Charity for Breast Cancer

Pat Beck, Landscape Architect and Marketing Director for Central Nurseries in Johnston RI, had recently been to a seminar discussing emotional retailing and connecting with customers. The talk had struck a chord in him and how to implement this strategy at Central was on his mind when he approached the Prides Corner booth at New England Grows in February 2003 and looked at the Pink Ribbon Plant display for the first time.

“We were looking for a way to upgrade the image of our garden center while trying to find a way to help our community,” states Beck. “When I saw Pink Ribbon Plants on display at Prides I knew this was a program and a cause that we could really focus on and rally our customers behind.” In reality, Pat and his staff at Central took the Pink Ribbon Plant program, customized it to their market, and brought it to level that one can only describe as remarkable.

Pat and his staff planted a Pink Ribbon Plant display garden at Central using the Pink Ribbon Plant introductions and other pink flowering plants. They made this garden and the corresponding display as the focal point of their garden center and used a huge array of pink flowering plants to augment the program. Pink Ribbon cards were created and given to customers to track their purchases from the Pink Ribbon display. Each $100 spent qualified customers for prize drawings in the fall of 2003 for gifts contributed by local business anxious to get on board to help this great cause. Posters were made and publicity generated touting Central Nurseries and the other participating businesses, driving more customer interest.

Best of all, Central found a local charity to reap the rewards of their hard work. 10% of the sales from their Pink Ribbon Plants promotion for 2003 were earmarked to benefit the endowment fund for the healing garden at Women’s and Infant’s Hospital in nearby Providence, RI. This garden, connected with an area of the hospital focusing on breast cancer treatment, is vital in the effort to help people to deal with this devastating disease.

What was the result of this hard work? “We connected with our customers,” declares Beck. Darren Armstrong, Central’s Garden Center Manager puts it this way, “Our customers were very positive right from the start and have felt great about buying Pink Ribbon Plants and helping a great cause.” Central’s hard work and belief in a cause their customers could embrace is a shining example of the way the Pink Ribbon Plant program can work for garden centers and communities everywhere.