Fernlea Flowers, the largest grower of bedding plants in Canada, had developed a new brand of pansies which they had cleverly named Icicle Pansies. Specifically created for Northern gardeners, Icicle Pansies are planted in fall and will bloom until winter, then remarkably again the following spring.
What Fernlea needed was an effective marketing program – from A to Z. The first thing we did was work with them to develop a logo. Resisting the temptation to be literal by using icicles, we opted instead for a clean, modern look and an emphasis on one of the most well known looking flower blooms.
From there, we collaborated with them on a complete marketing program. With numerous industry awards and real ‘buzz’, Icicle Pansies really burst onto the scene of horticulture and became a true brand in short order. Kudos to a client that understood the importance of marketing and was not afraid to invest in it.
Introduced over 10 years ago, Wave Petunias were touted as one of the most successful brands in horticulture. Ball Horticultural Company hired The Better Idea to refresh the brand specifically for distribution in independent garden centers.
We developed a more upscale identity that also loosely conveys the plant’s major benefit – it spreads as it grows. Keeping the established vibrant magenta, we incorporated rich black to create a dramatic feel for retail merchandising materials. The new flower with inner star symbol is easy to use as a separate graphic element.
We developed a full range of materials including new packaging, retail merchandising, advertising materials and consumer brochure. The program was well received by the channel and continues to prosper today.
Redesigned Fanfare Impatiens program for Ball Horticultural. We created a new logo, packaging, and point-of-purchase material.
Creation of new brands: Southern Belle Geraniums and Winter Garden Collection for Fernlea Flowers.
For the Simply Beautiful brand, we refreshed the overall positioning and developed a new tagline “expect success” to speak to how easy the plants in this line are to grow. We produced many elements for this brand including a new web site design, packaging, in-store merchandising, PR strategy/materials and print collateral.
For the Awesome Accent brand, we created a planting system making it easier to mix and match to create beautiful container gardens with ease.
The Master Grower vegetable line was branded to work best with large retailers. We desiged a logo and look and feel that was easy to implement at the store level and provided end customers with valuable planting information plus a web site that featured tips and recipes.
When program materials need to be shown to a retailer, but it’s the dead of winter and there are no pansies in site, one has to get creative. This merchandised delivery rack and concept for packaging were rendered completely through illustration. For the BigShot pansy brand:
