I recently attended my seventeenth GWA (The Association for Garden Communicators) Conference in beautiful Buffalo, NY.

It’s hard for me to believe I’ve been in garden PR for almost 20 years (gasp)! I guess I love what I do, right? It’s always a joy attending this yearly conference, which allows me to reconnect with many of my garden friends that I only get to see once a year. And, of course, making new friends, too!

After working and attending a variety of industry events throughout my career, I want to share a few tips for connecting with the media that will help you be more successful when pitching. After all, this is a great opportunity for face time and relationship building!

Let’s dig in with these quick tips for making media relations magic at your next trade show.

When I first started working in public relations, I had no idea that relationships were going to be such an important part of my career. After the first year of handling PR for a high-tech company, I quickly learned that earning media coverage requires strong working relationships with journalists.

Even after more than twenty years, I still keep in touch with many of the journalists I met early on in my career.

Now with even more platforms to cultivate media relationships, making these connections has become easier than ever.

Continue reading to learn how you can build strong relationships with journalists.

Memorial Day Weekend is right around the corner and at Garden Media we’re finalizing our travel plans, getting excited to visit family or friends, or simply looking forward to a long, relaxing weekend.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for everyone.

Project Time Off, a movement powered by the US Travel Association, encourages people to take a vacation. Research shows that year after year, fewer Americans are using all of their allotted vacation hours. While many think skipping out on vacation and working extra hours is beneficial for their careers, it may actually have the opposite effect.

Read more to learn how going on vacation can improve your business.

Move over Miller Lite, craft beer is here to stay.

Craft breweries are becoming a big player in the beer industry. With over 4,000 breweries nationwide and an increasing share of the beer market, there’s definitely something to learn from the booming success of craft beer over the last five years.

Besides selling tasty cold beer, what factors contribute to this success? With craft breweries popping up left and right, plus having national and international beer distributors as tough competition, it can be hard to stay afloat.

Craft breweries are staying relevant by personalizing their brands, offering a wide variety and using a lot of creativity.

Continue reading to see what your garden brand can learn from the craft beer industry.

Charlie Brown’s pal Linus once told us, “There are three things that I’ve learned never discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”

We’re not so sure about the Great Pumpkin, but we know the religion and politics piece no longer rings true. Especially with the anonymity of social media, people are not afraid to publicly voice their opinions on political and social issues.

So, how do brands take a stand?

Well, the answer might be – they shouldn’t.

Pepsi is under attack for launching an ad that tried to tackle social injustice and racial inequality. The company faced such strong backlash against the ad that it was pulled shortly after its release. However, the damage was already done.

No, Pepsi wasn’t trying to be insensitive. But perhaps they were trying too hard to relate to younger generations and the issues they care about the most.

Cause marketing can be beneficial for brands when done correctly. However, it is important to approach the subject with great sensitivity.

Continue reading to learn how your brand can successfully utilize cause marketing.

Young PR professionals might ask themselves “what’s more important – gaining valuable experience or continuing your education?” Well, it depends. A degree is as beneficial as you make it, so if you use the knowledge wisely, it can definitely be advantageous. However, real-world experience is also very important when entering the PR world.

There are benefits and disadvantages to both options. Here are some key factors to consider when weighing your options.

Read more to learn about the different outcomes of continuing your education.

It might feel like 2017 just started, but here at Garden Media Group, we are working hard on our 2018 Garden Trends Report. Since we’re looking into the future, we have decided to give you an exclusive sneak peek at some of the biggest trends we’re predicting for next year.

Continue reading for a sneak peek at our 2018 trends.

The secret is all in the pitch.

Continue reading to learn how to create a perfect pitch.

For Today’s trending thursday post, we’re taking a look back to 2006 where we elevated container gardening to the next level.

The “potscaping” trend emerged as gardeners no longer wanted limit their container creations to the patio or back porch. While their “recopies” we’re contained in pots, the locations of where they could place them were wide open.

Postscaping quickly evolved from a porch trend to an unstoppable landscape trend.

Continue reading to learn more about the potscaping trend. 

In this week’s Trending Thursday post, we’re reflecting a decade into the past when people started to recognize – and then alter – "reckless” habits.   

As the country started to embrace holistic, natural options when it came to products and food, people started to pay attention to what was happening below the surface of their garden.

Consumers realized that the path to healthy plants started in the ground.

Reckless gardening was out and safe gardening was in.

Continue reading to learn more about the Safe Gardening trend.