Moving towards a future-proof sector: how can we achieve our goal?
Everything we do is based on a sense of pride and positive emotions. This requires a joint effort, of course. By better coordinating our communications with each other, we can also make better agreements on how to communicate certain themes. It goes without saying it is important to know how consumers perceive our sector and which themes and issues are important to them, so we plan to carry out research on this on a regular basis. And, of course, we will share the results and translate them into relevant themes.
The baseline measurement showed that the communication themes for 2024 are well-being, sustainability and promoting a positive image of growers.
We ask that you help us to grow into our new role and give substance to the strategy in order to strengthen the image of our fantastic products – flowers and plants – and, consequently, the entire sector. It is a journey that we want to share with you.
Image study: the first results
The first step involved conducing a baseline measurement about consumers’ image of flowers and plants. We now know which themes consumers think are important for the image of our sector.
The priorities and themes we choose to communicate are therefore based on this study and, of course, on our knowledge of consumers. There are also themes that are not relevant for consumers at this time. These are often themes that are more relevant for other partners in the sector who have different target groups, such as politicians. It goes without saying that we closely monitor developments in all themes, for which we are partly dependent on the information we receive from various players in the market.
We plan to repeat the image study on a regular basis. We will also be further expanding our studies to include non-buyers of flowers and plants, so that we can get a better idea about how this group of consumers perceives our sector. This will offer us a comprehensive understanding of the sector and allow us to respond to new developments and changing consumer perceptions, the ultimate goal of which is to develop appropriate and effective communications.
Which activities have we already launched?
1. New communication strategy: promoting a positive image of growers and traders
We incorporate the themes of well-being, sustainability and promoting a positive image of growers into our stories and content. By doing so, we aim to inspire and inform, while at the same time sharing the most important themes in a way that continues to appeal to consumers.
2. Started collaboration with various network partners
We work closely with various network partners in the horticulture sector, such as the steering committee that develops a sector-wide narrative for greenhouse horticulture and the communication group that coordinates sector-wide crisis communications. We maintain regular contact with the accelerator groups of growers and retailers and engage in dialogue with the communications working group at the Dutch Association of Wholesalers in Floricultural Products (VGB). This includes making agreements about how we can coordinate our communications within the sector.
3. Sharing knowledge and information through our channels
We make this landing page available for all relevant information that we can share with each other to help create a future-proof sector.
4. Offering more active assistance through communication advice
In the future, we want to more actively offer assistance to our partners in relation to their communication needs. For example, we can reread press releases, statements and interviews and provide advice. We can also offer workshops on themes such as content creation and shareable content via our channels.
5. Started social listening pilot
We recently launched a social listening pilot on relevant themes in the horticulture sector. This provides us with an overview of consumer responses to media reports and how these may affect the image of flowers and plants.
