Tips for creating a strategic marketing plan that will make this March 8 worldwide celebration a major flower-giving occasion
By Nita Robertson, AIFD
International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated annually on March 8, is a powerful global observance that honors the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. In fact, the theme for IWD 2025 is “Accelerate Action,” referring to gender parity.
This day, celebrated since 1911, has evolved from a grassroots activist movement in countries across Europe, including Russia, into an internationally acknowledged occasion, embraced by communities worldwide. It serves as a reminder of the ongoing global commitment to gender equality, women’s empowerment and the essential role of women in shaping society.
With its widespread popularity, IWD provides an excellent opportunity for florists to elevate their brands and connect with their communities by crafting specially designed arrangements and offering heartfelt gifts that will enable their customers to celebrate and honor the women who enrich their lives—whether they’re friends, family, colleagues or community leaders.
To establish International Women’s Day as a key flower-giving occasion, florists must approach this event with a strategic and proactive plan. A well-executed marketing campaign that highlights the importance of women’s empowerment, celebrates their contributions and resonates with customers can make March 8 a significant date on your annual sales calendar. From building awareness to engaging customers with exclusive promotions and thoughtfully curated products, the potential to boost sales and foster customer loyalty is immense. NOTE: When designing arrangements and curating other gift options, it is helpful to know that purple, green and white are the colors of International Women’s Day. Purple signifies justice, dignity and being loyal to the cause of gender parity; green symbolizes hope; and white represents purity, albeit a controversial concept.
Following are five key reasons for getting involved with and promoting International Women’s Day this year.
1. Growth Opportunity
IWD is becoming increasingly recognized and celebrated worldwide, making it a strong sales opportunity for florists who encourage floral gifting for mothers, friends, colleagues, and mentors. In fact, it is an official national holiday in many countries and widely observed in many more, including the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland, Romania, Cuba, Ukraine, Russia, most of the “Stan” countries in Central and South Asia, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Madagascar, Uganda, Zambia, Argentina and Chile—and, important to note, flowers are the most widely given gifts in most of those countries.
2. Connection with Core Values
Many flower businesses align with values of empathy, care and artistry. Promoting IWD ties directly into these values, enhancing a company’s appeal and showing genuine support for women and social causes.
3. Brand Differentiation
Special IWD campaigns can help florists stand out in a crowded market, especially if they offer specialty designs, personalized arrangements and even contributions to women’s charities. These things can build an image that a business cares about societal causes, particularly gender equality (which is still an issue of concern worldwide).
4. Expanded Audience Reach
IWD attracts not only individuals but also businesses that want to honor their female employees. Marketing flower arrangements and plants tailored for offices can bring in orders from corporate clients, possibly broadening a florist’s customer base.
5. Seasonal Transition
IWD falls in early March, just before winter transitions to spring, making it an ideal moment to introduce fresh, vibrant blooms that symbolize renewal, especially bulb flowers. It’s also a chance to showcase new product collections and flower types and varieties, enticing customers to think of your business as a source for gifts for other upcoming occasions.
A MARKETING PLAN FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Florists’ Review is committed to supporting florists in making International Women’s Day a meaningful flower-gifting occasion. Our comprehensive IWD marketing kit, which will be available soon, will provide resources, ideas and strategies to make this holiday a powerful business opportunity. Visit floristsreview.com for more information.
Objectives
• Increase sales of flower arrangements, plants and other gift merchandise specifically for International Women’s Day.
• Raise awareness of women’s empowerment and celebrate local women.
• Build customer loyalty through special promotions and community engagement.
Target Audience
• Individuals looking to celebrate women in their lives (friends, family, colleagues, community leaders, etc.).
• Local businesses and organizations wanting to honor female employees or clients.
• Community members interested in supporting women’s causes.
Product Offerings
An exclusive “International Women’s Day Collection”: Design a specialty collection of flower arrangements for IWD. Include personalization options like custom notes, empowering messages and/or symbolic flower choices. As mentioned earlier, in the third paragraph of this article, the colors of International Women’s Day purple, green and white.
Gift Bundles: Offer specialty IWD packages that include a bouquet and a small gift item (like chocolates, a candle, a personalized card, a journal, etc.).
Workshops: Host an event that allows women in the community to connect, share stories and create flower arrangements together. Consider organizing a floral design workshop, with a portion of the proceeds going to a women’s charity.
Corporate Packages: Offer special product packages for businesses wanting to recognize female employees. Market these packages through LinkedIn, business newsletters and direct outreach to corporate clients.
Promotional Strategies
Social Media Campaign: Launch a campaign highlighting the history and worldwide importance of International Women’s Day. Share stories of inspiring women, your curated IWD product collection and customer testimonials.
Email Marketing: Send out newsletters featuring special offers, stories and workshops related to IWD. Target existing customers, especially corporate clients, with exclusive offers, reminders and personalized content.
Local Media: Reach out to local newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV stations to create a series of IWD news stories and promotional events. Appearing in print media and/or on broadcast media programs can establish you as the local authority on this worldwide celebration and your business as the local go-to source for gifts. Come armed with lots of interesting information, including the history of IWD and how the holiday is celebrated in various countries around the world (a quick internet search and/or a visit to internationalwomensday.com will yield plenty of information). Also bring samples of your curated collection of IWD gifts.
In-store Promotions: Offer discounts on specialty IWD flower arrangements and other gifts, or, better yet, donate a percentage of your IWD gift sales to a women’s charity.
Partnerships
Early Partner Outreach: Identify and approach women-focused organizations, local businesses, charities and local media to build partnerships. Start forming alliances now for co-branded promotions, charity tie-ins or events that will gain traction by March.
Collaborations with Female Entrepreneurs: Highlight partnerships with women-owned businesses in your community whether it’s through bundled products (like pairing flowers with local artisanal chocolates or candles) or cross-promotions.
Local Influencers: Partner with local influencers to create some buzz about IWD (as well as your curated selection of gifts).
Website Updates: Create a dedicated International Women’s Day section on your company website featuring your gift offerings, workshops and other special IWD events. Create a landing page for an IWD gift guide, and stories about the history of IWD and the historical significance of flowers in celebrating women.
IWD Social Media Content Ideas
Content Creation: Begin producing interesting yet informative content about the history and importance of International Women’s Day. Use blog posts, email newsletters and social media to inform your audience why this day matters and how flowers can be an important part of celebrating the women in their lives.
Monthly Highlights: Feature different types of flowers associated with empowerment, growth, or beauty in your monthly newsletters, subtly planting the seed for March purchases.
Run a Social Media Series: Launch a social media campaign showcasing influential women, both locally and globally, and pair their stories with flower arrangements that symbolize their achievements. Encourage user-generated content by asking customers to nominate women they admire.
Social Media Contests: Develop contests leading up to Women’s Day, such as “Nominate an Inspiring Woman” where followers can nominate women in their lives and win a free bouquet.
Daily Countdown: Utilize social media to count down to International Women’s Day with special posts featuring daily deals or last-minute gift ideas.
Share Inspirational Stories: Publish stories of women in your community or historical figures in your blog or social media. Position flowers as a traditional way to express admiration and gratitude, linking back to the empowerment theme.
Video Marketing: Create short, engaging videos showing behind-the-scenes flower preparation, customer testimonials, and “Why Flowers Matter” stories in the context of International Women’s Day.
International Women’s Day presents florists with a powerful opportunity to celebrate their communities, deepen customer relationships, and grow their business while honoring the spirit of the day. Together we can make IWD a bigger flower giving holiday.
An Abridged History of International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day (IWD) has been observed since the early 1900s, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. In 1910, at the second “International Conference of Working Women” (ICWW) in Copenhagen, Denmark, Clara Zetkin, the leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, proposed that every year, in every country, there should be a celebration on the same day—a “Women’s Day”—to press for their demands. Her proposal was greeted with unanimous approval from the more than 100 women in attendance, representing 17 countries, and International Women’s Day was born.
The first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on March 19. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained and hold public office—in short, protesting gender discrimination. Then, in 1914, the ICWW declared that International Women’s Day—originally a day of activism for advancing women’s equality—would be marked annually on March 8, and that has remained the global date for International Women’s Day ever since. While IWD still marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality, is has also grown into a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
