 Yale Youngblood |
Our industry isn’t exactly a hot-button haven. I’ll go on record right now and say that’s a good thing. Oh, you might get a rise from some garden center operators discussing the merits of natural products vs. anything that isn’t. And you’ll almost certainly boil a little blood with the mention of the words “Big Box.” By and large, though, there isn’t a lot of putting up of the dukes among those retailers prone to peddle plants.
That said, we apparently struck a nerve last year—September 2009, to be exact —when Garden Center ran a story on branding. The piece, written by my colleague and friend, the great Sarah Martinez, revealed that if there’s a consensus on the subject, it’s that EVERYONE has an opinion on the merits of branding.
Win/Win Situation
The article was an editor’s dream. It generated dialog that stretched over several months, what with the bevy of volunteers signing up to do guest blogs and columns so they could offer various perspectives. It also won Sarah an Azbee Award of Excellence from the American Society of Business Publication Editors, showing that I wasn’t stretching things earlier when I told you she is great.
This month, she gets to be great again. In our cover story on page 8, Sarah’s revisiting the branding issue to show how it has evolved in roughly a year—and how it is being embraced and adapted in ways not fathomed in the recent past.
I believe you’ll find this article informative. Actually, based on track record, I’ll go ahead and see your “informative” and raise you an “influential.”
Speaking of ... The Garden Center staff has been busy in recent days crafting our 2011 editorial calendar, which will feature a number of ways to influence your business in a very positive manner. We’re planning a series of unprecedented research projects, introducing an expanded roster of provocative columnists and adding regular complementary online editorial content that should guarantee Garden Center a place of prominence on your “2011 must read” list.
But Enough About Us
I mentioned earlier that our first branding story elicited quite the response from our readers. The truth is this: We love to hear from you. We love to hear when you like us. We love to hear when you wish we could serve you better. We love to hear when you’re changing your will to include us as beneficiaries, just because we helped put you in that fortuitous position. OK, maybe that last one’s a stretch. But those of you who’ve read along through the years likely realize that I try to be the editor who has fun with you.
In fact, you might call it my brand.
yyoungblood@gie.net
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