: 1-800-Flowers's 2023 commercials have targeted Gen-X and boomers watching shows such as FOX and Friends, The First 48, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Today 3rd Hour, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: The company has spent approximately $4.5m on digital ads YTD, down 35% from the approximately $6.9m spent by this point last year.
  • YTD data: Since the beginning of 2023, 1-800-Flowers has earned ~397.1m digital impressions via YouTube (75%), Facebook (19%), Instagram (3%), and desktop display (2%) ads.
  • Last year: The company's estimated full-year 2022 spend decreased by 27% to $11.2m from that of $15.3m in 2021.
• Additional channel insights  
  • The company utilizes print, radio, digital, local broadcast, Google Ads, and online video (primarily via Youtube.com) ads.
  • 1-800-Flowers sponsors podcasts such as Stuff You Should Know, Armstrong & Getty, the Adam Carolla Show, Pardon My Take, and Real Ghost Stories Online.
  • The company also invests in short-form DRTV.
    • ​​​​​​​It has very highly concentrated network TV coverage and will not likely launch a new campaign soon.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: If you haven't yet done so, reach out to see if any agency reviews follow the company's 2022 CMO appointment.
• Current agency roster:
  • ​​​​​​​In-House: Media
  • Camelot Strategic Marketing & Media: Media AOR

Insight Sources: Broadcast insights estimated by iSpot; digital spend insights estimated by Pathmatics; additional channel insights estimated by Vivvix; podcast insights by Podchaser; DRTV insights by Media Analytics.