June 2022 - 14

perspectives
BY OLIVIA (SELLARDS) MORGAN
CAST and the Power of Connecting
For us marketers in the horticulture industry, events and trade
shows are paramount. We spend the whole year forming ideas
and dissecting market trends to better link with our colleagues,
customers, and other related cohorts, with the goal to grow
loyalty and enhance trust. From technically focused product
launches to the most memorable and whimsical
vignettes, we aim to educate, inspire and, most
importantly, connect!
I have had the pleasure of working in marketing at
Syngenta Flowers for almost 12 years. That means
I have been involved with a California Spring Trials
event 12 times. I also have had the pleasure of
working with and learning from others who have been
to dozens of CAST events throughout their careers
in horticulture, and with flower breeding companies
specifically.
Olivia (Sellards)
Morgan is the
custom marketing
manager at
Syngenta Flowers
and a member of
GPN's 40 Under
40 Class of 2015.
She can be reached
at olivia.morgan@
syngenta.com.
Each time is new, with similar elements that come
back like muscle memory, and each one is challenging
too, full of blood, sweat, and even some tears. There
are always lists of new products to launch, core
products to reinforce, and technical data to share, but I have
learned that the relationships formed and fostered at CAST are
far more important than any of the plants on display.
Don't get me wrong; we love our plants. I'd argue we love them
much more than the average person. We wear the title of plant
nerd like a badge of honor, even competing for the top nerd
award, but something truly magical happens when our teams
are together. Marketing, product management, R&D, technical
services, sales and customer service among others combine
efforts and unite for an exceptional cause. We are all playing
from one playbook, pulling in one direction for the common goal
of service to our customers who, in most cases, happen to be our
friends, too.
A HISTORY OF RELATIONSHIPS
Syngenta Flowers has a long legacy of CAST. With the
inception of Pack Trials in the late 1960s, patriarch of Goldsmith
Seeds, Glenn Goldsmith, invited broker salespeople to view
comparison trials of his new hybrid flowers. The timing was
chosen for spring because growers were busy, and he could use
that time to educate these reps about his new products for the
next season. A few decades have reshaped Pack Trials into what
is now celebrated as Spring Trials, and I have long been proud
to be somehow tied to that original company icon who started it
all. It began as a way to connect people with plants - and the
people were the focus!
While we don't often showcase too many " packs " anymore,
we aim to make CAST enjoyable and educational for all who
visit ... heck, even our competitors. We use creative marketing
ideas and themes to bring folks together for a fun and common
goal. Our venue in Gilroy, California, is not only the hub of our
flower breeding and technical trialing in North America, but
our landscaped grounds are postcard-worthy and beautifully
welcoming to visitors traveling the long journey to California
every spring.
Many companies don't have the benefit of having their facilities
located here, but for me, inviting industry friends and customers
to our home base is significantly meaningful. It's an opening
of our doors, an invitation to see what we do and how we care
for each other on our own turf. For Syngenta Flowers, it's not
just another trade show tent, it's like opening our home to our
guests, and to me and my team, that is important.
The days of CAST are long, starting very early and typically
ending quite late. For us working the show, it is tiring yet
invigorating, a rewarding culmination of our year's work on
display. We get to greet with hugs, see smiling faces, answer
hard questions and hone our craft as plantsmen. For me, you
can't beat the togetherness that this event brings. Many nights,
when the last customer has left our campus, the remaining
teammates gather to share positive stories, celebrate company
wins and, most importantly, applaud our other colleagues'
successes. CAST also gives us a chance to spend quality time
with our coworkers from teams we don't often see, and it is a
great time to connect.
As a 40 Under 40 alum, every year I look forward to learning
who the next batch of winners are and remember how honored
I felt to be featured with the Class of 2015. The opportunities
to meet people during GPN's
ceremony and networking
events during Cultivate
bolstered my connections
with other industry folks.
Being able to now spot
other fellow alumni
and have an instant
connection with them
is a fun way to network.
I strongly encourage other
FUFs (short for 40 Under
40; at Syngenta we speak in
acronyms) to network! For me,
and my current role at Syngenta
Flowers as customer marketing
manager, this is what drives me.
That connection to our various customers,
and the ability to network and create new
friendships is, in my opinion, much more
valuable than the plants.
14 JUNE 2022 GPNMAG.COM
http://www.GPNMAG.COM
June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2022
