Join us at Christmas Open House this weekend!
Hello, again!
In the past, Johnson's has been honored as having one of the most recognizable music jingles in the area. The Johnson’s Garden Center jingle has certainly been a big part of our branding for years, even decades. I honestly don't recall when we first started using it, probably sometime in the early 90’s. There are several versions of it, from short 15 second cuts to full 60’s, some with vocals and others without. 'Donuts' have vocals at the start and end of the jingle with ad copy in the center. One of my favorite versions of the original jingle is the 'mullet'. You know, all business up front - ad copy - and party in the back - just music!
My favorite though, is the Christmas jingle. We've got a Christmas message and jingle bells incorporated into the track. Listen here.
This all got me started recently looking at some of our print ads of years past. My Dad, Harold, always liked the marketing aspect of our operation. He was on the KAKE-TV noon news years ago, like Jeremy and I are today.
A family friend and artist, Sherry Briggstock, developed a character of Dad that we used in our print ads. The character was drawn regularly. Sometimes he was planting a lawn, showing a dried flower arrangement, announcing a sale or wrapping a Christmas package. People got to know Harold through the drawings in the ads. We always did a big splash in the newspaper for our promotions throughout the year. Our Christmas Open House ad for the kickoff of the Christmas season comes to mind. We typically would run a large ⅓ page newspaper ad for the early November event. Here's an example from our archives:
Well, some things stay the same, and others change. We still use our music jingle from years ago - it’s timeless; I think you’ll agree. While we don't use newsprint, or Harold in the ads, we still host our Christmas Open House in early November. Starting tomorrow, our Christmas Open House runs through Sunday, November 12th. Everything Christmas is 20% off all weekend long. It's a great time to prepare for the holidays, whether you're a pro decorator, hosting this year or just looking for some holiday inspiration. I hope that you will stop by both locations; the staff has done an amazing job again transforming the Garden Centers into winter wonderlands, just as they have for over 50 years.
Your friend in the garden,
Marty Johnson
Owner - Johnson's Garden Center
