Arizona Flower Market has been named the Society of American Florists’ (SAF) 2026 Marketer of the Year, recognizing the company’s work behind Tempe Blooms: a floral event that attracted more than 99,500 visitors in 2026 and generated an estimated $2.985 million in economic impact.
The award, presented at SAF’s 141st Annual Convention, highlights a marketing strategy that goes well beyond traditional floral promotion. Instead of simply encouraging consumers to buy flowers, Arizona Flower Market set out to make flowers something people could experience, interact with and share.
“Tempe Blooms started with a pretty simple idea: flowers should be experienced, not just purchased,” says Alexis Rigler, Director of Marketing, Events & Retail at Arizona Flower Market. “We wanted to find new ways to bring flowers into people’s everyday lives and show them the creativity, talent and emotion behind our industry.”
From Products to Experiences
The concept emerged as floral purchasing patterns began to normalize following the pandemic. During Covid-19, flowers played an important emotional role for many consumers, but Arizona Flower Market recognized that the industry could not rely on that exceptional period of demand.
The company began looking for ways to make flowers relevant outside traditional holidays, gifting occasions and events. January, traditionally a quieter period for retail florists, offered an opportunity to create a major floral moment at a time when consumer attention was otherwise lower. The answer was to take flowers out of the cooler and into the community.
Tempe Blooms, developed in partnership with Downtown Tempe Authority, combines large-scale floral installations with education, live competitions, hands-on activities, local businesses, artists, influencers, media and community organizations.
Rather than making Arizona Flower Market the sole focus, the event was deliberately designed to give other floral professionals a platform as well. “We wanted Tempe Blooms to be bigger than Arizona Flower Market,” Alexis explains. “Our goal was to create opportunities for local florists and floral professionals to showcase their creativity, share their knowledge, promote their businesses and connect with people who may not normally be exposed to the floral industry.”
Nearly 100k Visitors
The strategy has produced substantial growth. Tempe Blooms attracted 88,400 attendees in 2024 and grew to more than 99,500 in 2026. Over the same period, its social media reach expanded dramatically. In 2026, the event generated more than 5 million social media reach, while Downtown Tempe reported 78 earned-media placements with an estimated $1.34 million in earned media value.
The event also generated approximately $2.985 million in economic impact for the local area. For Arizona Flower Market itself, the 2026 event weekend generated more than $134,500 in direct sales. The numbers indicate that the initiative is functioning as more than an awareness campaign. It is creating measurable engagement while bringing economic activity to the wider Tempe community.
Audience engagement has also deepened. Placer.ai data showed average attendee engagement increasing from approximately 3.5 hours in 2024 to around five hours in 2025. “People aren’t just walking through and looking at flowers,” says Brent Denham, General Manager. “They are spending time with them, taking part in activities, learning from designers, creating their own bouquets and sharing the experience with friends and followers. That level of interaction was exactly what we hoped to create.”
A Platform for Florists
One of the most distinctive elements of Tempe Blooms is its investment in local floral designers. For the large-scale floral installation competition, 21 designers received floral budgets, access to wholesale product and supplies, professional stipends and opportunities to win cash prizes. Their installations became public showcases for their individual businesses and creative identities. The designs were also evaluated by Certified Floral Evaluators, giving the competition a professional dimension beyond public entertainment.
Education forms another important part of the program. Each day includes seminars led by local floral professionals, while visitors can participate in demonstrations, workshops and hands-on floral activities. The approach effectively turns florists into featured artists and educators rather than simply vendors.
“That’s one of the parts of Tempe Blooms that means the most to us,” Brent says. “We are investing in the people who make up this industry. If we can give a florist a stage, help them tell their story and introduce their work to thousands of people, that benefits them, and ultimately it benefits the floral industry as a whole.”
Marketing Built for Social Media
Social media has been another key component of the strategy. Before the public event, Arizona Flower Market hosted a dedicated preview for 35 influencers, media personalities and reporters with a combined reach of more than two million followers.
Instead of a conventional press event, guests were given an immersive experience, including private tours of the floral installations, a flower bar and a floral-inspired gathering at a local restaurant.
The strategy was designed to give creators something worth documenting and sharing rather than simply supplying promotional information. This helped contribute to the event’s 2026 social reach of more than five million.
Growing the Floral Audience
The recognition from SAF comes after Tempe Blooms has already received awards from organizations outside the traditional floral sector, including the International Festivals & Events Association, the International Downtown Association and the Arizona State Floral Association.
For Arizona Flower Market, however, the broader objective remains audience development. “We don’t want to just sell more flowers,” says Alexis. “We want more people to understand why flowers matter, to see the artistry involved, and to think of flowers as part of culture, creativity and community.”
That philosophy also explains why Arizona Flower Market has invested approximately $23,000 in related floral engagement initiatives throughout the year, including influencer activities, large-scale floral experiences and participation in community events. Rather than treating these activities solely as advertising expenses, the company views them as investments in expanding the market for flowers.
The result is a marketing model that moves the product itself into the background and puts the experience first. “Tempe Blooms has shown us that floral marketing can be much bigger than a promotion or a sale,” Brent concludes. “When you give people a reason to experience flowers, they connect with them in a completely different way. And when people connect with flowers, that’s good for all of us in the floral industry.”
The SuperFloral Team brings you news, trends and practical ideas for supermarket and mass-market floral professionals. Our editors gather and curate the stories that matter most to floral teams in grocery and retail, from industry news and events to merchandising inspiration and business advice. Have a story idea or news tip? Write to us at editorial@superfloral.com.
