Never a week goes bye when I hear stories from embers of Landscape Juice that the site has helped their business in some way.
The message might be from a one-man-band or from a national company but I've really lost count of how a contact, message or enquiry has turned into a relationship or sale.
It is clear to me that our industry needs a really good shake-up and it's never been more apparent that the practitioner needs to be represented and assisted in these difficult times.
Whether the practitioner is the buyer or influences the buyer, their knowledge, skill and judgement should never be ignored...they are one of the most important and powerful aspects of the procurement process.
Creating Landscapes' mission is to bring together business who are selling with the businesses who are buying: it's a connection broker: it's a facilitator but most importantly, it's a tangible vehicle for the landscape and horticulture industry to connect.
Should your company be there? Could your business benefit? Is this the right event?
I cannot answer the three questions above but what I can say is, it is time we all worked together to provide a place where all stakeholders in the horticulture and landscape industry can break down unnecessary barriers to do business with each other.
With just under 90,000 visitors to Landscape Juice in March 2011, Landscape Juice IS the largest and most visited brand in UK landscaping and horticulture and I feel, best placed to help and assist anyone who wished to use the brand to connect:improve:expand.
If you'd like to get you brand in front of the key players in the trade this October then please consider exhibiting at Creating Landscapes.
Either call or email me: Phil Voice on 0844 2324221or email philipvoice@gmail.com
Or Stephen on 01963 44 1234 or email stephen.ingram@catalystevents.co.uk
If you've got any questions, concerns, fears or would generally like to know more then please leave your questions as a comment below.
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Many of you will know that I have taken over ownership and organisation of Creating Landscapes; this is appropriate because it's what I've aspired to over the last few years and I believe it is an opportunity to help unite what I still believe is a highly fragmented industry.
I've formed a UK limited company and I am funding the event personally but I have the support of Marshalls (that's financial as well as organisational). Without Marshalls' help, I would have had to cancel the event after Hale Events decided that they needed to concentrate on their main business.
I am getting great support from businesses from both within and outside of Landscape Juice who are encouraging me and Landscape Juice to achieve the objective of creating an event that is centric to landscaping and horticulture: relevant and up-to-date.
Whilst the Landscape Juice Network is our connection broker, shop front and information superhighway, there's only so much that can be done online: Creating Landscapes is a way of bringing together two elements of our industry - the end-user/practitioner, with the supplier/seller and of course, each other.
I've spent the last six years analysing and watching exhibitions in the landscaping and horticulture arena and it's because there hasn't been an event that sets out to represent you - the most important people in the landscaping and gardening world - I decided it was time to do something about it.
I'm also concious that those who exhibit - the machinery, service and product suppliers - have had a bum deal in recent years and it's time they had an opportunity to get their wares in front of the industry without the distraction of politics surrounding the incumbent organisation running the event - I want this show to be a bit of everything: a place to meet; a place to socialise; a place to do business and a place to have fun.
Why are we going to be different?
There are many reasons why Creating Landscapes is daring to be different. For a kick-off, Creating Landscapes is the first industry-wide event that is being staged in a landscaping, design and horticulture location, Capel Manor.
It's a great starting venue for the event which I think will immediately create that atmosphere of everything garden. Not only does the visitor have the event to look forward to but there's also the facilities of the permanent show gardens: places for a picnic or a café for resting.
We're also planning 'walking seminars' so instead sitting in a stuffy theatre, you can wander about the show gardens with a knowledgeable host, talking and visualising design, landscaping and horticulture ideas and techniques.
We will have the demonstration area too so you'll get to see Avant Tecno, Blec, Rapid Tractors and groundsman machinery (and more to come I do assure you;-0) in action.
Hard landscapers will also get to see demonstrations from Marshalls and for the first time, news of two new products that (they say) will change parts of the hard landscaping market.
What can you do to help?
If you believe in Landscape Juice and what it is doing and wants to achieve for the UL landscape and gardening industries then please, if you are a:
Product, service or machinery supplier, consider exhibiting at Creating Landscapes: support the event and our membership and let Landscape Juice support you - make a STAND ENQUIRY here
If you work in garden design, landscaping or horticulture or any of its peripheral and supporting trades then please consider visiting the event. Come and meet with me, Phil Voice and more importantly, each other.
The Landscape Juice Network has benefited so many people in so many ways and for it to continue to do so, it needs your support in return. Please, please, please pre-register for the event, spread the word on your own websites by adding the Creating Landscapes banner and link, Tweet, add to Facebook or publicise the event on Linkedin, forward links and promotional emails to friends and colleagues.
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST HERE
Before I move on from Creating Landscapes, I want to extend my warm and sincere thanks to Carol Miers and Craig McGinty for their unwavering support or me and Landscape Juice - I have to admit, at times it is a lonely and stressful place having created all this responsibility for Landscape Juice and Creating Landscapes and it is more than a job to me which at times isn't healthy.
Craig and Carol have agreed to help me - largely unpaid or at least if the show should make any money, on a promise of getting paid for their time...thank you.
Hi Gary
Thanks for your feedback.
It's a changed world for sure and I do not think we will see a return to the old exhibition world; the internet has simply changed - excuse the pun - the landscape, forever.
It's not for me to counter all of your points because that's for the individual to do. I would however suggest that Landscape Juice is in such a different position and creates different opportunities, than other exhibitions because of its publishing and social media strengths and there are so many people from our industry reading and focussing on what's being said and posted to Landscape Juice Network, in particular.
Two important examples I can think of are:
Etesia have created a two-way conversation between them and their end user and I believe, are feeding information back up the organisation. The issue of whether Etesia has plans for a roller mower has been discussed (indeed, do a search on Etesia roller mower) and you'll see it appears near the top of Google in the SERPS.
The end-user/practitioner has a place to ask Etesia a direct question and Etesia has place to answer and when the time is right, Etesia will have a place - at a tangible event - to demonstrate any changes/developments/modifications en-masse, to the people who use their equipment. It's just not possible to trickle information into or retrieve information from a magazine in the same way and whilst it's possible to use Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin to continue a conversation, maintaining the editorial focus is harder.
Similarly, take the training planned by Marshalls at Creating Landscapes: Marshalls have two important developments and new products and would present them with quite a logistical headache to, firstly, broadcast the message widely and secondly, create enough training days, in quick succession, for smaller groups of Marshalls' Register installers.
Marshalls can simply add the information here and then utilise the Creating Landscapes event to execute their training and product release.
With respect, nobody expects to see training and products releases at shows like Malvern.