QR tags, 2D codes, apps for iPhone, apps for smartphones, mobile websites – it’s a lot to keep up with, much less use for your own marketing purposes. But … it’s all a lot easier than it might seem! Not only can you learn what all these things are and how you are supposed to use them, you can actually try using some of them while you are at the National Green Centre.
The National Green Centre, the next generation green industry event, will be Jan. 9-10, 2011 in St. Louis, Mo. Collaborate, learn & buy with an interactive trade show and 90+ hours of education. To register, visit www.nationalgreencentre.org, click attending and then click register. The education on all this "next generation" technology is included in the two-day conference registration. Just want to come for the free exhibit hall only pass? You can, thanks to the GIE Media Horticulture Group. You’ll still get to use the technology – we’ll have our mobile app and qr tags all over the place. You won’t be able to miss them!
Unveiling Dirr’s Tree and Shrub Finder app for iPhone
Plant knowledge meets technology in a whole new way. Don’t miss it as Dr. Dirr unveils his brand new app for iPhone at the 2011 National Green Centre. Visit here for details as they become available.
National Green Centre Smartphone App
The show will have its very own smartphone app! It will work on almost any smartphone (iPhone, HTC, Blackberry, etc) and is pretty much a digital program book. Find exhibitors’ booth numbers, check out the education schedule and connect with us on social media, all with the tap of a finger.
QR Tags & 2D Codes
If you’ve seen that funny looking bar-code type thing on the bottom of the National Green Centre ads this fall, you’ve seen a QR tag. Show officials are using them now, and the tags and codes will be all over the show. Look for them in the program book and in the brochure for the Sweet Melissa Fashion Show. Download the QR tag reader on your smartphone before the show (details here). Then use it to “read” any of our QR tags at the show to get more information.
• Want more information about how the industry is using QR tags and 2D codes? Attend Brenda Vaughn’s session at the 2011 National Green Centre .
• 2D Codes? QR Tags? Come learn the basics of 2D Codes. What are they? How can they work for you? See examples in the marketplace. Learn how these codes can promote your products and services, educate the consumer and how they can become a powerful marketing tool.
• Vaughn has been Marketing Manager for the horticultural division of The John Henry Company, a Multi Packaging Solutions Company, for the past eight years. Previously she was Advertising Manager for Bordine Nursery, one of the top 100 garden centers in the country for 16 years.
Mobile Media: Mobile websites, apps, etc.
• Don’t miss Steve Cissel’s sessions on Mobile Media and the Garden Pilot app.
• 10-20 Media has green thumbs and tech fingers. They are a ‘Home and Garden’ category data aggregator, organizing data in an effort to engage the consumer. 10-20 Media is behind the popular GardenPilot website and iPhone app.
• Steve Cissel is a Home and Garden veteran of more than 25 years. Known in the Home and Garden industry as an ‘Internet Marketing Expert,’ he covers such topics like web site design, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing and Effective Internet Advertising and Mobile Media.
E-newsletters: marketing on a shoestring budget
• Constant Contact, the web-based e-newsletter company that allows you to cheaply and easily create and send e-newsletters with easy-to-use templates, will present two 2-hour workshops.
• REV UP Your Customer Relationships, Referrals & Revenues with E-mail Marketing
• Are you looking for a way to market on a shoestring budget? Finding it hard to get results with your current marketing? Spending lots of money on marketing but getting no returns? Looking for a way to educate, thank, remind, and connect better with your customers? Wanting to beef up your referrals and revenues? Then come to the “Rev Up Your Relationships, Referrals and Revenue with Email Marketing” and learn how you can get raving results without deep pockets. More than 350,000 small businesses and organizations use Constant Contact to grow their business.
• Creating Your First E-mail Marketing Campaign with Constant Contact.
• You know that you need to implement email marketing into your marketing plan but don’t know where to start? You have heard of Constant Contact but not sure what it does? You want to create an email marketing campaign but unsure how to do it? If you have these questions and want to know more then this seminar is for you. This seminar will help you create your first email campaign - we’ll provide tips, techniques and guide you through the tools and features in the Constant Contact system. More than 350,000 small businesses and organizations use Constant Contact to grow their business.
The 2011 National Green Centre, presented by the Western Nursery and Landscape Association will be Jan. 9-10 at the AMERICA’S CENTER in St. Louis, MO. The Western Nursery and Landscape Association has been on the leading edge of the industry for 120 years. The association's newly renamed and rebranded show, the National Green Centre (previously The WESTERN), continues to help shape the industry.
Watch www.nationalgreencentre.org for more information about the 2011 show and sign up for the weekly e-newsletter to get updates delivered right to your inbox. On social media? Follow the Western Nursery and Landscape Association on Twitter (@NatlGreenCentre), friend the show on Facebook, connect with it on LinkedIn and subscribe to its YouTube channel.