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SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE FARMING: A Local Business Deepens Community Roots & Branches Out into Social Media

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The Portland Nursery has been a pillar in its community for over a century

P ortland Nursery is a plant nursery and garden supplier that’s served

Portland, Oregon for over a century. As both a retailer and home for

plant life, the Nursery is a major pillar in its community, providing supplies

and classes for individuals, as well as financial and volunteer support for

its neighborhood organizations and neighboring farms.

We are especially proud of the young, new

gardeners; happy to be able to assist them in their

accomplishments and looking forward to being a

part of their future discoveries.

— Peggy Acott, Community Outreach Director

Portland Nursery donates or partners in some way with over 400 schools

and groups annually. This relationship can take the form of a gift card for

a fundraising event, in-kind donation of materials for a garden or other

plant-related project, and/or membership in a discount program.

Provides supplies, classes, financial & volunteer support

Donates/partners with 400+ schools

& groups

The Client

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P ortland Nursery’s Apple Tasting is an autumn tradition.

Every year, the plant nursery gathers local farms, garden

suppliers, and members of the community together to enjoy the

bounty of the season.

The event, which takes place over two weekends in

October, draws in tens of thousands of attendees,

and only grows bigger each year as more people

join in supporting regional sustainable farming.

The apples are provided courtesy of small, family orchards in the

Hood River (and sometimes Willamette Valley) regions.

Portland Nursery needed a strategic marketing plan to leverage its substantial email list

The Challenge

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The Apple Tasting is more than a fun family outing.

Proceeds benefit local charities and community

organizations like Elders in Action, a nonprofit that

works to improve quality of life for older adults.

Vendors and regional farms get in on the action

too, making connections and building community

relationships with special exhibitions, live music,

and more.

But Portland Nursery’s leadership knew it wasn’t

taking full advantage of the fundraising and

community engagement opportunities the Apple

Tasting had to offer. Additionally, the garden supply

retailer struggled to convert its thousands of event

attendees into Facebook fans, missing out on the

advantages of an engaged social media following.

And though it had assembled a substantial email

list, Portland Nursery lacked a strategic marketing

plan to use that list to its full advantage.

The Challenge(continued)

More than a fun family outing:

Proceeds benefit local charities and

community organizations.

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I n 2011, Whitney Farms—one of Portland Nursery’s

organic suppliers—proposed a partnership on a

project that could be fun, involve customers, do good in

the community, and generate more PR buzz.

The Nursery approached CafeGive Social for

a solution. Working together, we developed a

campaign that would bring the Apple Tasting

to the digital space, driving awareness

among its online audience, and converting

email subscribers into social media fans.

CafeGive helped the Nursery bring the Apple Tasting to the digital space

The Campaign

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Portland Nursery chose to use the Photo Contest

app as a dual-purpose promotional and fundraising

component of the Apple Tasting. Local gardening

and photography enthusiasts could submit their

photos to Portland Nursery’s Facebook page, where

fans would vote for their favorites. The Nursery

would award the entrants who received the most

votes $100 each.

The campaign included another crucial ingredient

to get everyone involved in giving back. In addition to

the $100 reward, Portland Nursery tapped Whitney

The Campaign(continued)

Farms to donate $600 in each of the winners’ names’

to charities of their choosing. (While the Nursery

suggested charities, the winning photographers

could pick their own). This would further incentivize

fans to enter and vote in the contest, increasing the

campaign’s reach and, ultimately, its impact.

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Over 100 photographers responded to the initial call for

entries, submitting their photos in four different categories. A

small committee of judges selected 12 photos—three in each

category—to compete in the online contest. The CafeGive

platform allowed for easy uploading, branding, and monitoring.

The campaign was up and running almost instantly.

Portland Nursery promoted the campaign through its email

newsletter, website, and Facebook page. Friends of the

photographers and Nursery supporters gave the campaign an

additional boost through the Facebook sharing capability built

directly into the app.

The Campaign(continued)

URBANLANDSCAPE

NATURALWORLD

HARVEST MINIATUREGARDENS

Email newsletter

Website

Facebook page

Social media shares

PromotionalChannels:

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T he first year Portland Nursery used the app, its Facebook fan base increased by 500 (over 30% total)

in less than 15 days. Since then, the contest has become a yearly tradition, another powerful way the

Nursery interacts with and gives back to its community during Apple Tasting season.

After submitting a

photo, users could use

Facebook and Twitter

to encourage friends and

family members to vote

for their favorite entries

The campaign sowed the seeds for a long-lasting commitment to local farms and vendors, as well as valued community organizations

The Results

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Most important, the campaign has sowed the seeds for a

long-lasting commitment to local farms and vendors, as

well as organizations like Portland Youth Builders, Village

Gardens, and the Oregon Humane Society. Large-scale

suppliers like Whitney Farms can make a localized

impact in the Portland community by giving individuals

the means to make their own heartfelt donations.

In terms of exposure, suppliers benefited from the tens

of thousands of people who saw the co-sponsors’

names and thank-yous at the event and on Portland

Nursery’s Facebook page.

From corporations to farms to local photographers,

everyone is participating in the same cycle of

giving. Everyone benefits—except for the apples,

that is.

30% increase in FaceBook Fansin less than 15 days

100+entries

4categories

12selections

EXPOSURE:Suppliers benefited from the tens of thousands of people who saw their names at the event and online.

The Results(continued)

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Congrats to our Winners!

Four winning photographers walked away with a $100 reward,

in addition to Whitney Farms’ pledge to donate $600 in each

of the winners’ names’ to charities of their choosing.

The best part? The Portland Nursery was able to plan,

create, and launch its photo contest on its own timeline and

with full, in house control, using CafeGive Social’s intuitive

campaign building apps.

For more information about our apps and to create your

own social media campaign, simply contact us.

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