 | | | | | Paul James | | |  HGTV's star Paul James of "Gardening By The Yard" is really "spreading" his talents around as the new spokesperson for Pennington Seed. Paul just completed a new television campaign for Pennington products. Two different creative approaches were used. The first pushes Plantation, Pennington's number #1 rated tall fescue. The second features the science and philosophy behind Penkoted® seed. Both concepts rated extremely high in focus group testing. Spots began airing this fall on HGTV and will expand to other networks next year. Photography sessions have also just been completed that will include Paul's image in new point of purchase, outdoor and magazine creative. Materials will begin appearing next year.
The Pennington association seemed a natural for Paul James. "What made the decision to become the spokesperson for Pennington was easy for me, I have used the products for years. So it's for real." Lawn decisions are crucial for Paul. His lawn is actually the set for his "Gardening By The Yard". He just completed sowing over 600 pounds of Plantation tall fescue this fall on his backyard, which doubles as his studio. Paul is also a firm believer in Pennington Wild Bird Feed. He loves to attract songbirds as a "natural sound track" for his program. One of Paul's first responsibilities was attending the national sales meeting this summer to meet with all the Pennington sales representatives. After the meeting he said, "Pennington people are my kind of people."
"Gardening By The Yard" with Paul James is regularly the top-rated gardening program on HGTV. During the crucial spring and fall lawn seasons, the program is traditionally one of the top five among all programming on HGTV every week. Paul offers practical, "down to earth" advice that any consumer can use to create and build a more beautiful lawn.
Paul's program has aired on HGTV since the network's birth 8 years ago.The network is now in over 70 million homes nationwide. Viewership levels rival CNN, ESPN and A & E. The rapid growth of the network has been attributed to America's love affair with their home.
A recent Gallup poll about the political and economic events in September shows that Americans are going to "cocoon" in their homes even more. Instead of buying expensive new cars and luxury trips, Americans are going to increase their time with home-oriented hobbies like woodworking, crafts and gardening. Increased "escapism" television viewership with networks like HGTV is also anticipated. Therefore, HGTV's number of viewers should continue to increase dramatically. | | | | | | |
