About the Pelargonium for Europe campaign

Pelargonium for Europe is a marketing initiative founded by European geranium (pelargonium) breeders: Dümmen Orange, Elsner PAC, Florensis, Selecta one and Syngenta Flowers.

How and why did Pelargonium for Europe start?

Pelargonium for Europe (PfE) was founded in 2016. The campaign aims to promote and secure long-term pelargonium sales to support the European horticulture sector and shine a light on its best practise production and breeding. The campaign will do this by changing people’s perception of the plant and transforming its image from outdated to fashionable. The key message promotes a “Europe in Bloom” focused on easy-care geraniums that have their place in gardens and balconies all over Europe.

PfE works closely with its board of breeders to coordinate a wide range of activities aimed at increasing geranium sales through promoting and strengthening the plant’s image. The campaign, which is coordinated centrally and delivered at national level by partner agencies, is designed with carefully defined themes and targets based on consumer trends and market data.

What is the goal of Pelargonium for Europe?

The main objective of the campaign is to increase sales of pelargoniums in Europe. By promoting and securing long-term pelargonium sales, the campaign supports the European horticulture sector and raises awareness of Europe’s best practise plant breeding and production.

In order to achieve these goals, the campaign will convince non-buyers to start buying geraniums and will convince current buyers to buy even more. It will do so by promoting the geranium’s top qualities, for example that they are on-trend, they flower all summer long, they are durable and easy-care and can be easily combined with other plant varieties.

Who is the target audience?

PfE focuses on targeting key consumer groups via the media, social media and the green sector. Activities are aimed at two main consumer target groups who are in transformative stages of life when new behaviours are more easily picked-up. Firstly, PfE reaches people aged 50 to 65 who are at the end of their professional careers or whose children have left home, known as “New Life Builders”. Consumers aged between 25 and 35 are the other core target group as they are either starting a professional career and/or building a family (“Family and Career Builders”).

To reach these groups, photography and written content is designed to address their different age ranges while targeting the rising number of plant-oriented garden and nature lovers as well as creative urban types. The campaign implements a combination of measures including conventional PR activities, media collaborations, cross-channel digital and social media, campaigns at the point of sale and industry communication such as trade fairs.

How does Pelargonium for Europe help companies who sell geranium?

The campaign also offers a range of measures specifically aimed at supporting the green industry, for example, point of sale (POS) materials such as posters, banners and care cards for retailers to display in store; quality and care materials to advise the supply chain on best practise methods; texts and videos offering advice on care, sales and promotion; free professional images, and other marketing materials. It can also offer exciting opportunities and knowledge to those who actively get involved.

At trade-level, the focus is oriented on specialised retailers and their industry associations since their place in the market creates important channels for securing long-term sales. While supporting retail gardeners, garden centres and other specialists, PfE showcases the geranium as an easy care, abundant blooming plant available in a wide spectrum of new and exciting varieties – sure to be a popular purchase for their end-customers.

What does the campaign look like in 2023?

PfE is active in 22 countries, and starting from 2023, a new EU funded programme will launch in six countries for the first time: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia.

Each year the PfE campaign produces a wide range of photography and trend content to suit a variety of tastes. For spring and summer 2023, the campaign’s hot topics include ‘Small Balcony Getaway’ which shows how geraniums can seamlessly blend into a beautifully tiny space to create a blissful retreat, and ‘Joyous Summer Moments’ which offers a taste of vibrant summer holidays suitable for styling on anyone’s balcony, terrace or even an outdoor home office. Alongside trend photography, a large number of DIY design ideas are also produced, from clever planters to decorative centrepieces and more.

The campaign also works closely with the green industry, offering support and materials to retailers. In spring 2023, via point-of-sale materials, the industry is talking about ‘Life in Bloom: Flower Power with Geraniums’ promoting their endless flowers and easy-care.

How have pelargonium trends changed recently?

There are about 145 different geranium varieties available in a wide spectrum of colours, and more are added each year thanks to successful European breeding programmes that keep cultivating flowers in new and interesting colours and forms. PfE is seeing a growing interest in bolder colours – varieties that are more striking and illuminating which especially touch the younger generations as well as the old.