The advantages of promoting products and services via television are clear. Garden centres have a large footfall and a huge range of products. Introducing one to the other is much more easily achieved using television. This familiar medium is ideal for creating seasonal promotions, illustrating how products can be used and explaining where items can be found.

What may surprise garden centre operators - apart from the keen price - is the flexibility of the system, which allows content to be personalized and updated on a daily basis. The first garden centre to host the channel was Trelawney Garden Centre in Cornwall, owned by David Danning, who at the time was the Chairman of the Garden Centre Association.

"This was a very deliberate move on our behalf as we thought if we got Gardening TV right for David and he was happy with the channel then he could be a very good mouthpiece for us within the industry," says Richard Mann. "Equally so, however, if we got it wrong for David, the same would apply, so we were putting pressure upon ourselves."

Thankfully for Gardening TV, Danning is now happy to endorse the channel and the service. "David played a significant role in helping us to develop the channel and had a lot of input, for which we are very grateful," adds Mann.

Gardening TV is hosted by one of the most recognizable faces in the industry: Charlie Dimmock, who presents seasonal tips and gardening advice.

"We chose Charlie Dimmock because she instantly gives the channel an identity. Whenever people see her on screen they will usually assume the channel is about gardening," says Mann.

"We have had very positive feedback from garden centre owners on Charlie's seasonal tips as they are educational, and show people what they should be doing in their gardens during different times of the year.

This in turn encourages people to look for certain products," says Richard Mann. "If Charlie is doing a feature on pruning, for example then we usually follow with bespoke content telling customers where they can find shears within that particular garden centre or where the rose bushes are located etc."

Gardening TV should have around 75 garden centres hosting the channel by the middle of this month, meaning that the platform is now large enough to offer to national product suppliers. This should bring even greater benefits to hosts who will see an uplift in sales and to advertisers who will have unparalleled coverage.

One of the most popular aspects of Gardening TV with existing customers is the ability to fit it into the company's brand. For the Blue Diamond Group, which operates 12 centres, there is Blue Diamond TV, whereas at Ruxley Manor GC it is Ruxley Manor TV. Importantly each garden centre owner has complete control over their content and nothing will appear on their channel that they have not given prior approval of.

 Gardening TV can create supplier's ads if required and can offer them the opportunity of timed campaigns with a greater frequency of play at certain times of the day/week. The company can also offer zonal advertising, where a supplier can book particular screens in the centres for a higher frequency of play-out.

 "We also invite non conflicting local businesses, at the discretion of each garden centre, to appear in the form of television advertising. Local businesses appreciate the opportunity to promote their businesses in large community-orientated environments especially given the flexibility to change their adverts at any time. We can also offer free airtime to charities," adds Mann.

The main benefits of the Gardening TV package are as follows

1. The price £250 per month for a period of 36 months with no additional costs.
2. This cost can be offset through sharing the revenues generated through advertising with each individual garden centre. (In the majority of cases after the 36 month period Gardening TV will have cost little if nothing at all)
3. Gardening TV will update content for each individual Garden Centre on a day-to-day basis.
4. The channel also includes a scrolling ticker, which can be accessed by the centre via Broadband. Many garden centres with cafes find this useful for updating their lunchtime specials or to inform customers of upcoming events.
5. The provision installation and maintenance of the screens (an average of 6 x 40" high-definition LCD screens per install).
6. The production, design, delivery and management of bespoke content for each centre updated on a day to day basis.
7. Seasonal Gardening Tips presented by Charlie Dimmock.
8. Generic content relevant to the seasons or different events throughout the year and information relating to what products to buy during the current seasons.
9. Local weather forecasts and news feeds up dated twice daily.
10. Screens can also be provided in staff areas for training or communication.