2007 – the year in review

The 2007 year was approached with a firm goal in mind: to make the 2007 Gardening Australia Expos bigger and better than ever for visitors as well as exhibitors. We focussed on five key areas to develop throughout the year, while also satisfying the needs of each location and marketplace. These were broadly grouped into: create a greater experience; expand into new territories; provide inspiration and education; add new attractions; and give take-home value to our visitors. We estimate Gardening Australia Expos attract well over 20 times more qualified buyers in a day than the average garden retail business could expect to get in the same period. To create an even greater experience than previous years, we needed to ensure that garden lovers who visited the four 2007 Gardening Australia Expos found more nurseries, more plants, more products and more information. This year’s Gardening Australia Expos delivered plenty for visitors to see, smell, hear, touch and taste – and buy. We expanded the Gardening Australia Expo to Perth in April, 2007. More than 25,000 West Australians flocked to the inaugural four-day event despite torrential rain on the last day. This surpassed previous records held by WA’s Garden Week run over a longer, six-day period. By adding additional stages and extending the scope of education for visitors, we provided more inspiration and education; we also expanded the opportunities for exhibitors to demonstrate their products or services. The expo experience was heightened by the introduction of five new attractions: The Gardening Australia Feature Garden made its debut where an ABC TV presenter created a garden designed around climatic conditions and his or her individual plant preferences. The Garden Kitchen Theatre made a successful first appearance in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Exhibitors from the Gardener’s Village area of the expo took the opportunity to show the audience how to grow and use their goods. The New Inventors Showcase added another dimension to the expo. It gave visitors to the Sydney and Melbourne expos a glimpse of the future with a showcase of inventions related to gardening, sustainable living and the environment. The ABC for Kids Activity area was introduced to increase the appeal for families at the expo.

The NSW Floral Art Association held its State Championships at the Sydney event and visitors saw the biggest collection of spectacular designs by floral artists ever seen at a Gardening Australia Expo. The designers also gave ‘how to’ demonstrations on the new Floral Art Demonstration Stage. We gave memorable take-home value by producing for Sydney and Melbourne events a glossy A4 Expo Program. This became a sought-after souvenir of the event and is destined to be a reminder to visitors of what they can expect to see at next year’s events. Key sponsorship for Sydney expo For the first time, a Gardening Australia Expo had an exclusive presenting sponsor, Sydney Water. Sydney Water created a Feature Garden at the expo, conducted stage presentations about conserving water and its logo appeared on all expo marketing material and the website. In turn, the organisation promoted the expo to its customer base. Strong marketing support We used the powerful ABC TV Gardening Australia brand and incredible popularity of the program’s host, Peter Cundall, as the basis for a comprehensive press, radio and television advertising campaign to maximise attendance at the expos. This carried through to an extensive below-the-line and online marketing support program including a dedicated website, direct mail and publicity. Promotional messages from Peter appeared on ABC TV and radio networks in the weeks leading up to each expo adding further weight to this activity. ABC Radio supported the expo in each city with outside broadcasts from the expo in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne and a roving reporter in Brisbane. Exhibitors report good sales 2007 was a tough year with the industry having to cope with drought, credit card debt and people putting excess cash into superannuation. Despite these obstacles, the Gardening Australia Expos grew in stature with exhibitors stating sales at the expos were up on last year and re-bookings for the 2008 events are very strong. We’re now focussing on building on the content cornerstones of education and inspiration as we plan our 2008 expos.

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