Lawn & Garden Retailer November 2009

EDITOR’S REPORT
EDITORIAL
Editorial Office (847) 391-1019
Driving the
Tim Hodson Editorial Director
thodson@sgcmail.com
Paige Worthy Managing Editor
pworthy@sgcmail.com
Jasmina Radjevic Associate Editor
Point Home
jradjevic@sgcmail.com
Jason Kenny Designer
jkenny@sgcmail.com
Adam Terese Web Editor
aterese@sgcmail.com
ADVERTISING
Sales Office (817) 731-9352
Bob Bellew Vice President, Group Publisher
I
n late September, I went to Raleigh, N.C., for a fresh perspective on the industry. And bbellew@sgcmail.com
up until my week in the South, I was convinced that garden center tour attendees —
Felix Schilling Account Manager
felixschilling@sbcglobal.net
retailers who leave their stores to travel by bus for three days, visit countless other
Amanda McAdam Integrated Accounts Manager
retail operations and generate new ideas and feedback nonstop — were the most hard- amcadam@sgcmail.com
core members of this industry. Now, it seems we have a tie: The more than 600 enthusiasts
Kim Sammartino Integrated Accounts Manager
ksammartino@sgcmail.com
who attended this year’s 61st Annual Garden Writers Association Symposium were bub-
Tami Morrell New Business Account Manager
bling over with energy, plant knowledge and a passion for the industry that bordered on tmorrell@sgcmail.com
obsession. What an amazing group.
Donna Aly Classified Advertising Manager
daly@sgcmail.com
These garden writers come from all kinds of publications, from the tiniest local newspa-
Michael Mansour Internet Sales Representative
pers to the major consumer magazines, as well as book publishers, PR fi rms and garden blogs. mmansour@sgcmail.com
There were also a few breeders, growers and retailers who write on the side. Most were gar-
STAFF
deners fi rst, writers second. Some even had horticulture degrees. A few, like me, just stumbled
Circulation Offi ce (847) 391-1042
into the fi eld after journalism school. (Can’t ignore your roots!)
Sandi Stevenson Director of Creative Services
As a trade writer in a sea of consumer writers, it was helpful to consider a different per-
sstevenson@sgcmail.com
spective from my own — and to hear another way people are communi- Mike Serino Director of Circulation
cating with consumers. Instead of selling specifi c products directly to the
mserino@sgcmail.com
consumer, they’re the ones planting the tiny seeds, encouraging readers (we
Erica Rivera Advertising Coordinator
erivera@sgcmail.com
hope) to leave the house, shop at their local garden centers and make their
outdoor spaces beautiful. But the overall aim is the same: We all love this
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
industry and want to share it with new people every day.
Dale Bachman Bachman’s, Inc.
Kathleen Benken H.J. Benken Florist
and Greenhouse
Major Themes Stan Pohmer Pohmer Consulting Group
They share your goals, and their challenges are much like yours, too. Pub-
Jack Williams Ecke Ranch
lications are cutting their budgets because of declining ad sales, leaving less
CORPORATE
room for gardening stories in newspapers and magazines — and besides, to
Karla A. Gillette Chairperson
hear the mainstream news media tell it, the young people just want to read Edward Gillette President, CEO
everything online. So the writers who want to stay in business are looking for
David Shreiner Vice President, CFO
new vehicles and messages to communicate with their audiences.
Ann O’Neill Senior Vice President
Harry Urban Vice President, Events
There were two major themes throughout the sessions and workshops
Paige Worthy
Diane Vojcanin Vice President,
Managing Editor
at the symposium: understanding and using social media (think Facebook,
Custom Publishing &
(847) 391-1050
Twitter and all those other interactive Web 2.0 sites) and catering to the Creative Services
pworthy@sgcmail.com younger generation. Retailers are faced with these ideas on a regular basis,
Joel Hughes Vice President, IT
too, in the news and from at least a few of the trade publications. Including
Halbert S. Gillette Chairman Emeritus
(1922-2003)
this one: I’m a huge proponent of fi nding or making time to invest in up-
Lawn & Garden Retailer accepts no responsibility or liability
and-coming technologies and up-and-coming demographics.
for the validity of information supplied by contributors,
vendors, advertisers or advertising agencies.
These themes are defi nitely linked, but they’re not mutually exclusive: Young people —
Subscription Information
myself included, at 26 — are making the most noise about social media, but the number of Lawn & Garden Retailer magazine (ISSN 1540-9023) is published
older adults getting a taste of their own is growing, and fast. A January 2009 study by the Pew
ten times a year in January, February, March, April, May, June,
July, August, September and November by
Internet & American Life Project found that 35 percent of American adult Internet users have Scranton Gillette Communications, Inc.,
a profi le on some social networking site, and that number has surely gone up since then.
3030 W. Salt Creek Ln., Ste. 201
Arlington Heights, IL 60005-5025
It’s impossible to tell what role this technology will have for your business in the future
Telephone: (847) 391-1000 Fax: (847) 390-0408.
— just like it’s impossible to know whether the younger generation will ever be interested in Subscription rates in the U.S. are $30 per year (Canada and Mexico are
gardening like their parents and the baby boomers — but the consensus at the symposium
$50 and all other countries are $60 payable in U.S. currency). Periodical
postage paid at Arlington Heights, IL 60005 and at additional mailing
was that it would be foolish to ignore them completely, and I agree. I don’t want to sound like
offi ces. Reproduction of contents is forbidden. Copyright 2009.
a broken record, but I’m making it my personal mission to help you all understand why social POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Circulation Department,
media is important right now, even if it doesn’t show up as dollars in the ledger just yet, and
Lawn & Garden Retailer, 3030 W. Salt Creek Ln., Ste. 201, Arlington
Heights, IL 60005. PRINTED IN USA.
how to use it effi ciently — with examples of retailers and other businesses who are fi nding
success with it. That’s this garden writer’s passionate promise. See you in 2010!
6 Lawn & Garden Retailer November 2009 www.lgrmag.com
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