Find out what Proven Winners is doing in your area and discover key insights
on top-selling varieties, colors and programs.
Proven Winners Local Advertising
ONTARIO MARKETING REPORT
The Proven Winners Certified Training Program for garden centers is an ongoing
partnership that offers retailers and their employees the opportunity to learn more about
our plants while building their confidence to sell Proven Winners.
This year over 9,300 employees became certified from over 1,200 retailers, and we
donated $10,000 on their behalf to Feeding America and Canada Food Bank. Of those, 49
retailers & 357 employees were from Ontario.
This year we created a French version of the Certified Training Program to accommodate
French speaking employees. We plan to make a French version available again in Spring
2022. For more on this program, visit www.provenwinners.com/certification.
In 2021, Proven Winners distributed over 790,000 copies of
our popular Gardener’s Idea Book—9,239 copies in Ontario,
and we plan to do the same in 2022.
Each year, Proven Winners provides FREE Gardener’s Idea
Books to Connect+ retailers to mail to their customers if they
pay for the postage. Retailers should sign up by February 1,
2022 to participate next spring. Check out page 5 of this report
for a sneak peek at the plants that will be featured in the 2022
Gardener's Idea Book!
WEBSITES
Over 8 million people have explored our websites over the past year including our main site and additional
websites which focus on key products. Of those, 784,797
visits were from Ontario visitors. Check out our additional
websites at:
•
NationalPlantofTheYear.com
•
Beauty.ProvenWinners.com
•
AquaPots.com
•
GrandGardenShow.com
•
ProvenWinnersColorChoice.com
CONNECT+ PROGRAM
Last year, Proven Winners launched a revolutionary marketing service
exclusively for IGC customers that aims to make their lives easier while putting
the power of the Proven Winners brand to work for their businesses. They can
subscribe at their preferred level, from our free Getting Started subscription all
the way up to our Elite package. To date, 1,500 businesses have subscribed to
Connect+ including 69 subscriptions in Ontario.
For more information on this new service, visit www.provenwinners.com/
connect.
CERTIFIED TRAINING PROGRAM
1
GARDENER’S IDEA BOOKS
CONSUMER PRINT ADS
This year, Proven Winners
®
ColorChoice
®
Shrubs has
generated over 100 million print impressions targeting
casual and passionate gardeners across North America -
including your hometown. You can find Proven Winners
ColorChoice print advertising in these national publications:
Plus, these ads can be found in more than 25 additional
national and regional publications. All consumer advertising
artwork can be found at ProvenWinners-Shrubs.com.
706,198 Ontario subscribers will see these ads this year.
Featured shrubs include:
•
Better Homes &
Gardens
•
Birds & Blooms
•
Canadian Living
•
Country Living
•
Fine Gardening
•
Garden Gate
•
HGTV magazine
•
Propery Brothers
Reveal
•
Southern Living
•
Pugster Blue
®
Buddleia
•
Blue Chiffon
®
Hibiscus
•
Invincibelle
®
H. arborescens series
•
Bobo® H. paniculata
•
Fire Light
®
H. paniculata
•
Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha
®
H. serrata
•
Jazz Hands
®
Loropetalum series
•
At Last
®
Rosa
•
Oso Easy
®
Rosa series
•
Double Play Doozie
®
Spiraea
•
Bloomerang
®
Syringa series
•
Sonic Bloom
®
Weigela series*
*Sonic Bloom
®
is a registered trademark of the Syngenta Group Company.
2
BROADCAST &
INTERNET RADIO
With a goal to reach broader audiences of gardening
enthusiasts, Proven Winners ColorChoice has increased
media exposure with the largest broadcast and internet
radio campaign they have ever planned, generating over 196
million impressions this year.
PODCASTS
The podcast trend shows no signs of slowing down, so Proven
Winners ColorChoice Shrubs added advertising on podcasts to
their outreach. The commercials are not limited to specific
podcasts – they play on a variety of genres to reach a wide range of potential plant buyers.
In Canada alone, she’s had over 16 MILLION
views on YouTube!
Facebook Followers:
•
Joanna Gaines - 6,000,000
•
Garden Answer - 3,696,000
•
Martha Stewart - 3,000,000
•
Property Brothers - 1,102,000
3
TELEVISION & VIDEO STREAMING ADS
New for 2021, Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs
launched video advertisements on Hulu and smart TV
streaming services through Roku, ChromeCast, Fire TV, and
Samsung, reaching consumers through a whole new
platform.
This year’s campaigns have resulted in over 5.6 million
impressions throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Bonus television content: The rise of DIY programming has
provided new opportunities for featuring Proven Winners
ColorChoice shrubs as the smart choice for landscapes.
In 2021, Proven Winners ColorChoice shrubs will be included in the following programming: two episodes of Curb
Appeal Xtreme, a Property Brothers Production on the HGTV/Discovery+ network; the first four episodes of
Backyard Blowout, the PeacockTV (NBC) streaming network series; and two episodes of GardenSMART, broadcast
on local Public Broadcasting stations (PBS) and Create TV online streaming.
GARDEN ANSWER & OTHER INFLUENCERS
Laura and Aaron from Garden Answer have become key influencers for Proven Winners as they teach a whole
new generation how to garden. Over 3.6 million fans follow them on Facebook, and their gardening videos have
been viewed over 65 million times on YouTube in the past year alone. These videos heavily promote our National
Plants of the Year.
Proven Winners maintains a robust online presence with the help of the amazing influencers we partner with.
Check out their social media accounts and follow your favorites:
•
Tracy VanVolkinburg – Plaids and Poppies @plaids.and.poppies
•
Erin Schanen - The Impatient Gardener @impatientgardener
•
Joshua Hiebert & Jose Tortolero - Mr. Gardeners @mr.gardeners
•
Kamoya McDowell - Garden Addictz @gardenaddictz
•
Staff Sergeant Ambrose and Angie Salazar – Garden Obsessions @gardenobsessions and
@obsesionesdejardin
•
Jenny Simpson – Creekside Nursery @creeksidenursery
•
Brandon Lark Roberts - @brandonlarkroberts
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is one of the best ways to reach both urban and rural parts of North America. This year, our social
channels collectively drove over 301 million impressions.
In Ontario there were 1,936,343 paid Facebook impressions, plus many more organic impressions. See below
for a breakdown of impressions by social channel for the 2020-2021 season.
77
MILLION
IMPRESSIONS
Facebook
@Proven Winners
57
MILLION
IMPRESSIONS
YouTube
youtube.com/users/
provenwinners
37
MILLION
IMPRESSIONS
Instagram
@provenwinners
130
MILLION
IMPRESSIONS
Pinterest
pinterest.com/
provenwinners
430,000
IMPRESSIONS
Twitter
@Proven_Winners
Additionally, we are reaching 64,000 home gardeners in our Proven Winners Gorgeous Gardens Facebook
group where they share stories and photos of their home gardens. This is a great opportunity to easily tap into
the mind of the consumer and see what plants they are using and which they are trying to find in garden centers.
Visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/475994473157693/ to join the Gorgeous Gardens group.
E-NEWSLETTERS
Last year over 388,000 consumers were subscribed to our monthly
gardening tips email newsletter, Winners Circle®, which is filled
with wonderful information timed for each season in the garden
and includes a new plant profile and plant combination recipe each
month.
In addition, over 7,600 growers were subscribed to our
professional newsletter, Get Growing, which provides seasonal
growing tips, variety highlights & trial results.
Over 8,400 retailers were subscribed to our monthly Garden
Center Retailer Newsletter which keeps retailers up to date on
trends, valuable retail programs, best practices, special sneak
previews, article ideas and more.
New for 2021, the Retailer Newsletter also includes a Wholesale
Grower Spotlight to help connect retailers with some of the
exceptional wholesale growers we work with across North America
that carry Proven Winners products.
4
BILLBOARDS
In 2021, Proven Winners had 125 billboards in 40 metropolitan markets generating 251 million impressions. These
billboards were in 18 states and 8 provinces.
Keep in mind that while there may not be a billboard in your “backyard”, they are in high traffic areas where they will
be easily seen by those vacationing over spring break, attending sporting events & concerts, or traveling for work.
Ontario had 5 billboards and 17,773,014 impressions. We will continue this campaign in 2022 although locations
have not yet been secured. The 2021 Ontario billboards were all located in Toronto, ON:
1. Markham Rd 70m S/O Passmore Ave WS F/S
2. Bloor St West (ROOF) 30m W/O Armadale Ave
NS F/W
3. Davis Dr 80m E/O George St NS F/W
4. Gardiner Expy 350m W/O Kipling Ave SS F/W
5. Gardiner Expy 260m E/O Park Lawn Rd SS F/W
Find additional details on Proven Winners’ national
billboard campaigns and all of our billboard
advertising artwork at pwwin.rs/2021-Billboards.
GARDEN DESIGN
WEBSITE
Our partnership with Garden Design is in its third year and
is garnering amazing exposure for Proven Winners plants.
In 2020, just under 13 million gardening enthusiasts
researched plants and garden ideas on the site and were
introduced to Proven Winners annuals, perennials, shrubs,
and hard goods. Visit www.gardendesign.com to explore
the Garden Design website.
5
ANNUALS
ARTIST® Pearl Ageratum
ANGELFACE® Cascade Snow Angelonia
ANGELFACE® Super Blue Angelonia
ANGELFACE® Super White Angelonia
ANGELFACE® Wedgwood Blue Angelonia
ANGELFACE® White Angelonia
SILVER BULLET® Artemisia
Asparagus Fern Asparagus
PEGASUS® Begonia
SUREFIRE® Red Begonia
SUREFIRE® Rose Begonia
ENDLESS™ Flirtation Browallia
ENDLESS™ Illumination Browallia
HEART TO HEART® ‘Clowning Around’ Caladium
HEART TO HEART® ‘Blushing Bride’ Caladium
HEART TO HEART® ‘Heart and Soul’ Caladium
HEART TO HEART™ ‘Hot Flash’ Caladium
HEART TO HEART® ‘Raspberry Moon’ Caladium
HEART TO HEART™ ‘Xplosion’ Caladium
HEART TO HEART™ ‘White Star’ Caladium
SUPERBELLS™ GRAPE PUNCH™ Calibrachoa
SUPERBELLS™ White Calibrachoa
GRACEFUL GRASSES® Toffee Twist Carex
FLAMBÉ® Yellow Chrysocephalum
HEART OF THE JUNGLE™ Colocasia
‘Coffee Cups’ Colocasia
GRACEFUL GRASSES® PRINCE TUT™ Cyperus
GRACEFUL GRASSES® KING TUT® Cyperus
GRACEFUL GRASSES® BABY TUT® Cyperus
SILVER FALLS™ Dichondra
DIAMOND FROST® Euphorbia
DIAMOND MOUNTAIN® Euphorbia
DIAMOND SNOW Euphorbia
STRATOSPHERE™ White Gaura
TRUFFULA™ Pink Gomphrena
SUNCREDIBLE® SATURN™ Helianthus
Licorice Splash Helichrysum
Petite Licorice Helichrysum
White Licorice Helichrysum
AUGUSTA® Lavender Heliotropium
ROCKAPULCO® Red Impatiens
ROCKAPULCO® Wisteria Impatiens
Sweet Caroline Bewitched GREEN WITH ENVY™
Sweet Caroline MEDUSA™ Green Ipomoea
Sweet Caroline RAVEN™ Ipomoea
Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime Ipomoea
PATTI’S PINK™ Isotoma
GRACEFUL GRASSES® BLUE MOHAWK® Juncus
LAGUNA® CLOUD WHITE™ Lobelia
SNOW PRINCESS® Lobularia
Goldilocks Lysimachia
AROMANCE® Pink Nemesia
CHARMED® Wine Oxalis
SUPERTUNIA® Daybreak Charm Petunia
SUPERTUNIA® LOVIE DOVIE™ Petunia
SUPERTUNIA® ROYAL MAGENTA® Petunia
SUPERTUNIA VISTA® JAZZBERRY® Petunia
SUPERTUNIA VISTA® Paradise Petunia
SUPERTUNIA VISTA® Snowdrift Petunia
COLORBLAZE® El Brighto Plectranthus
COLORBLAZE® Chocolate Drop Plectranthus
COLORBLAZE® Royale APPLE BRANDY®
Plectranthus
COLORBLAZE® Royale CHERRY BRANDY®
Plectranthus
COLORBLAZE® Strawberry Drop Plectranthus
COLORBLAZE® VELVETEEN® Plectranthus
MOJAVE® Tangerine Portulaca
MOJAVE® Yellow Portulaca
ROCKIN’® Deep Purple Salvia
ROCKIN’® ‘Golden Delicious’ Salvia
ROCKIN’® PLAYIN’ THE BLUES® Salvia
SUNBINI® Sanvitalia
GRACEFUL GRASSES® Fiber Optic Grass Scirpus
LEMON CORAL® Sedum
Coconut A-PEEL® Thunbergia
CATALINA® GILDED GRAPE™ Torenia
CATALINA® Pink Torenia
CATALINA® White Linen Torenia
SUMMER WAVE® Large Amethyst Torenia
SUPERBENA® Peachy Keen Verbena
SUPERBENA® Red Verbena
SUPERBENA SPARKLING® Amethyst Verbena
SUPERBENA® WHITEOUT™ Verbena
CAKE POPS™ Pink Verbena
CAKE POPS™ Purple Verbena
TENTATIVE PLANT LIST FOR 2022
GARDENER'S IDEA BOOK*
6
TENTATIVE PLANT LIST FOR 2022
GARDENER'S IDEA BOOK (continued)*
PROVEN HARVEST
AlliYUM!™ Allium
FIRE AWAY® Hot and Heavy Capsicum
BERRIED TREASURE® Pink Fragaria
TEMPTING TOMATOES™ Goodhearted Lycopersicon
AMAZEL BASIL® Ocimum
PERENNIALS
‘Storm Cloud’ Amsonia
‘Chantilly Lace’ Aruncus
‘Crested Surf’ Athyrium
‘Paint the Town Magenta’ Dianthus
DOLCE® ‘Wildberry’ Heuchera
SHADOWLAND® ‘Diamond Lake’ Hosta
‘Bottle Rocket’ Ligularia
‘Heaven Scent’ Polemonium
COLOR SPIRES® ‘Snow Kiss’ Salvia
MAGIC SHOW® ‘White Wands’ Veronica
SHRUBS
SUNJOY SEQUINS® Berberis
STEADY AS SHE GOES™ Gardenia
FAIRYTRAIL BRIDE® Cascade Hydrangea®
FIRE LIGHT TIDBIT® H. paniculata
INCREDIBALL® H. arborescens
INVINCIBELLE WEE WHITE® H. arborescens
Little QUICK FIRE® H. paniculata
PINKY WINKY® H. paniculata
SUNORITA® Rosa
DOUBLE PLAY DOOZIE® Spiraea
MY MONET PURPLE EFFECT® Weigela
*This is an incomplete plant list that is subject to change and will not be finalized until Fall of
2021.
CANADIAN YEAR OF THE GARDEN 2022
SPONSORSHIP
A centennial celebration of Canada’s horticulture
sector will run all 365 days of 2022,
commemorating Canada’s rich garden heritage,
celebrating today’s vibrant garden culture, and
creating important legacies for a sustainable
future.
Planning is already underway for a year of exciting
Live the Garden Life activities, celebrations, special
events and promotions that will take place in
communities, schools, businesses, public gardens,
and backyard gardens in all parts of Canada.
Proven Winners is proud to be a founding sponsor
of this valuable initiative to support the culture,
craft and business of gardening across Canada.
Learn more about the Year of the Garden 2022 at
gardenscanada.ca/year-of-the-garden.
7
2022 NATIONAL PLANTS PROGRAM
Strong promotional campaigns build strong sales. Key in on these eight exceptional varieties that Proven Winners
will be dedicating significant marketing dollars to in order to build excitement and demand for these plants
beginning Spring 2022.
For more information on this program, visit www.provenwinners.com/2022_National_Plants and
www.nationalplantoftheyear.com.
Graceful Grasses
®
Prince Tut™
Cyperus
Heart to Heart
®
‘Raspberry Moon’
Caladium
'Paint the Town
Magenta'
Dianthus
Shadowland
®
‘Diamond Lake’
Hosta
Double Play Doozie
®
Spiraea
Suñorita
®
Rosa
Little Quick Fire
®
Hydrangea paniculata
Incrediball
®
Hydrangea arborescens
8
2022 NATIONAL RECIPES
Packed with our top-selling, most distinctive varieties, our National Recipes have been proven in trials to work,
which means you can be confident they will deliver the signature Proven Winners all-season performance. We'll
take care of driving consumer demand while you watch them fly out of inventory.
For more information on this program, visit www.provenwinners.com/2022_National_Plants and
www.nationalplantoftheyear.com.
Amethyst Dreams
Superbells
®
Grape Punch
™
Calibrachoa
Superbells
®
White Calibrachoa
Superbena Sparkling® Amethyst Verbena
Suggested Thriller:
Graceful Grasses® Prince Tut
™
Cyperus
Lady Luck
White Licorice Helichrysum
Sweet Caroline Raven
™
Ipomoea
ColorBlaze
®
Chocolate Drop Plectranthus
Suggested Thriller:
Graceful Grasses
®
Prince Tut
™
Cyperus
Blind Love
Supertunia
®
Lovie Dovie
™
Petunia
Supertunia
®
Royal Magenta
®
Petunia
Superbena
®
Whiteout
™
Verbena
Suggested Thriller:
Graceful Grasses® Prince Tut
™
Cyperus
9
Color Sells
2021 OUTLOOK FOR
COLOR PREFERENCE
We know that color sells - the question is which colors will be most popular. With over 7.8 million
visitors to Proven Winners’ website over the past year and 10,000 questions answered by our
team, Proven Winners is uniquely positioned to capture consumer preference and demand,
especially when it comes to color!
FAVORITE FLOWER COLOR TRENDS
Based on the feedback of over 77,000 consumers who visited our website during the past year,
their preferred flower colors are:
22% Purple
18% Pink
14% Bi-color
11% Blue
9% Red
7% Yellow
Purple continues to be the most popular
flower color for the 2020-21 season.
Pink is gaining popularity, jumping 3% compared
to the previous year when it ranked #3 on the list with
15% of the votes.
Based on current trends, purple, pink and bi-color
blooms will continue to be most popular, so be sure to stock
these fast-selling colors.
TRENDS
10
MOST SEARCHED VARIETIES
While reported favorite flower color is useful, the top searched plants and colors can also give us insight for
trends. Based on searches on our website the past year, the most searched annuals, perennials and shrubs
have been:
MOST SEARCHED COLORS BY TYPE!
Of the 30 most searched for plants in each category, we analyzed the top searches by flower color. We found
that pink & blue were most searched for annuals, and purple & blue for perennials, and pink & white for
shrubs:
Annuals
Perennials
Shrubs
15% White
11% Purple
7% Y
37% Purple
7% W
20% Pink
16% Blue
13% Pink
22% Blue
33% Pink
12% Purple
25% White
14% Bi-color
11% Bi-color
7% Other
Supertunia Vista
®
Bubblegum
®
Petunia
Berried Treasure
®
Red Strawberry
Diamond Frost
®
Euphorbia
Vermillionaire
®
Cuphea
Blue My Mind
®
Evolvulus
'Cat's Pajamas'
Catmint
Sweet Romance
®
Lavender
'Serendipity' Allium
'Denim 'n Lace'
Perovskia
Dolce
®
'Wildberry'
Heuchera
'Limelight' Hydrangea
Bobo
®
Hydrangea
Little Lime
®
Hydrangea
Incrediball
®
Hydrangea
Fire Light
®
Hydrangea
3
1
2
4
5
3
1
2
4
5
3
1
2
4
5
PERENNIALS
SHRUBS
ANNUALS
11
TOP 10 PROVEN WINNERS ANNUALS
SOLD IN ONTARIO
1. Supertunia Vista® Bubblegum® Petunia
2. Supertunia® Royal Velvet® Petunia
3. Supertunia® Bordeaux™ Petunia
4. Diamond Frost® Euphorbia
5. Supertunia Vista® Fuchsia Petunia
6. Superbells® Lemon Slice® Calibrachoa
7. Superbells® Grape Punch™ Calibrachoa
8. Lemon Coral® Sedum
9. Supertunia Vista® Silverberry Petunia
10. Superbells® Yellow Calibrachoa
#8
#1
#4
#7
#10
#2
#5
#3
#6
#9
12
TOP 10 PROVEN WINNERS PERENNIALS
SOLD IN ONTARIO
1. Shadowland® 'Autumn Frost' Hosta
2. Primo® 'Black Pearl' Heuchera
3. 'Denim 'n Lace' Perovskia
4. 'Cat's Pajamas' Nepeta
5. Amazing Daisies® 'Banana Cream' Leucanthemum
6. Amazing Daisies® Daisy May® Leucanthemum
7. Shadowland® 'Empress Wu' Hosta
8. Shadowland® 'Diamond Lake' Hosta
9. Primo® 'Wild Rose' Heuchera
10. Shadowland® 'Wheee!' Hosta
#8
#1
#4
#7
#10
#2
#5
#3
#6
#9
13
#8
#1
#4
#7
#10
#2
#5
#3
#6
#9
12 BEST-SELLING PROVEN WINNERS
COLORCHOICE SHRUBS
#11
#12
1. 'Limelight' Hydrangea paniculata
2. Little Lime
®
Hydrangea paniculata
3. Bobo
®
Hydrangea paniculata
4. Wine & Roses
®
Weigela
5. Little Quick Fire
®
Hydrangea paniculata
6. Incrediball
®
Hydrangea arborescens
7. Invincibelle Limetta
®
Hydrangea arborescens
8. Sprinter
®
Buxus
9. Fire Light
®
Hydrangea paniculata
10. Low Scape Mound
®
Aronia
11. Summer Wine
®
Physocarpus
12. North Pole
®
Thuja
14
TOP PERFORMERS IN ONTARIO
Supertunia Mini Vista
®
Pink Star Petunia
ColorBlaze
®
Royale
Pineapple Brandy
™
Coleus
Suncredible
®
Yellow
Helianthus
Sweet Caroline Medusa
™
Green Ipomoea
Truffula
™
Pink
Gomphrena
• Luscious® Royale Red Zone™ Lantana
• Supertunia Mini Vista® Indigo Petunia
• Supertunia Mini Vista® Pink Star Petunia
• Supertunia Vista® Bubblegum® Petunia
• 'Serendipity' Allium
• Summerific® 'Holy Grail' Hibiscus
• Summerific® 'Evening Rose' Hibiscus
• Little Quick Fire® H. paniculata
• Bobo® H. paniculata
• 'Limelight' H. paniculata
• Quick Fire® H. paniculata
• Zinfin Doll® H. paniculata
1600 E. Lincoln Highway, Suite F, DeKalb, IL 60115
provenwinners.com
TOP AWARD WINNERS IN NORTH AMERICA
For over 25 years, Proven Winners
®
has participated in independent trials across North America to judge the
superiority of our plant genetics. We don’t just think that our plants are the best; 166 independent trial sites
can attest to our plants being exceptional.
37
AWARDS
30
AWARDS
30
AWARDS
29
AWARDS
29
AWARDS
