|
Contact:
Sarah Youngbauer
Ruder Finn/San Francisco
(415) 348-2724
youngbauers@ruderfinn.com
ALL-AMERICA ROSE SELECTIONS FLEXES MARKETING MUSCLE TO HELP SELL ROSES
PR & marketing programs help retailers educate and inform consumers about roses
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 1, 2006 – All-America Rose Selections™ (AARS™), a non-profit association committed to raising awareness for roses as a simple and rewarding option for any garden, is now making it easier than ever for consumers to learn about and buy the country’s best roses.
According to the Garden Writers Association Foundation, due to the high price of gasoline, 47 percent of American households plan to decrease summer travel and spend more time on home and garden projects. In lieu of traveling, people are transforming their yards into ‘outdoor living spaces,’ and to make them special, they are planting and enjoying roses.
“Home gardeners’ interest in our national flower appears to be increasing, as AARS roses have been spotted in more high visibility settings than ever before – from the lead float in the 2006 Rose Parade and an HGTV special, to features in USA Today and Better Homes and Gardens,” says AARS president Steve Hutton. “In fact, in the first half of 2006 more articles were written on roses than in any 12-month period in our 68 year history. We’re expecting an even bigger response in the 2007 season.”
AARS is conducting comprehensive PR and marketing campaigns to spread the word that roses are easier to grow than ever before. The newly redesigned AARS website (www.rose.org) – which provides regionalized growing tips and plant recommendations – is a major element of the campaign. Its new “Where to Buy” section helps consumers locate their nearest garden retailer, and gives garden centers a simple way to advertise that they carry AARS Winners. Garden centers and publications wanting to link AARS to their Web site, or vice versa, can easily do so by calling AARS at 415-249-6776.
To help retailers sell roses, in 2007 AARS will roll out a merchandising program that includes attention grabbing, easy-to-install point-of-purchase signage. This program will target select retailers for whom AARS will create customized, co-branded signage featuring the 2007 Winners and the store’s logo. The signs will be delivered in sync with the 2007 rose buying season.
About All-America Rose Selections (www.rose.org)
All-America Rose Selections is a nonprofit association dedicated to the introduction and promotion of exceptional roses. Since 1938, the AARS trial program has encouraged the rose industry to improve the vitality, disease resistance and beauty of roses for American home gardens. Today, the AARS testing program is one of the most successful and highly regarded of its kind in the world, having brought to the forefront such roses as Peace, Mister Lincoln, Knock Out and Bonica.
### |
