Garden Media Invited to Present 2019 Garden Trends at Exclusive Event in Italy

Katie has been invited to present the 2019 Garden Trends Report at an exclusive event hosted by the Orlandelli Organization, Orlandelli Horizon.

Held September 27, 2018 in Bologna, Italy, the Horizon conference will raise awareness of the importance of gardening and, in turn, inspire new gardeners.

Marco Orlandelli, managing director of Orlandelli Organization, wants to increase the value of the green industry around the world. But knows that he can’t realize this dream alone. This is why he created the event and brought together the top speakers in their fields.

Besides the newest trends in gardening, managers and entrepreneurs who attend the conference will learn more about consumer interaction, digital branding and creativity. Katie is one of three speakers from three countries: America, France, and Italy.

Marco’s passion for building a global green industry has inspired us to think about worldwide trends. We are thrilled to be presenting our trends to a European audience for the first time.

Attendees will have the opportunity to network with other professionals in the garden industry and interact with experts.

The Orlandelli Group LLC, based in Canicossa (Marcaria), Italy, is a five generation floriculture business. They are innovative leaders in creating special containers, production benches and landscaping software for displayers in garden centers, carts and flower shops.

For more information about Orlandelli Horizon visit www.orlandellihorizon.com.

To download our latest trends, visit http://www.gardenmediagroup.com/trends. 

Happy 30th Anniversary to Us!

September 2018 marks our 30th birthday. Being in business for 30 years is a milestone for any company. But for us, it marks 30 years of growing, changing and finding focus.

Do you know the story? It all began in 1988 when Suzi put her young daughter, Katie, on the bus for the first day of school and opened the doors to IMPACT Marketing, a general practice PR firm. She started the business on the principle “Your vision is our mission” and envisioned a company whose sole purpose was its clients’ success. 

That vision lives on today in Garden Media.

Today we pride ourselves on providing top-notch public relations and social media campaigns, high-quality service, and worldwide media exposure for an international portfolio of clients in the world of horticulture and outdoor living.

The past 30 years have been incredible. We are deeply thankful to all of our innovative clients and creative team members who have contributed to our success. While we might be small in size, we deliver huge results-driven campaigns that impact the bottom line for clients all over the world.

In 1995, IMPACT landed its first horticultural client, The Conard-Pyle Company. Following enormous success with Conard-Pyle and the introduction of The Knock Out Rose, Suzi made a strategic decision to focus on the lawn and garden industry. In 2002, the company changed its name to Garden Media Group.

Focusing on gardening and outdoor living was the second best business decision we ever made. It allowed the firm to be a major player in a big industry. 

The first best decision? Bringing Katie on board.

Throughout the years, Garden Media has stayed true to its mission: To instill a passion for nature and a love of gardening to all generations to improve environmental health and support human wellbeing. With services including traditional and social media marketing, promotional tie-ins and product launches, we serve clients big and small throughout the gardening world.

We are so proud to reach this milestone as an agency. Suzi’s vision and mission will always be our north star to guide us as we serve our clients and help grow our industry.

In addition to lawn and garden PR services, Garden Media releases an annual Garden Trends Report to reflect the changing attitudes and behaviors of consumers and predict areas of growth in the garden industry as a whole. 

The 2019 GTR will be released on the company anniversary, marking the 17^th report.

Today, we continue toward our goal to inspire 320 million Americans to live a healthy gardening lifestyle 52 weeks a year. 

I still can’t believe how fortunate we've been to have built a company that has lasted this long.  

It's no longer ‘fake it ‘til you make it’. Cheers to us! We’ve made it!

Trends: Fall 2013 Color Report

It's September, which means the leaves are beginning to change, yellowjackets are on the hunt for sweet morsels of food and it's New York Fashion Week!

Yes, gardening and Fashion Week have something in common... Can you guess what it is? 

Trends!

This week, we get a glimpse of what colors and shapes are coming out of New York during Fall 2013's Fashion Week from Pantone, a global authority on color. Check out the seasons' hottest colors below.

The Fall 2013 Pantone Fashion Color Report supports Garden Media’s own research, predicting consumers’ preference for a "structured, sophisticated color palette." 

Green, the Color of the Year, and gardeners' favorite hue, evolves and develops with the changing season. 

Emerald, linden green and deep lichen green rule the Fall 2013 runway, good news for us in the original green industry. 

Garden industry take note: this year's outdoor accessories, furniture and decor will be influenced by the styles, patterns and, of course, colors that we glimpse from the runway.

Here's a peek at what's coming down the color trend pipeline:

• Emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate, emulating luxury and elegance.
• Linden Green brings a lightness and brightness to the deeper shades of fall.
• Mykonos Blue, a bold, meditative blue, goes well with green for a classic and relaxed fall look.
• Acai adds mystery and richness to the palette, and can be incorporated with the other colors to create a number of powerful fall combinations.
• Koi, a decorative orange with dazzling and shimmering qualities, is a statement color that serves as a pick-me-up for your wardrobe--and garden.
• Vivacious, an unruly and wildly deep fuchsia, adds an ebullient sensuality .
• Turbulence, a dark mercurial gray, and Carafe, a rich, glamorous brown, provide more interesting and sophisticated alternatives to the black basics usually worn in colder months.

From fashion and food to plants and outdoor décor, color has the power to spark purchasing choices people make everyday for their homes, gardens and outdoor living spaces.

Remember, color is a powerful tool to have in your marketing arsenal, and knowing the trends allows you to provide what customers are looking for. 

Want to learn more about why YOU should care about trends?  Download our GROW! e-Book today!

  

*thanks to Pantone for the images

Water Your Content Marketing Plan and it Will Grow

We recently wrote a post, Does Your CEO blog? written by our fearless leader and CEO, Suzi McCoy.  In it, she mentions that "there's an untapped opportunity for an early CEO adopter with the right touch." Untapped- meaning, not enough CEO's blog.

All too often it seems that blogs, social media and entire content marketing plans are left to the control of an intern or recent college graduate. Content marketing is too important to be left to someone who doesn't understand the brand goals and values of the company.  It is of the utmost importance to have the CEO and top level management at the company invested in the marketing plan.

Marcus Sheridan, one of my favorite content marketing gurus recently wrote about this issue as well on his blog, The Sales Lion.

"...the more I seek to help companies go big or go home with building their digital brand and business through content marketing, the more I realize nothing great happens without full buy-in from the top dogs.

Why?

Because success in this business doesn’t happen overnight. Content marketing isn’t a chia-pet—water today, a vine jungle tomorrow."

Wait, a chia pet?  Did he really just compare marketing to a chia pet?
Rather, he says, it follows the principle of the Law of the Harvest.

• The field must be prepared.
• The seed must be planted.
• The beginnings of life must be continually watered and nourished.
• The crop must be protected.
• And the harvest eventually comes.

These principals really hit home with me.  Working in the lawn and garden industry, the Law of the Harvest goes without saying. Companies understand wholly the time, energy and patience it takes for a seed to grow.  But, marketing, some think happens overnight.
The point is, when developing a comprehensive marketing and social plan, you need 100% “buy-in” from the top.

And as Marcus says, "By "buy-in" I'm not just talking about a CEO who is generally aware of what’s going on. Rather, I’m referring to someone who is actively engaged in the process and walks the walk with everyone else... understand how consumers think, shop, and research these days—and the role that social media and content marketing play in that process.

Content marketing is not a passive approach to business. It’s all-in and all hands on deck.
And it starts with the top."

Missed MANTS? The Best of MANTS 2013 for Garden Industry Leaders

Since MANTS, aka the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show, is one of our favorite trade shows of the year, we wanted to recap the experience and the stars for those of you who couldn't attend.

First of all, MANTS is the place to be in January.  One exhibitor from Oregon said, "if you don't show up at MANTS you might as well not be in business”, another said MANTS is the Big Leagues compared to all other shows around the country!” No wonder it’s nicknamed The Masterpiece of Trade Shows™. We couldn’t agree more!

Our favorite products at MANTS:

Lavender Phenomenal

Lavender is one of my personal favorite plants of all time, so I may be a bit biased… But, everyone else loved the Lavender Phenomenal too! This Lavender plant was introduced by our friend Lloyd Traven at Peace Tree Farm and is absolutely amazing. The Lavender Phenomenal  is a survivor; it survives exceptionally well through the winter and can even withstand extreme heat and humidity. This hearty, little plant also is deer proof and attracts butterflies. What more can a gal want?

 

BrazelBerries

We’ve been a lover of BrazelBerries for some time, but we will never pass up the opportunity to celebrate the most delicious shrub we know. These beautiful blueberry and raspberry shrubs are thornless dwarf shrubs can fit on your patio or your front lawn. Best of all, you eat them! They produce the most succulent fruits I have ever tasted, and the shrub looks breathtaking in every season.  Get yours from Whiteflower Farm today!

 

Lavender Veil Butterfly Bush
This flowering shrub is a superstar for many reasons.  It has a low, compact growth habit, grows and abundance of fragrant flowers, is perfect for containers and it is wildlife friendly!  As the name suggests, butterflies and hummingbirds will flock to it.  

Our Garden Media team was also buzzing around MANTS with a video camera. Did you see us?  We were interviewing everyone from attendees to exhibitors and asking what they liked best about MANTS.  Why do they come back year after year?  We also highlighted all the best aspects of MANTS and why it’s SO incredibly important to attend industry trade shows. The finishing touches are still being added to the video, but be on the lookout! As soon as the video’s done, we’ll share it here!

Learn what to do at the next trade show by downloading our e-book now:

Garden Media Group Named One of Top 20 PR Firms in Philadelphia

For the 5th year running, Garden Media Group has been named one of the top 25 PR firms by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The list is based on revenue billed in 2011- But look out, we're still growing! Stay tuned for yet another new client announcement this week.

For a boutique PR firm located in the "cool" city of Kennett Square, PA and specializing in gardening, this is quite an accomplishment.

A huge tribute goes to Suzi, our inspiration, leader and queen bee!  To Stacey, Lynne and Karen, Kathleen and Katie for their organized and creative managing of our superstar clients. And to Tracey, Peggy and James for hard work, dedication, great customer service and for picking up all of the pieces when they fall!

Thanks to you all for making us tops! Cheers to Garden Media!

If you'd like to become part of our family, give us a call!

 


  

-Katie @KatieGMG