On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA October-November 2016 | Page 5

GWA Membership Key to
Marketing Efforts
BY ANTHONY TESSELAAR

O

FINE-TUNE RESOURCES
Conversations held throughout the conference also help us to determine what we can
do better to serve the community. We enjoy
getting your feedback on our Tesselaar Newsroom media resource website, as it enables us
to continue to fine-tune that resource. We also
enjoy hearing firsthand how plants trialed by
GWA members over the years are performing.
This year’s conference was good—perhaps
one of the best we’ve attended in several years.
We felt there was a renewed energy on the part
of the attendees, and the advance planning
and work done by the new management group
certainly paid off. As an exhibitor, we much
appreciated being acknowledged during the
Exhibitor/Sponsor Reception and enjoyed
meeting and talking with the GWA Board of
Directors during that event. The efforts made

Sheryl and Anthony Tesselaar say feedback from GWA members helps direct marketing and advertising efforts.

to maintain good traffic in the hall were great,
too. Maria Ungaro and her team were extremely
helpful and attentive, not only during the registration process, but throughout the conference.
There were a few minor glitches, but it appears
that the Kellen team is already in the process
of addressing those for the next conference.
Kudos to all!
We would like to suggest that the exhibit hall
time be extended slightly—either earlier in the
day or extending a bit longer into the evening.
Perhaps the time during which First T imers
are attending their meeting (just prior to the
Exhibit Hall opening) would be an easy way to
extend that without disrupting the schedule
too much.
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
Our expectations of GWA members are pretty
basic. If we’ve sent someone trial plants, we like
to hear how they’re performing. We also hope
that if someone does write about our plants,
they provide us with a link or information as
to where their piece appeared. We subscribe
to a clipping service, but there are still small
pockets of media outlets that are not on the
service’s radar. Our Newsroom website is loaded
not only with plant profiles and “story starters,”

but also with photos that are available for GWA
members’ use at no cost. We hope the membership continues to make use of this resource.
From the outset, our philosophy has always
been that whatever we do—be it attending a
trade show, working with a breeder on new
plant introductions, sending plants to our
home-garden testers or working with a garden
writer on a specific project—it needs to work
for everyone involved, not just one or two of us.
We truly believe in a win-win-win model: What’s
in it for me? What’s in it for you? What’s in it
for the world? My father and his father before
him—both of who were in the horticultural and
bulb business—passed down this philosophy,
and it will continue with our company, Anthony
Tesselaar Plants.

Anthony Tesselaar is president and co-founder of
Anthony Tesselaar Plants, an international plant
project management company. His wife, cofounder
Sheryl Tesselaar, has worked closely with him in their
straightforward approach to the business, driven by
a simple aim—finding exceptional plants that are
colorful, best in class and easy to grow, and then
bringing them to market.

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PHOTO COURTESY ANTHONY TESSELAAR PLANTS

ur company, Anthony Tesselaar Plants,
has been involved with the Garden
Writers Association since 1995 when
I was asked to give a presentation
on “The Impact of Global Trends on
Home Gardening.” Earlier that year, we
introduced the Flower Carpet Rose to
the American public, and we’ve continued to
be members of the organization ever since,
attending or exhibiting ever second or third
year—or when we introduce new plants.
Our membership is key to our marketing
efforts, in part because GWA members are the
folks we often depend on to help promote
our products. The conferences help us stay
connected and showcase new products. We
enjoy connecting face-to-face with attendees
and old friends and meeting new members of
the organization. Not only do we exhibit, we
also register for the full conference because
we’ve found the learning sessions and tours to
be extremely informative. Time spent during
the social sessions and on the bus tours gives
us an opportunity to talk directly with GWA
friends—both old and new—and to learn more
about the challenges writers are facing in the
ever-changing communications world.