Green with Envy!

Green with Envy!

by Danny Summers

It is so obvious. All you have to do is observe advertising trends to see how plants and gardening are being used to capture attention. We see major brands trying to leverage the natural "goodness" of plants and the activity of gardening as they promote whatever they want to sell. Most have nothing to do with plants or gardening.

It must be one of two possible strategies for why they would position their product or services parallel to plants or gardening. First, it might be to just capture the attention of the audience, realizing plants and gardening are one of the top growth categories over the past 18 months. The second possible strategy might be simply trying to absorb some of the positive "greenness" and to it imply they care, their products are wholesome, or good for you or the environment. It's like saying, "Hey our products are just as good as plants or gardening."

While watching advertising trends is one way to recognize what is happening, another is browsing social media. That doesn't take very long either. Within a minute or two, you most likely will see people sharing their "plant parenthood pride" with their friends (and the world). And social media is much more the real pulse of the consumer (except for the paid ads of course). So all of this helps to understand what must be acclimation to the increased popularity of plants and the activity of gardening.

Last week, JD Boone of Dothan Nurseries called me to ask if I had upgraded my iPhone to the newest operating system, IOS 15.  I admitted not yet and JD went on to tell me about how Apple has built-in plant identification as one of its newest features. It turns out to be part of what Apple calls Visual Look Up which is a feature in your Photos. Apple says,

"With Visual Look Up, you can quickly learn more about popular landmarks, art, PLANTS, pets, and other objects that appear in your photos or on the web."

JD sent me a couple of screenshots to illustrate how it works. First, take a photo with your phone camera of a plant or flower. Then, open the photo in the Photos app, then tap the Visual Look Up Button (new "I" with circle icon at bottom of the window). Then tap the Leaf icon that appears in the photo or below the photo. If the Visual Look Up Button is not solid blue, Visual Look Up isn't available for that photo.

I had to try this for myself, so I updated my iPhone to IOS 15 and then opened Photos and several photos I had just taken of a beautiful maple in full fall glory in our back yard. As I went to the closeup of the maple leaf, I saw the Virtual Lookup icon at the bottom of the photo screen. I clicked on it and then I saw the Leaf logo in the middle of the photo. I clicked the Leaf logo in the middle of the leaf photo and Siri then showed me it was a Sugar Maple. It's pretty amazing. I have been using another app that I paid for and it worked only occasionally. Here's a combination of my test in photos.

Showing off features of a new IOS update is really NOT my intention for this message.

It is the fact that plants is one of only four product categories that Apple has chosen to use in promoting the features of their latest software update. You can see more details from Apple HERE.

Just think about the fact that Apple feels plants are as important as pets in the eyes of the consumer. And this new feature, promoted by Apple, should help to increase interest in plants and even more learning.

Obviously, Apple's new Virtual Lookup cannot differentiate between varieties, but just determining general plant ID is a big step. And, of course, not all information on the web is fully accurate. You and your Center should be seen as the real experts in your community. Remember, plants and the connections to the activity of gardening that you offer are extremely important, and their value is well beyond the price. Just ask Apple how emotions help them sell their products at a premium.

And the next time you are working on sharing your message to your audience about the great plants and related products, just remember all the other companies and industries who are Green with Envy of what you have! And be sure to help share the emotional connections that only plants and gardening can attract!

Thank you for sharing the love of plants and gardening with the world around you!

If you want to learn more about either of The Group Programs, give me a call or email. Sharing is at the heart of The Group and your ideas are very important. Are you and your staff all subscribed to our eLists such as GroupEs, Marketing, Retail-Grower, Retail-Landscape, Owners-Only, and a number of others? Need help subscribing? Let me know as I can show you how you can sign up.

Thanks for sharing!

Danny Summers
[email protected]
Tel: 678-909-7770
Cell: 678-761-7145

REMEMBER: Your interaction (by phone and email) with Group Service Providers such as Steve Bailey, Tim Quebedeaux, Sid Raisch, Robert Hendrickson, John Kennedy, Jean Seawright, and of course Danny Summers are included in your retainer!

Share this post:

Comments on "Green with Envy!"

Comments 0-5 of 0

Please login to comment