Wanted: Industry professionals seeking a bigger piece of business. Can be small, medium or large businesses – old or young businesses – growers, hard good suppliers and landscape professionals.
Yes, you can keep the Plants at Work marketing movement alive.
Without funding, the efforts of Plants at Work, or PAW, the industry’s national educational campaign created to inform the public and business prospects about the benefits of interior plants in the workplace, will halt in April 2004.
Campaign leaders are rallying industry professionals to become fund-raising leaders, as well as contribute funds to the campaign – or renew pledges if they haven’t done so already. The goal is to raise $1 million in this fund-raising effort to support continued advertising, marketing and public relations.
PAW fund-raising leader Gary Mangum gathered a group of industry volunteers, including more than a dozen interior landscape professionals and growers, on Monday for a conference call to share ideas about the campaign and how to increase the base of fund-raising support. In addition to brainstorming fund-raising concepts, professionals shared concerns that some companies don’t know how to put PAW’s marketing materials to work.
Volunteers formed subcommittees to follow up on concerns, and each will be recruiting additional industry professionals to aid in fund-raising and to participate in future conference calls.
Currently, fewer than 250 industry professionals pledged donations to Plants at Work, raising $875,000 to support the campaign’s first three years. This number represents only 5 percent of an estimated 5,000-plus interior industry professionals nationwide.
Additionally, over three years, there is more than $120,000 in unpaid pledges, but collection efforts are continuing to gather these monies. In addition, the industry has already pledged $45,435 for 2004.
During PAW’s first two years, public-relations efforts led to more than 170 stories in publications and media outlets like National Public Radio, CBS MarketWatch, Reader’s Digest, Journal of Property Management, Buildings, Office Solutions and more. This resulted in more than 80 million targeted exposures to the initiative’s message.
Make a difference in the industry and in your own business by pledging today – pledge an amount over three years to keep PAW alive for three more years. Log onto www.plantsatwork.org and click on the pledge form link on the home page.
The author is Editor of Interior Business magazine and can be reached at acybulski@interiorbusinessonline.com.