Cross Fertilization

Promote, Promote, Promote

The point was a good one. Fears vanished and direct-mail pieces appeared. "It was never a concern once we hired the mailing house," Scullin says. In November, they mailed 3,600 invitations to individual buyers. And just in case the holidays got too hectic, they were sent again in January. They supplemented the customer mailing by targeting metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of buyers.

More than 300 replies came in and that’s when the promotional efforts kicked into high gear. Fueled by the "Let the Southern California Plants Grow Your Profits" theme, the group made sure each marketing piece complemented the sunny, bright, healthy image of California. Everyone involved contributed ideas and time to creating the marketing materials. "We wanted to emphasize our wonderful climate with the sun and what we produce with the potted plant imagery," Kister says.

The group, relying on the varied strengths of its members, sent press releases to 22 state and national industry trade journals, and several picked up on the story. "We pushed for pre-event coverage because we wanted to create a buzz in the industry," Kister says. Personal invitations from each nursery to its customers reinforced the direct-mail piece.

Sensitive to the fact no one had attended nor hosted anything like this before, the organizers kept a steady stream of pre-event materials flowing to both participating nurseries and attendees. They also held monthly meetings, exhorting members to remind customers of the event in every correspondence. All 374 registrants found a bright yellow nursery guide in their mailboxes months before the event. The guide includes profiles of each host nursery, detailed maps and some shipper contact information. Instead of loading up on one bus tour, the participants were able to choose their own schedules and routes, so the maps were key. Next came hotel suggestions and information about the all-nursery reception.

- Floral Management, October 200

Amanda Temple is the managing editor of Floral Management. Email: atemple@safnow.org