Advertising Nursery Products On TV - Part 1

By: Pat Malcolm

Advertising various products on television successfully involves the consideration of several art forms. The most common advertising on TV involves the production of 30 second commercials, the 15 second commercials or other longer or shorter timed spots. With eye catching, interesting 30 second spots that are well thought out and developed, the targeted advertisement can create dramatic increases in sales results. Sometimes customers will show up at the front door of an advertising nursery business, only a few minutes after the the ad runs, that is, as fast as the viewer of the ad can drive to the business location. The quickness of the response will depend on how urgently the targeted customer feels compelled to rush out and decide whether or not to buy the product advertised. A customer may feel that a low priced sale product is a good buy, so there is an immediate impulse to purchase this product now, before a potentially limited inventory is sold out and no longer available.

Most sales resulting from TV ads are not sudden but occur only by the repetition of the ads, over and over. The repeated showing of TV ads reminds potential customers that the product can be conveniently purchased now, and thus, the ad may subconsciously create an impulsive need to buy that item in the mind-set of a potential customer. There is no question that the advertising works and has been dynamic and consistent in the success of participating business. Magazines, Newspapers, and the Internet, pay-per-click advertisers all have harvested the abundant rewards of presenting thoughtful advertising campaigns before the eyes and ears of the public. A plant nursery may find that it cannot generate enough income from hometown friends that will favorably allow his business expenses to support a profitable operation, enough to remain in business. If that plant nursery can draw in enough customers from a major trading area (100 miles), the plant nursery may attract an astounding amount of buyers of drive-in trade. The outcome of a TV advertising campaign depends on many factors.

Thirty years ago regional advertising was done primarily by showing static pictures of a nursery storefront in a 30 second ad that was accompanied by a background, announcers voice that promoted general nursery products offered by the advertiser. Early morning ads are less viewed, and the ads can be an inexpensive $50.00 each, whereas, soap opera TV and evening news reports draw thousands the TV screens, and the ads may cost hundreds of dollars each for a 30 second advertising exposure. Weekend advertising rates often can be one-half or less, in cost, than Monday through Friday advertising. Many TV stations will not generally take ad accounts unless the nursery budget allows, and contracts are enforced to spend at least $500 per week. Very often the nursery business sales will build up gradually with effective ad spots, week after week, with Saturday sale receipts dominating----primarily, because gardening is a busy activity planned by home gardeners for weekends. Buyers of nursery plants leave their weekday offices to buy trees flowers and shrubs on Saturday that can be planted during the weekend. Growing plants relaxes office workers and provides recreational relaxation and a personal planting opportunity to harvest fruit, berry and grape treat-rewards, unlike an impersonal signed office check from his employer for the office duties performed.

Some TV stations will offer to a consistent and valuable advertiser, a bonus story on news programs such as interviewing a nursery owner with such questions as: What is the best time to plant apple trees? What is the best variety of fig tree for planting in my area that will survive freezes? These bonus news interviews are often overwhelming in producing customer buyers and huge sales, if the informational news coverage is supplemented with frequent 30 second nursery plant ads.

For the most profound TV influence on garden buyers the TV station representative will outline to the advertiser certain age groups or income brackets of customers to target for maximum sales. For plant and nursery TV sales success, an advertiser will be directed to the weather reports that will target farmers and gardeners whose interests are strongly aligned with environmental changes in the weather, that directly contribute to planting outcomes. Some early morning weather reports offer small audiences, but the low cost of the ads may attract enough customers to make TV advertising rewarding for plant nursery operations.

A very important question on whether or not to advertise plants on TV is how many competitors are advertising similar plant products? If a total plant market is viewed on TV as a pie, the pie is only so large and the advertiser must retrieve a large enough market share or else the TV advertising may not be profitable to continue. Advertising low sales prices on common plants, such as flowering dogwood trees or grapevines, will lure in customers to buy low profit, marginal plants, but usually they will buy much more, thus, making sales profitable and advisable to continue running low price sales on TV .

An important consideration in using TV advertising is the realization that such businesses as automobile dealers may sell a car, as a result of advertising, that nets $30,000, so that such a high ticket item generates huge amounts of income to finance their TV advertising campaigns. A nursery owner can usually not hope to compete on high traffic programs such as nightly news programs with the idea of seeing an advertised item that might only generate $20 in sales against the strongly financed automobile dealers, unless the TV station understands the burden that a nursery operator faces. Sometimes TV management, for one reason or another, will offer the nursery advertiser a price handicap that makes sense.

For advertising on TV a 30 second commercial, a business must give a message that includes the products offered for sale, the location and name of the business being advertised and the phone number and website address. The 30 second advertisement of nursery plant products should mention 4 to 5 different plants with colorful photos of the plants, preferably plants of unrelated groups. Such separate groups might be: Oak tree, amaryllis bulb, peach tree, raspberry bushes.