PP&L Planthology

In the horticulture industry, Pacific Plug & Liner has always strived to provide solutions for every grower need. Their vast selection of plants and accessories includes everything from specialty products to popular staples like grasses and perennials. PP&L even created their own revolutionary online availability tool LINER-BILITY^™ to keep their customers up-to-date on the status of their many plants. Despite their holistic offerings, PP&L had begun to realize that their reputation in the industry as a top supplier of specialty plug and liner products was actually preventing growers from taking advantage of their full selection.

So when PP&L wanted an impactful way to market their expansive selection and publicize their LINER-BILITY program at the biggest trade show in horticulture, they teamed up with BatesMeron to make it happen. After working with her on PP&L’s previous product catalogs and the introduction of their Savour™ basil trees, we were excited to collaborate with Marketing Manager April Herring-Murray to brainstorm a fresh new campaign. We knew that our concept had to highlight PP&L’s position in the market as a holistic provider of plant products and generate excitement and awareness towards their LINER-BILITY tool. BatesMeron also needed to package these objectives into a memorable design that would impress at events and in PP&L’s ongoing marketing efforts. The result was an edgy and unorthodox series of deliverables, aptly named “Planthology: A Collection of Grower Solutions.”

 

 

Planthology was designed to contradict the industry norm of bright and vibrant single-book catalogs as a multi-piece collection of brochures that would capture the unique appeal of each of PP&L’s product sections. Each brochure used stark, high-contrast plant photography with pops of color to create clear identities for each plant type. A small reference to LINER-BILITY was also placed in each brochure.

 

To attract further attention to PP&L’s online availability tool, we included double-sided LINER-BILITY cards with the brochures. The card’s sleek black front largely displayed the LINER-BILITY name to pique the interest of the program’s potential users, prompting them to explore the card’s backside filled with information on user’s instructions and benefits for growers.

 

Finally, to bring Planthology together as a true collection, BatesMeron created an interactive and tactile envelope to package the marketing pieces in a way that was unlike anything else in the industry. The Planthology design was even incorporated into PP&L’s business cards.

 

“BatesMeron helped us make this event the best yet! We got great reviews on the new booth, new look and the brochures. We had a lot of people, customers, noncustomers and even kids, tell us that they loved Planthology!” – April Herring-Murray, PP&L Marketing Manager

 

 

The Planthology collection made its debut at the 2015 CULTIVATE event in July and PP&L received an amazing response. The combination of their refreshingly creative deliverables, an eye-catching Planthology-themed booth display designed by BatesMeron and the buzz generated around LINER-BILITY made them the talk of the event. Now, PP&L is excited to share their Planthology collection with growers everywhere as they continue to innovate within the horticulture industry.