Kelli Rodda's in-depth article in Garden Center magazine about marketing to under -served audiences, Hispanics and particularly Hispanic females, was much needed information for the garden industry.

While it's no secret that the face of the garden industry is largely white and male, the consumer and so often the workers look very different.

In fact, the United States looks different. Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority group in the US. According to Simmons Research, 17.4 percent of Americans 6+ identified as Hispanic or Latino. 

And with a buying power totaling $1.4 trillion, the Hispanic consumer carries significant economic clout.

Read more about how to make your garden marketing more multicultural.

We’ve already talked about the controversial Pepsi ad and the factors that contributed to its failure. To do cause marketing the right way, the campaign must be consistent with the brand and relatable to the target audience. Heineken has recently created a great example of a powerful cause marketing ad.

The international beer distributor created a four minute ad with the tagline “Open Your World.” The video shows strangers with opposing views working together and discussing their contrasting beliefs over a beer. The ad has received widespread praise and definitely works to bring people together, instead of tearing them apart.

Let’s examine these two beverage companies with two political ads — why did Heineken’s ad succeed and Pepsi’s ad fall short?

Continue reading to learn more about Heineken’s Worlds Apart experiment.

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.

Influencer: It’s one of those vague PR buzzwords that everyone seems to overuse. But what is an influencer exactly? And why are these people so important?

An influencer is a person who has an undefinable positive impact on an industry or demographic. These “normal people” often play key roles on social media and have a breadth of contacts with media outlets, consumer groups and industry leaders.

Brands ultimately want to break through to these dynamic people. According to Influencer Analysis, “such individuals are not simply marketing tools, but social relationship assets.”

Today’s top brands use influencers to reach large audiences in an authentic way. Before they do this successfully, they must study their target influencer and know what makes them tick. Here’s how they do it.  

The Anatomy of an Influencer

Public relations professionals can agree that some of the best emails – other than responses from Journalists – come in the form of a newsletter.

Newsletters serve several purposes, and showing off content is just one of them! The letters that are curated correctly can help businesses achieve their goals by increasing leads and retaining more customers.

According to Hubspot,a successful newsletter fulfills a clear goal and inspires readers to click open at a high rate.

“Even though e-newsletters are one of the most common types of emails to send, they are actually some of the hardest to do right.”

In the spirit of the new year and taking on new initiatives, we’ve compiled a list on how to create a newsletter people want to read.

Continue Reading for tips to create a meaningful newsletter.

I don’t always enjoy nine years of the same marketing campaign, but when I do, it’s because Dos Equis does it right.

Jonathan Goldsmith, also known as the Most Interesting Man in the World, has been the iconic face of Dos Equis for almost a decade. After years of Goldsmith encouraging fellow beer drinkers to “Stay thirsty,” the beer company is saying goodbye to its famous spokesperson.

And of course, he has to go out with a bang. The company launched the final advertisement of Goldsmith’s campaign, which features him taking off on a one-way mission to Mars.

So, after nine years of a wildly successful campaign – the number of beer cases shipped by the brand increased 34.8 percent since 2007– why is Dos Equis sending off their legendary spokesman?

Continue reading to learn how your business can create interesting marketing campaigns.

More than ever, people today are putting health and wellness first and monitoring what goes in their body, whether it is the food they eat or the air they breathe.

The new welltality trend allows garden businesses to profit from this! 

Plants are more than just a pretty face. In fact, many industries other than ours are utilizing greenery to differentiate themselves from competitors and to create a healthier environment.

Hotels offer living walls, indoor forests and locally grown food as part of their guest experience. These features not only attract more customers, but also provide a healthier space for guests and workers.

Welltality is popping up in all different types of businesses because they too are making health and wellness a priority. 

Businesses should think "outside the plant” and use greenery in innovative ways. Cash in on all the benefits plants have to offer.

Continue reading to learn how to cash in on plants.

During the 2015 Super Bowl, Budweiser released #BestBuds, an emotional commercial about a friendship between their beloved Clydesdale horses and a puppy, which probably made you tear up more than the Seahawks fans at the end of the game.

While you will inevitably sob into your chips, dips and beers during the 2016 Super Bowl, you can at least learn some skills about marketing your brand along the way.

If anything, the Super Bowl commercials teach us about how to effectively market your brand, particularly on social media.

Continue reading to learn how Super Bowl commercials can help improve your brand.

Think about the way you think. Yes, it's a strange question, but are you capable of changing the way you think?

Most people are set in their ways, which can be dangerous working in a creative environment.

Original ideas are essential to repeatedly impressing clients and customers. New ideas often stem from different ways of thinking.

Divergent thinking and inspired brainstorming sessions can be extremely beneficial in the workplace, especially when it comes to developing innovative solutions.

Read more to learn about divergent thinking.

It’s raining ideas in the office! Or at least is should be.

Public relations professionals are responsible for generating innovative campaigns and hosting buzzworthy events for clients. But what happens when those ideas run out? How do great ideas go from thoughts to concrete proposals?

Unless your office has a slot machine full of ideas on hand, most campaigns are born, cultivated and nurtured as part of a brainstorming session.

Continue reading for more tips on how a team can brainstorm effectively.