'My leaves are fresh as fresh mint, my flowers lime green. Come sit with me and relax!'


Wednesday, July 21, 2021

 

BENS Young Plants personifies cuttings in new marketing campaign

Cuttings and propagation company BENS Young Plants in Sappemeer has launched a new marketing campaign. Bart Bollaart and Susanne Blom have a keen eye for promising innovations from various licensees, which, according to both, are becoming increasingly compact, stronger and more beautiful. The species are presented in a personal way.

 

Author: Karlijn Raats

Things are going well for the Plant Patrol-certified company BENS Young Plants in Sappemeer, whose assortment consists of Hydrangea, Magnolia and Prunus, but also Photinia, Thuja and Skimmia. Every year new cuttings are added to the assortment, such as the glossy medlar Photinia fraseri 'Magical Volcano' ('Kolmavoca' PBR) at the end of last year. The number of saleable cuttings this year exceeded 2.5 million and, like last year, everything sold out.

The company has customers all over Europe, over a hundred growers in total. Susanne Blom: "At the moment we have 80 varieties of cuttings. We are always looking to expand, but recently we have also been thinking hard about which varieties are right for us. We want to stand behind our products 100 percent.'

 

Plants as persons


The way Bollaart and Blom bring out new cuttings is distinctive: the characteristics and appearance of the species are personified, as if they were characters with their unique appearance. In this way, the cuttings varieties get a face, just like the employees of the company. Customers can regularly take a look at the nursery through social media, newsletters and a responsive website. Blom and Bollaart understand that this brings them as close as possible to their customers.

'The goal is to reach both customers and end users with this, such as landscaping and gardening companies and consumers'

The presentation in person terms of the elegant appearance of the cherry laurel Prunus laurocerasus 'Sofia' ('Zsófi' PBR), led in 2019 to the award - together with Breederplants - of a golden award from the KVBC (Royal Association for Boskoop Cultures) at Groot Groen Plus, where judging is done on ornamental value. The description read, "She is fine and easy. She adores the warmth and embraces the cold. She is everything you would love to have. She is Sofia.' Even before this new Prunus variety had been introduced, the first 20,000 pieces had already crossed the counter for initial sales. Bollaart and Blom not only have a nose for interesting novelties; their fresh marketing and sales also improve the image of existing plants. Bay laurel was not exactly in our collective consciousness as an ornamental plant, but this has changed with 'Sofia'.

 

Marketing campaign


Early May, BENS Young Plants started a new marketing campaign. The campaign spotlights all new and current varieties in the assortment, including Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' (PBR), Hydrangea paniculata 'Little fresco' (PBR) and Hydrangea paniculata 'Mojito' (PBR). The description reads, respectively, "My lime green flowers refresh you in the summer, then turn bright white. No rain will stop them because my branches are so strong', 'Small but beautiful. From early summer to late autumn I show my great passion; I bloom for you!' and 'My leaves are fresh as fresh mint, my flowers lime green. Come sit with me and relax.'

Blom, who is responsible for sales, says: 'We are currently distributing these posters twice a week on our social media channels. The goal is to reach both customers and end users with this, such as landscaping companies and consumers. First the royalty types will be covered; later all other types from our range will follow. That is an extensive but fun job.

Of all the royalty species, we have professional photo material from the growers. All other species are also photographed with their "face"; we do that ourselves.' The posters can count on the necessary likes and positive reactions, also from breeders themselves. 'They pick up our posts in their profiles on social media.' The posters get a permanent place in the News section of BENS Young Plants.