Comments on: Home & garden show needs promotion ideas FAST

By: Heather Mortgage Modification

Heather Mortgage Modification — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:13:43 +0000

So now it is September and I would love to know how the show went. Can’t wait to start reading about next years show. Good luck!!

By: Sandra Sims

Sandra Sims — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:16:37 +0000

Our local H&G show partners with nonprofit organizations to sell tickets in advance. Advance tix are $4, the nonprofit keeps $3 of that. So there’s a big incentive for them to sell the tickets. At the door price is $6 so there’s incentive for visitors to buy early. This year’s show was packed as usual, despite economy.

By: Myron E. Ferguson

Myron E. Ferguson — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:20:10 +0000

What happened to “Homes” in the Home and Garden Shows? Are they only about gardens? Homes are ultimately more important than their gardens.

With so many homes in foreclosure, being repossessed and then resold, there are many ways that how a home is designed and built that should be important. Believe me, many of them are far from perfect.

To get an idea see http://www.betterhousesbetterliving.com.

By: Joan

Joan — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:13:58 +0000

Hounds, these ideas are fabulous! Here’s mine:

Call local newspapers in the cities where the shows will be held and ask for a copy of their editor calendar. Check to see if they have special sections like “Spring Home Improvement” being planned.

If so, that’s a perfect home for your story about the show.

Read more about how to use editorial calendars http://publicityhound.com/free_publicity/Articles/editorial_calendars.html

By: garth

garth — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 07:04:43 +0000

You could try to hold some type of extreme garden/plant makeover charity event perhaps tied to
a home in foreclosure in the local city of your home garden show during the timeframe of each garden show
in each city

you could pass out a petition to be signed by
conference attendees for a bailout for home/garden businesses

You could produce a top ten list of plants that should be on the White House grounds but aren’t

You could produce list of top ten plants owned by
Democrats and another top ten lists owned by Republicans

By: Lori Feldman

Lori Feldman — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:23:26 +0000

These are all EXCELLENT suggestions; thank you all. Jeff, I like the “grow your own food” pitch. Especially appropriate for the Portland Show which is a sustainable living show. Christine, yes, I’ve done calendars, but had not heard of FullCalendar. Thanks for that tip! Kathy, coming up empty-handed in MO, but the other cities should have something; thx. Alice, I was focusing on blogs…but why stop there? Good suggestion. Catherine, great idea for the fall show, when the produce will be ready! Holly, great prizes and super resources. Thank you thank you!

By: Holly Miller

Holly Miller — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:38:50 +0000

Get in touch with your local Master Gardeners, Cooperative Extension office, and any regional government groups that promote water conservation, beautification, or stormwater management through rain gardens. For examples, see http://www.hrwet.org, http://www.hrclean.org, and http://www.hrstorm.org. Additionally, check http://www.meetup.com for environmental or gardening groups in your target area. You’ll be amazed at how many resources there are for finding your target audience. And, a give-away targeting a specific “green” initiative wouldn’t hurt. Think about free rain barrels or installation of a rain garden.

By: Catherine McVicker

Catherine McVicker — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:21:07 +0000

Get a garden center to contribute the creation of a pint-size “victory” garden for 4 people as a prize. They get publicity at the show, get to put a sign at the street like painters do, and, hopefully, get word of mouth exposure as the family of four eats its way through the garden produce during the summer.

By: Alice Hohl

Alice Hohl — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:50:55 +0000

Search (daily) for local news relevant to your show. Then comment on the article and link to your event.

Link to the separate page for each city, so people feel like they are valued, not being sent to a big company running a bunch of shows they aren’t interested in.

By: Kathy J

Kathy J — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:26:47 +0000

Make sure to advertise in whatever REGIONAL garden publication there is in the area for each of these shows and I bet that the Regional Garden Mag has an Enewsletter, Web Sites, etc. that you can buy ad space on as well as see if you can rent their email or mail lists.