Since the recession hit, interest in backyard gardening has blossomed (pun intended). Whether growing their own food or transforming their backyard into an oasis for a stay-at-home vacation (or "staycation"), consumers are heading out the back door. And related businesses are noticing – vegetable seed companies have seen 10 to 80 percent growth in sales in the past couple of years. Many of these backyard gardens are new, according to the National – and many of these gardeners may not start out with the greenest of thumbs.
One of the oldest and largest seed companies, Burpee, understands these newbies may need a little more help, and gardening experts just can’t get enough information to ensure their gardens grow to their peak. To distinguish themselves in the marketplace and to continually engage gardeners both new and expert, Ball Horticultural Company, the parent company of Burpee, recently launched an integrated marketing campaign for multiple product lines, including a new mobile gardening site – Burpee Gardening Coach. Burpee is using Microsoft Tag on every label of seeds and potted plants to deliver variety-specific information and care tips that work with the Gardening Coach mobile site. In the print ads, Burpee is using tags to direct users to download the Gardening Coach.
Nurseries are getting on board with Tag too. Bailey Nursery is advertising their re-blooming hydrangea collection, Endless Summer, in several print advertisements in the mainstream media. By using Tag in their ads, interested readers – and shoppers – can scan the tag and be sent to a retail locator. Backyard enthusiasts no longer need to call around to local stores to see if they have the plant they just fell in love with in a magazine.
Would you scan a Tag to get gardening tips? Are there more Tag ideas that could give your green thumb a hand? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter.