Spread the word

Kelli Rodda

This industry has a story to tell. An exciting, beautiful, colorful, healthful story. A story that must be shared across the entire supply chain, including the end-consumer. In the 13+ years I’ve been covering the horticulture industry, I’ve seen some progress in regards to marketing plants, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

Thankfully, some growers have ditched the attitude that marketing is not their responsibility. They’re working with breeders and retailers to craft marketing messages that create a connection with the consumer. That connection may be through health benefits of plants, attracting wildlife, cleaning the air and water, improving the neighborhood or decorating with plants. And more growers are using social media channels to connect with consumers. Again, there’s still room for improvement on the social media front – both with adoption and effective use. But I’m proud of those who’ve taken the leap.

However, I still hear the phrase that makes me cringe – “We’re wholesale. We don’t need to worry about marketing [or social media or the consumer.]” I’ve heard it all. And I’ve heard it in the last few months! The rules changed years ago, and we’re no longer a segmented industry divided into breeders, wholesale growers, retailers, re-wholesalers and landscapers. We must unite and market our products to the consumer. I’m not talking about a catch phrase like the over-deliberated “Got Milk?” slogan. It ran for 20 years and is said to be the most recognizable tag line in marketing. (But I take that with a grain of salt because that was reported by the agency who created the campaign.) Earlier this year Issie Lapowsky wrote about the campaign in Inc. Magazine. Lapowsky’s four takeaways from the iconic campaign: It was simple and stood for something; it was actionable; it used humor; and it was integrated. (Read more about the campaign at http://bit.ly/Rot583.)

But it’s milk. There aren’t that many types of milk – skim, 2%, whole, chocolate, strawberry, to name most of them. Compare that to the number of plants on the market. It’s nearly impossible to have a slogan that encompasses all of those plants.

However, I like the Plant Something campaign launched by the Arizona Nursery Association that’s been adopted by several other state nursery organizations. It’s a good base to tweak your story. Learn how you can get involved at www.plant-something.org. But it’s still up to the entire green industry to tweak that story and get the message out to right set of demographics.
 

In this issue
This month we’re focusing on marketing and branding. We gathered a panel of eight plant branding and marketing experts, and asked them several questions about brands. Find their take on the benefits and the evolution of plant brands, as well as the correct way to bring the value message to consumers (page 22). Angela Treadwell-Palmer, founder of Plants Nouveau, gives her take on how green-industry businesses can set themselves apart. When she started her business, she looked outside the green industry for inspiration (page 30). And on page 36, read about the fascinating world of neuromarketing. Sights, sounds and smells can affect sales, and green industry companies can use these tricks.