Everyone is talking about this weekend’s House of Cards binge - even the cast of Sesame Street. 

In a new clip titled “House of Bricks” a cruel politician named Frank Underwolf attempts to blow down the three little pigs’ houses and take over the strong “White Brick House.” 

This clip has everything, House of Cards references, basic math problems and even an appearance by the three little pigs. (And yes, Underwolf speaks directly in to the camera.)

The Sesame Street version of House of Cards demonstrates a valuable public relations lesson. Brands can reach more consumers when they cater their messages to appeal to target audiences. 

Continue reading to learn how garden brands can appeal to new consumers.

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, which means thousands of people across the country will demonstrate their love and affection thought cards, candy and dinner.

While a lot of people offer different opinions about the Feb. 14 holiday, there’s one thing professionals in this industry can agree on: working in public relations is like dating.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, here is a list of reasons why we equate this industry to the dating scene. 

Continue reading for more information about why working in public relations is like dating.

There are a lot of busy bees working in the garden business world during the day.

Communication is always key and with technology advancing, emails are becoming more popular than picking up a phone and calling someone.

Continue reading for quick tips to help your garden brand get in touch with someone efficiently and without being overwhelming.

Garden industry insiders should never be at a loss for ideas.

People always seem to be starting new companies, creating new lawn and landscape products, and even producing different publications.

When these businesses start, they ultimately look to public relations professionals to help spread the world about their new brand.

A recent PR Daily article titled “8 questions startups should ask before hiring a PR firm” highlights what new companies should look for when hiring outside help to promote their product or image.

One key point the article doesn’t mention is that it works both ways.

Not only do startups have to carefully interview the companies they want to promote their brand, public relations firms also need to choose their clients wisely. Ultimately, a client list contributes to any PR firm’s overall image.

Continue reading to learn more about how your garden PR firm should pick clients. 

It’s a good problem to have.

According to desk.com, BarkBox, the monthly subscription service that delivers customized boxes of dog treats and toys to the doors of dog owners, increased its subscription customer base by 10x in the past year.

While a huge spike subscriptions or consumer traffic means success for any new business, customer service could hit a "ruff" patch when sales increase too quickly.

BarkBox’s success story demonstrates a valuable PR lesson. 

Continue reading for tips on how your garden brand can create the ultimate consumer experience.

Coca-Cola just got personal – and it’s working.

The company has seen a boost in sales in the United States since June. This recent increase isn’t attributed to a new formula or logo design, but to the Share a Coke program, a marketing campaign that labeled bottles with popular millennial names and phrases.

If anything, the Share a Coke Campaign outlines a major PR industry theme - personalization is important.

This personalization and attention to detail is the key to developing better business relationships in the garden industry. The company who takes the time to get to know and interact with their clients, customers or fans will be more successful in the long run.

It’s easy to tell when a company is insincere; impersonalized pitches fall flat, poorly managed social media accounts have a profound negative impact on any brand and ignored complaints online lead to terrible reviews.  

Read on to learn how to take the time to connect with and really understand target audiences.

You have a year-round strategy in place to increase your presence on social networks such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Pinterest.

And while digital is great, Facebook's influence is shrinking when it comes to audience engagement. You need to be just as thoughtful and persistent when in-person networking, too.

From the Garden Writer's Symposium to Cultivate and IGC, there are lots of trade shows, conferences and networking events to choose from in the garden industry.

Picking the right trade show instantly helps you form the right relationships with other industry leaders, reporters and consumers.  

Below are Garden Media's 4 networking tips for garden industry trade shows, conferences and events.

In life, there are things that we recognize as necessary evils - paying taxes and doing dishes. But, we know we need to for our government and homes to run properly.

In the world of gardening public relations, the measurement metric, advertising value equivalency (AVE) has been getting a lot of flak lately.

Keep reading to learn the pros and cons of advertising value equivalency in the gardening public relations world.

Garden businesses want clearly defined numbers when it comes to ROI.

While public relations departments and firms can collect all kinds of information, it's extremely difficult to produce a singular monetary representation of PR results. 

However, that game may be changing.

Adopting the sales metric of conversion rate can end some of the uncertainty surrounding PR measurement.

Can conversion rate change the public relations measurement game? Keep reading to learn more!

When your garden business chooses public relations, you expect your strategy to pay off.

And, you're right to expect a return on your investment (ROI) - hiring a PR firm is a cost-effective, efficient way to meet your business goals. 

One thing PR isn't, though, is immediate.

It takes time for a PR campaign to build momentum. Plus, the nature of PR is such that as your brand reputation grows media endorsements over time, even more outlets will want to work with you as you to become a household garden brand. 

So, the million dollar question: how can you tell if your public relations strategy is working?

Read on to learn 3 tips for measuring your garden brand's current public relations success.