TOCA Talk – Winter 2022

TOCA Talk is proudly sponsored by EnP and Advanced Turf Solutions.

Advanced Turf Solutions (ATS) is a green industry distributor that provides fertilizer, pesticides, grass seed, ice melt, and more to professionals in the golf, lawn care, and sports turf markets.

EnP has been Engineering Optimal Plant Health™ for nearly 30 years, manufacturing specialty fertilizers under two brands: Foliar-Pak, and Age Old Nutrients.

Because EnP and ATS professionals believe that collaboration and the exchange of ideas are essential for innovation, they are proud to support the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA).

Thank you, members of the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association, for supporting this industry through your information, education, and outreach.

Inflation in 2023

By Mark LaFleur. TOCA President

We have all heard plenty about inflation over the past year. In fact, we have not only heard a lot about it, but we have also felt the pressures of it in our professional lives as well as in our personal lives. The same goods we purchased a few years ago are valued at a much higher rate today.

I am certainly not an expert in economics, and although I am not an expert in psychology, you can probably tell from my previous President’s Message that I have spent a fair amount of time in both my personal and professional life exploring emotions and their impact on myself and others.

I recently learned that four students, at a major university, committed suicide during the 2022 fall semester. In addition to feeling deeply saddened, this made me think a lot about the importance of self-worth. There is a lot that goes into growing your own self-worth, including:

• not comparing ourselves to others
• seeking professional help
• exercise and finding ways to relax
• developing ways to purge negative voices in our heads

All easier said than done, but I encourage you to find how to inflate your self-worth in 2023. One tactic I employ is to leverage mantras. I thought I would share a few of mine in case they help you:

• Can’t change the past: So often when we make a mistake, or let an opportunity go by, it is easy to devalue ourselves by judging our actions. When I find this negative speak crawl into my own head, harping on what I did wrong, I repeat can’t change the past. This allows me to let go of the action (or inaction) and instead focus on learning from it, make corrective actions and move on.
• Be curious: When I find something isn’t working, instead of trying to steamroll through the situation, or judging the lack of success, I become curious to ask myself and others how I could do something differently to get the desired result.
• Remember the Platinum Rule: Although I worked hard for more than three decades to live by the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you,” I was not curious enough for too many years to understand why it was failing me. Ten years ago, at the Syngenta Business Institute, I learned about the Platinum Rule: “Do unto others as they’d like done unto them.” Wait, what? Not everyone likes unsolicited feedback to improve a situation that is causing them stress? Or, not everyone likes leveraging mantras?

Whether you take one of “my” mantras from above, create your own or listen to Ted Lasso (I highly recommend watching this 3:50 clip) explain how failing or losing doesn’t define you, please be curious and believe that you can inflate your self-worth in 2023 and beyond.

I wish you all an enriched holiday season and a very happy New Year!

Attend the TOCA breakfast in Orlando

Are you heading to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Conference and Trade Show in Orlando, Fla., being held Feb. 6-9? Be sure to join TOCA on Thursday, Feb. 9, for breakfast, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., in Room W312A of the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla. Let us know you are coming!

Enter the TOCA Communications contest

As you reflect on the past year, what communications projects did you execute that stand out as “excellent”? In the next year, get the recognition you deserve by entering those projects in the 33rd Annual TOCA Communications contest. The contest closes Feb. 27.

Entries must be articles published or collateral/ads/brochures produced and printed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2022. Click here to learn more and to enter the contest.

If you have any questions about the contest, contact Sandra O’Rourke at: sandra@cornerwindowcommunications.com.

TOCA Communications contest awards will be presented during the TOCA Annual Meeting in Portland, Maine, April 25-27.

Spread the Word!
Sod Solutions to host the TOCA summer intern

The 2023 TOCA intern will work with Sod Solutions sales, marketing and customer service teams to understand the company’s four business units, shadow multiple roles and learn about the turfgrass industry.

During the summer of 2023, the intern will shadow and learn about multiple roles at Sod Solutions, in Awendaw, S.C.  Some of the roles include:

• Educational content writing and editing.
• Marketing content, creative and strategy development.
• Customer service communication and problem-solving.

Apply here! The application deadline is Feb. 24. 

TOCA internship program details include:

• Internship is worth $5,000 – $4,000 as a stipend and $1,000 to be used to attend and assist in executing the TOCA Annual Meeting in Portland, Maine, April 25-27.
• The internship spans 8 to 10 weeks.
• Intern will be chosen by a representative of the host organization, a representative of the sponsoring parties and one board member.

Contact Sandra O’Rourke with questions, sandra@cornerwindowcommunications.com.

The TOCA marketing internship program is sponsored by Den and Sandy Gardner, and Jose Milan via a commitment through the TOCA Foundation.

TOCA offers $2,500 scholarship to green industry communications student

To qualify, students must major or minor in technical communications or a green industry related field, such as horticulture, plant sciences, botany, agronomy or plant pathology. Also, the applicants must demonstrate an interest in using this course of study in the field of communications, such as careers working for trade publications, newsletters or companies/marketing agencies that promote the golf course, lawn and landscape, sod and nursery/greenhouse, sports turf or maintenance industries.

Furthermore, applicants must have an overall grade point average of at least 2.5 and 3.0 in the major area of study (based on a 4.0 scale). Students enrolled in the fall of 2023 can apply for the scholarship. Eligibility, as determined by the TOCA board of directors, extends to two- and four-year program students attending institutions that offer turf management curriculums and communications.

Click here, to access the TOCA Foundation scholarship application. Applications are due April 1.

If you have a question(s) regarding the TOCA Scholarship, contact Sandra O’Rourke at: sandrarourke@cornerwindowcommunications.com or 952-758-5811.

TOCA heads to Portland, Maine, in 2023

It’s time to flip your calendar to 2023. After you do so, make sure you block out April 25-27, for the 2023 Turf and Ornamental Communications Association Annual Meeting at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland, Maine. Watch the TOCA website for program updates.

Choppy Waters Episode

Gardner Award Best Podcast

By Jimmy Miller, GIE Media

 Please describe your project.

Choppy Waters was a three-part series that focused on water consumption and irrigation practices in the green industry. The first of the three episodes is the one we submitted for TOCA Award consideration. Over the course of the episode, I broke down what the issue is – that contractors use a lot of water – and interviewed contractors about that problem. They told me that a lot of water overuse came down to bad irrigation practices or a lack of education before working in that segment of the industry.

What were your main objectives in developing this project?

I’ve been drawn to irrigation and water use since I first started covering the green industry in 2018. I’ve always heard that landscapers consume lots of water, whether that’s from just leaving on sprinklers or it’s letting some go to waste due to inefficient irrigation system installation. I believe wholeheartedly that most landscape contractors want the best for the environment, including those who aren’t irrigating their properties the right way. So, I wanted my podcast series to educate contractors on what’s going wrong and also point to possible solutions they could adopt to stop using so much water.

What influenced your approach?

I listen to dozens of different podcasts, albeit at different times and a bit inconsistently! But I think I have borrowed styles I’ve heard from those podcasts and applied them in my own work. It helps that I took several audio storytelling classes at Kent State University and did some audio work during my internship my senior year. Plus, I went over some of what I was planning to do with the rest of the team at Lawn & Landscape magazine. Their advice on what types of things to include and who to interview helped guide the creation of the series, and I appreciate that feedback a lot. Ultimately, I’m thrilled TOCA recognized this work with a Gardner Award. I believe it’s due to the culture of employee empowerment fostered by (among others) Publisher David Szy, Editor Brian Horn and Assistant Editor Kim Lux that these projects can come to life.

What do you think stood out in your winning entry?

I believe three things helped my entry stand out: purpose, pacing and the hook into the podcast. First, I believe this podcast had a really good purpose; that is, I didn’t interview contractors on what products they buy or how they made their revenue last season. Instead, I focused on an industry problem that’s relatable to people even outside the green industry, especially those on the West Coast. Additionally, I think the shorter episode length helped. It’s a bit untraditional to produce a podcast that hovers around 20 minutes (or less). But I believe these types of audio stories are more digestible for an audience, especially if you’re asking them to come back for future episodes in that series. Finally (and this is a minor note), I really liked the hook into the episode. You hear a sprinkler and several industry experts weigh in on the issue at hand as music swells before finally we cue in the traditional podcast entrance music. I think the editing there took a lot of work but was well worth it in the end.

2021 Virtual Golf Industry Show

Gardner Award Best Integrated Marketing Campaign

By Lyndsey Newnam, G&S Business Communications vice president

 Please describe your winning project.

Historically, our client Syngenta has been one of the largest exhibitors at the Golf Industry Show (formerly GIS, now GCSAA Conference & Trade Show) and is well known for attracting its target audience of golf course superintendents to its booth and providing personalized turf management solutions. However, with the pandemic limiting in-person events, the 2021 show was fully virtual. In this new format, Syngenta wanted to ensure it could still engage with its customers in a positive and meaningful way while providing customized solutions. To help, G&S needed to attract online attendees to Syngenta amidst a sea of virtual lookalike booths while encouraging interaction in a limiting environment. To be successful, we had to develop a fully integrated campaign to drive awareness and engagement with Syngenta during the show.

Because the show’s format limited what Syngenta could virtually exhibit, G&S drove traffic from its virtual booth to a custom landing page on its website, where more real estate was available to feature all the products, tools and events Syngenta wanted to highlight. To drive deeper customer interaction, G&S developed a multi-tiered customer journey that culminated with a call to action to watch an interactive video, which was prominently featured on the landing page. Using interactive video technology, G&S worked with a vendor to develop a “choose-your-own-adventure” video to educate superintendents about the latest disease control solutions from Syngenta. Within the video, viewers could explore solutions for the disease(s) most important to them and use clickable hotspots to access more in-depth resources like reference guides and other videos.

What were your main objectives in developing this project?

Syngenta wanted to use the show to promote its latest fungicide technologies, other products and digital tools for superintendents. Additionally, G&S wanted to provide an easy way for superintendents to interact with Syngenta while finding solutions they needed virtually. Once we identified the interactive video as our main call to action, we set an initial goal of 400 video completions within the week of the show.

 What influenced your approach?

To achieve the goals and be successful in the virtual environment, there were some key things we had to get right. First, we had to find the best technology to provide meaningful, solutions-oriented content in a customer-centric, user-friendly experience. That is where the interactive video technology was a perfect fit and allowed us to provide a deeper, customized customer experience beyond what the show format allowed. Second, we had to use a fully integrated campaign to ensure we were building awareness before the show and driving engagement during the show. We strategically used all available communications tactics, including media relations, web, paid and organic social media, e-mail, advertising and video to inform superintendents about what Syngenta was doing during the show and to ultimately drive them to the video experience. With the number of ways people can consume content today, a brand should be discoverable everywhere with integrated, complementary messages and calls to action, so we built a full campaign to do that for Syngenta.

 What do you think stood out in your winning entry?

The results were virtually off the charts. The initial goal we set of 400 video completions within the week of the virtual show was reached in just four hours. Ultimately, there were 2,428 video completions – more than six times the initial goal. The average watch length was 4 minutes and 39 seconds, not including time spent with the hotspot materials and other videos. To culminate the video’s success, it was named the Most Interacted Video of the Year out of all 29,192 videos created by the interactive video vendor in 2021.

TOCA webinar connects improv principles to enhancing communications

Quick! Name the three rules of improv! Can’t remember, or missed the webinar in November? Watch the recording to learn how the principles of improv can improve communication on your team and beyond. Scott Covelli and Dave Rust from EPIC Creative used their 20-plus combined years of improv comedy experience to lead this interactive webinar.