Wave^® Ultimate Garden Center  Level 1  |  Level 2  |  Level 3

Welcome to your DIY guide to selling even more of the most popular flowering annual ever!

Whether you’re a “one-man” grow-and-sell business or a large retailer with multiple outlets, the Wave Ultimate Garden Center online manual has sales-building solutions you can put to use today and into the future.

What you’ll find in your Wave Ultimate Garden Center:

• The story behind Wave’s winning ways.
• Complete lineup of Wave POP with a fresh new look
• Lots of ideas for creating your own sales-building Wave petunia displays
• Easy instructions for printing your own POP in minutes
• Vendor info for ordering in-stock or print-on-demand benchcards, banners and more

Be sure to bookmark this page and check back often for updates!

Level 1: The Wave SUCCESSFUL Garden Center

Telling consumers you have Wave.

It’s easy to start small and build your customer base. Check out these simple – and many times FREE! – ways to grow your Wave sales.

1. Order your Wave petunias.
2. Always sell Wave in Pink packaging.
3. Give customers more Wave colors.
4. Let them take home Wave earlier and later.
5. Tell shoppers you carry Wave.
6. List your garden center on the Wave Retailer Locator now.
7. Get ready to sell, sell, sell!

1. Order your Wave petunias.

Tell your preferred grower that you want Wave and lots of ’em. Remember to preorder early for the best selection.

2. Always sell Wave in Pink packaging.

In a recent survey, 72% or respondents said they look for the pink pot or packs when shopping for Wave petunias.

Wave Pink pots and packs …

• Maintain the premium product image of Wave petunias
• Promote greater sell-through – Pink packaging outsells black 6 to 1!
• Wave family petunias are the only petunias that can be marketed in Pink packaging

A. 209 premium pack with handle B. 306 premium pack with handle C. 10 and 12-in. hanging baskets D. 4, 6 and 8-in. thermoform pots E. 6-in. injection molded pot F. 18-count tray (no photo available) G. Wave 20-in. retail display (no photo available)

Growers/retailers, you can order Pink packaging from several plastics manufacturers. Click here for a complete list.

TIP: Wave pack handles lock in place in just seconds!

TIP: Plant tags give shoppers handy take-home care tips. Have a staff member tidy up displays regularly and make sure every unit includes a forward-facing tag.

3. Give customers more Wave colors.

60% of consumers surveyed want more Wave colors to choose from.

Download the full brochure "Pink Means More Profit" and check page 5 for the Wave colors.

“Why do I love Wave petunias? Because they look so great in my yard, and make me smile every time I see them. Maybe one day my local stores will have more than just pink, white and purple.” ~ Wave-Rave Fan Club Member, West Babylon, N.Y.

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4. Let them take home Wave earlier and later.

No other petunia variety lets you spread your program over so many months! Wave lets you put plants in the store earlier and keep them there longer into the season.

“Depending on the size, we’re seeing between 87% and 96% sell-through rates on Wave year to date. We work with our growers to select the series that is right for the timing of a particular Wave program. This spring we used the Easy Wave for early-season sales and the original Wave for late-spring season sales. The addition of new Shock Wave Denim will help keep the program fresh and exciting.” ~ Tim Runte, Calloway’s Nursery, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas

Send the right series to market at the right time with more color choices and expand your retail footprint.

Early season: Shock Wave™ in premium 209 and 306-packs and hanging baskets

Main season: Easy Wave™ in premium 306-packs, pots and hanging baskets. Wave™ in thermoform or injection molded pots.

Mid- to late-season: Tidal Wave™ in larger thermoform pots. Double Wave™ in baskets and thermoform or injection molded pots.

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5. Tell shoppers you carry Wave.

Attract attention and drive retail traffic with Wave merchandising tools and updated POP.
(Be sure to check back often as additional POP will be added regularly.)

• Wave horizontal banners (45" x 24")
  Great for fences, parking lots and other outdoor areas. Even at a distance, they’ll know you have Wave!
  

  Get Wave petunias here!	Pull in. Load up.

• Cart signs/vertical banners (19" x 52")
  Designed to fit most carts … also useful to hang in your display areas. Use these banners to mark your Wave destination area.

  Take home garden Magic!	Easy-care, all-season color!
  Made With Wave (11 x 17 in. sign)

   

• Wave benchcards (11" x 7")
  Bench-level signage spells out the features of each series to help shoppers make their selection. A great way to provide guidance at product level.

  Easy Wave	Shock Wave	Tidal Wave
  Wave	Double Wave	Wave Family
  Made With Wave	Wave Medleys

Printing How-To:

DIY 1 – Your own printer
Print POP from your own desktop, easily and quickly!

TIP: Fresh sells best! Reprint and hang new signs rather than use faded or wet POP.

TIP: Need a different size? Adjust your printer options to scale down the image to customize benchcard sizes to fit your needs.

DIY2 – On-demand printing
Many office product retail stores have onsite “Copy and Print centers” that offer fast, affordable custom printing options.

TIP: Use the white area in the lower right corner to add your logo or other promo information.

DIY 3 – Commercial printing / Working with vendors
These vendors offer Wave POP. Contact them directly for details.

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6. List your garden center on the Wave Retailer Locator now.

Thousands of potential customers visit wave-rave.com every month and use the Wave Retailer Locator. Add your garden center location in just moments, and send shoppers to your store.

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7. Get ready to sell, sell, sell!

Our "Certified Wave^® Expert" online tutorial will educate your employees and get them comfortable selling Wave!

Level 2: The Wave PREMIUM Garden Center

Show them how to have all-season Wave success!

Once your customers meet Wave petunias, they’ll be hungry for more … more colors, more varieties, more planting ideas and inspiration, and more how-to tips. Keep the momentum building with these simple – and many times FREE! – Wave winning ways.

What you’ll find in your Wave PREMIUM Garden Center Manual:

1. Turn every staff member into a “Certified Wave Expert.”
2. Change out your Wave colors and varieties regularly.
3. Plant Wave around your facility to show just how these power-packed petunias perform.
4. Put local media to work promoting Wave.

“I love Wave petunias because the customers that patronize the garden center where I work love them. Any configuration of basket or mixed pot with Wave flies out of here.” Wave-Rave Fan Club Member and Garden Center Employee, Prestonsburg, Kentucky

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1. Turn every staff member into a “Certified Wave^® Expert”

The fast and fact-filled Wave R.A.V.E. (Retail Academic Virtual Exam) is designed to help you and your staff learn about the Wave brand – including specifics about the five different series and easy tips on how to help your customers care for these terrific petunias. Armed with all this Wave know-how will give you all the confidence you need to sell and answer questions about the Wave family of products.

Everyone who becomes a Certified Wave Expert will receive a button by mail, and will be eligible for our quarterly drawing to win one of 10 Wave garden aprons.

Click here to take the Wave R.A.V.E. online course and exam.

2. Change out your Wave colors and varieties regularly

In a recent consumer survey, 60% of respondents stated they want more Wave colors to choose from. Keep your Wave displays fresh, exciting and profitable!

The Wave program lets you put plants in the store earlier and keep them there longer into the season. Be sure to rotate basic colors with more novel colors throughout the season.

• Start early with Shock Wave
• Move into Wave and Easy Wave mid-season
• Finish strong with Tidal Wave

TIP: Assign a “Certified Wave Expert” or two from your staff to coordinate the Wave displays… You’ll find that “pride of ownership” will almost always take assigned display areas from so-so to stunning.

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3. Plant Wave around your facility to show just how these power-packed petunias perform

What better way to bring in shoppers than with stunning near-the-road Wave displays?

• Plant a low-growing landscape bed of original Wave around your entrance sign or all along your driveway.
• Tidal Wave is an awesome choice planted against a fence or trailing over a wall – count on this tallest Wave to create eye-catching hedgelike displays of beautiful color.
• Display mature containers and baskets of all the Wave family varieties throughout your retail area – but don’t count on them sticking around for long as shoppers load their carts and head for the checkout.

4. Put local media to work promoting Wave

Connect with your community by sending updates to local print and broadcast media about open houses, educational and planting events, donations of plants to local gardens, and more.

Keep your business name in front of people to generate lots of success and sales. Check into advertising weekly specials and “What’s new.” Stretch your ad budget by running small ads for a longer length of time, rather than running just a few big ads. And be sure to check with the newspaper – often their production staff can help you design your ad so placement is easy.

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Level 3: The Wave ULTIMATE Garden Center

You’ve reached the third and ULTIMATE level! Now it’s time to build on the SUCCESSFUL and PREMIUM levels, and take your business a big step higher! In this level you’ll find

1. Tips on drawing customers to your store with in-store Wave events
2. Easy ways to spread Wave through your community with outreach programs
3. Tips on co-branding with the Wave-Rave Fan Club to extend your sales opportunities, and much more!

The sky is the limit when it comes to Wave ideas!

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1. Host Wave in-store events

• Saturday Samples: Send your customers home with small quantities of the newest Wave colors to try out in their gardens and planters.
• Couponing: Include coupons in your printed or e-mailed newsletter or in local advertising to draw customers into your store. You can hand customers a coupon for a future date at checkout to keep them coming back to your store. Specials like "Wave Wednesdays" can have your register ringing during slower times. You can offer discounts or create "BOGO" (buy one, get one) type offers.
• Birthday Offers: Present shoppers with a Wave plant when they tell you it's their birthday — a simple register sign or note in your newsletter promotes this celebration giveaway. (Of course, you'll want to offer other seasonal choices for customers born in the months when Wave is not available!)
• Team Tie-Ins: Set up a display of Wave petunias promoting school colors or local sports teams.
• 'Wave & Wine': Invite customers to attend an upscale wine tasting party in your garden center and have a Wave expert show guests how there is a Wave for every taste. You may even partner with a local wine store to share the evening and potentially add new customers for each business.
• Wave Pre-Orders: Many of your customers already know, buy and trust Wave. Offer them the opportunity to place their orders ahead of time and reserve their Wave plants. Your customers will have a choice of the widest color selection, and you will learn more about their Wave petunia preferences. You can even make Wave pick-up day a store event!
• Repeat-Customer Bonus: Loyal customers are a great asset! Use computer tracking if you have it, or even a simple wallet punch card to track their Wave sales — once they reach your specified limit, you can offer them free or discounted plants. Or if you have a combo planting service, you could offer free labor to put together a Wave container as their reward.
• Wow Wave Containers: Create a beautiful centerpiece to display all week and then raffle it off. Place a box and entry slips nearby — this is a great way to stir up excitement and build your customer mailing list. Mature containers on display are also great living examples of how to use Wave petunias and inspire new business.
• 'Ask An Expert': Remember to have your entire garden center staff take the Wave R.A.V.E. online tutorial and exam. It's quick, easy and informational — and when they pass, they'll get a certificate and "Certfied Wave Expert" button to wear in the store.
• Host Your Own 'Waveinar' Demo: Choose your most talented "combo creator" on your staff, set up a potting bench in a prominent position, and show shoppers how to plant their own containers.

TIP: Have all the makings handy so they can fill their carts when the demo is over ... Lots of Wave petunias, plus pretty planters, all-purpose fertilizer, potting mix, garden gloves and more. It's a great cross-selling opportunity!

• Staff Favorites: Follow the lead of book stores and wine shops with simple signage that tells shoppers what your staff prefers and why.

For example: "Barb's Pick: Our garden center manager Barb put Easy Wave Burgundy Star in all her hanging baskets this year. She said the neighbors are dropping by to exclaim over the beautiful color and great performance." 

Download "Wave of the Week" and "Staff Favorites" benchcard signage below>>

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Wave of the Week
Wave Purple	Wave Blue	Tidal Wave Silver	Shock Wave Purple
Shock Wave Denim	Easy Wave Red	Easy Wave Pink	Easy Wave Burgundy Star
Easy Wave Blue	Double Wave Blue Velvet

Staff Favorites
Wave Purple	Wave Blue	Tidal Wave Silver	Shock Wave Purple
Shock Wave Denim	Easy Wave Red	Easy Wave Pink	Easy Wave Burgundy Star
Easy Wave Blue	Double Wave Blue Velvet

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2. Spread Wave throughout your community

• Community Plantings: Connect with your town or city by donating Wave petunias for public beds in parks, around civic buildings or schools, or in front of your local hospital.
• Fund-Raising With Local Schools/Organizations: Partner with community groups to supply Wave plants for a Spring sale. They can coordinate it around pre-sales, or host a weekend event with open sales.

3. Reap the benefits of co-branding

• Wave-Rave Fan Club Tie-In: Combine the strength of your store name with the big demand for Wave petunias. Add your location to the Wave Retailer Locator and get shoppers pulling in to stock up on these must-have plants!
• Customized POP: It's easy to add your logo or any other promo information to any (or all!) of the Wave benchcards and signs.

COMING SOON: Add your Wave display photos to the gallery

You'll have the opportunity to post the photos of your Wave ULTIMATE Garden Center in our gallery and get ideas from others.
And be sure to watch for contests starting in Spring 2011 to recognize even more ways to win more Wave sales.

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