Think about when you've read about gardening in your newspaper, Sunday supplement, or newsstand magazine. Or when you watched any of the proliferation of gardening or garden makeover shows on TV. Or, if you're a modern, young-person like I definitely am, engaged with your favourite gardening influencer on the TickTocks or the YouTubes.
How often in your consumption of those media, were any of the brands of mowers you stock in your dealership featured? Or any of the other varieties of specialist machinery you sell? A handful of times? As many as that even?
Odd isn't it? Especially when you consider just how hugely popular a pastime gardening is with the British public - with lawncare in particular, integral to that. The old cliche of Brits being obsessed with their lawns clearly stems from a degree of truth. So why then, is there this distinct lack of mainstream media coverage for the wide variety of equipment that our dealer readers specialise in?
I don't have an answer, by the way. The question was just at the forefront of my mind this week when I attended a trade show in London, aimed specifically at journalists in the gardening sector.
Called the Garden Press Event, it is an exhibition exclusively open to writers, bloggers and content creators, who cover the horticultural sphere. I have been attending it now for around 10 years or so I think, and have unfortunately seen the number of machinery manufactures and suppliers who chose to exhibit, plummet.
I'm pretty sure that in the immediate pre-Covid years, it reached around 15 or so brands who were looking to spread the word about their kit to the consumer-facing press. This week there were five.
So what is the reason for this exodus? I do believe that as a concept, the Garden Press Event is perfectly sound. In theory new machinery - including the likes of exciting robotic technology with RTK control and advancements in battery design - are displayed in front of journos who will cover them in media consumed by your customers, who will then turn up at their local specialist retailer to learn more. Simple. Except this can't be happening to the degree that many would desire.
I asked several manufacturers who had previously taken space at the show, what wasn't working about it for them, prompting their company not to return? One told me "The Garden Press Event is a nice show, but sadly we’re always disappointed by the level of engagement with the press/media to be honest. . .To be frank it was largely a waste of time."
Another said, "I like the event but I think the press are more interested in pretty things at this event rather than machinery."
Whilst another summed up their feelings about the show and the wider question of lack of press interest saying, "I would welcome the opportunity to chat to more press outside of our industry, as the majority of machines you often see in lists of best machines by mainstream publications, are not brands that dealers sell and rarely will be of benefit to them."
All of which are answers that are genuinely disappointing to hear.
However, some of your machinery suppliers have chosen to stick with the show, so I was interested to hear what benefits they felt they got out of it.
STIHL told me they always meet the right people there. They said they pretty much know all the gardening press anyway, but they always come away with some new quality contacts from the online gardening influencer spaces. Following this up with demos and reviews with these guys, is great for their brand they said, with the aim of building awareness and ultimately driving customers into dealerships. The event is as good as what you make it, they told me.
Husqvarna said they do find they receive decent coverage in consumer-targeted media following the Garden Press Event.. They specifically cited a tie-up they had made with Gardener's World last year, that many dealers had told them had brought new customers into their showrooms. They told me that when they are working with influencers, they aim to get local dealers involved too where they can. The aim always being to increase footfall in dealerships.
Stiga said they believed to make this event successful it was vital to have new products and innovations to talk about with the press. They look to offer quality content for journalists to pick up on - and were mindful that journalists they were speaking to, were not necessarily machinery experts. It was therefore important to cover the basics, but to emphasise the exciting technological developments they are driving.
Makita had a slightly different outlook. Whilst they featured plenty of new product on their stand, they said attending the show was at least in part, an exercise in showing support for the organisers, the HTA, of whom they are member.
Barrus, finally, said that because they represent multiple brands that are producing so many new items spanning a gardening spectrum as diverse as welly-boots to ride-on mowers, it was a great opportunity for them to meet press from all different horticultural segments.
I do hope that these five, sole machinery exhibitors receive some positive coverage from exhibiting this week. If they do, one likes to hope that translates into fresh faces entering your dealerships in search of something they've read about or seen.
Clearly, increased reviews, demos and case studies on specialist kit would be beneficial to all across the industry. Perhaps though, traditional media will never be especially interested in lawnmowers and the like. Maybe it will be this emerging trend of niche bloggers and vloggers who will shine a light on the exciting tech that's available to aid gardeners. Our friend James Hayes and his Machinery Nation channel for example, are doing this.
We'll include some product information on what was seen in an upcoming edition of Service Dealer magazine. Until then, what are your thoughts on the state of media coverage for the products you sell - and what can be done to up the ante?
