On Sept. 18, during New Student Days, public relations and marketing company Garden Media Group took up residence in the Recreation Center. The group’s table gave away personal garden plants as well as caregiving information to incoming and current students alike as they helped spread the word of National Indoor Plant Week.
The company is located in Kennet Square, Pennsylvania and takes on clients who desire assistance in distributing their products, where the majority is plants. Providing public relations services for almost 20 years, the group has been known as one of the most successful firms regionally, nationally and even internationally.
The group’s primary client is Costa Farms, which is based in Florida. Founded in 1961, Costa Farms has a long history — being a third-generation family-owned business — and ranges across many Southern states as well as internationally owning property.
Garden Media is currently doing a college tour in an effort to capitalize on back-to-school efforts of students during National Indoor Plant Week. Garden Media has toured Villanova University, West Chester University and others in the Pennsylvania area. The group wants to make sure students have the opportunity to better both their health and themselves.
“The goal is to teach these students early on to practice good habits,” spokesperson Stacey Pierson said. “Each plant needs different things, so it’s not just cookie-cutter, water-it-and-leave-it-alone plants.”
Plants ranged from needing large to small amounts of light as well as different measurements of water. The seemingly rigorous caretaking is worth the while since the plants are known to purify the air in a room, increasing oxygen levels while reducing pollutants.
“The best things that can be given to these kids are something that they actively have to take care of. It’s not extremely difficult, in fact it can be pretty hard to kill one of these. What we’re trying to encourage is responsibility and love of nature,” Pierson said.
The company has many marketing plans, including raising social media awareness with methods such as using the phrase, “#O2.” Additionally, the firm helps brand and launch new products, providing a myriad of sources for clients, and assists in web services like narrowing searches with better keyword phrases and targeting correct audiences.
Students who were present responded favorably to the presentation and the spokespeople. Most seemed to enjoy the event.
“I love plants already and they’re always good to have,” Olivia Ballard, a sophomore finance major, said. “In school you can’t always have a pet, so naturally you want something to take care of or to keep you company, even if it’s only a plant.”
Others also believed that it was a very good idea considering that many students will be young adults who are probably living away from home for the first time.
“A lot of college students end up not taking care of themselves or for anything around them with all the freedom they end up with,” Jason Mobley, a pre-junior fashion design major, said. “Having these small things can help move them in the right direction towards taking responsibility if they need it.”
While Garden Media was there for the day, they had a limited amount of plants and they were given out on a “first come, first serve” basis. For the most part, freshmen came later in the day after all the moving was said and done, so the event was still considered a success.