2007 Releases

Press Release – For Immediate Release

Media Contacts:
Eberly Public Relations, 404-574-2900
Leslie Kirk, lesliekirk@eberlypr.com or Don Eberly, doneberly@eberlypr.com

STEPABLES® Receives GPN Creative Marketing Award and Looks to Expand

Under a Foot Plant Company, in par with its STEPABLES® brand, wins Greenhouse Product News’ (GPN) 2007 Creative Marketing Award and simultaneously seeks new growers to augment product distribution.

SALEM, Ore. – Aug. 20, 2007 – Under a Foot Plant Company, in conjunction with its national brand of creeping perennials, STEPABLES®, has been awarded the 2007 GPN/ John Henry Co. Creative Marketing Award for its innovative marketing strategies that have universally impacted the industry. On the heels of its award, STEPABLES® announced today that it is seeking new growers from coast to coast to become part of the award-winning consortium.

The GPN award recognized STEPABLES® for the company’s creative approach to branding creeping perennial plants with the tagline, “Good for the Sole” along with its strategic marketing, colorful collateral, and public / media relations programs that have collectively changed the way consumers view creeping perennials as true alternatives to lawn and landscape problems. By actively promoting and publicizing STEPABLES® plants through these means, the company has branded itself in a distinctive way.

“My focus has not been to introduce brand new plants,” said Fran Hopkins, founder and president. “Rather, I have simply put creeping perennials into a category where people can completely understand these amazing creepers and use them for more than just ornamental purposes.”

Hopkins’ brand was also recognized for helping consumers be successful with plants by providing the most pertinent plant and care information in the simplest way possible through her point of purchase materials and tags. By labeling each plant with a foot-traffic tolerance indicator and providing a plant spacing calculator and topsoil calculator on her Web site (www.stepables.com), she hopes to keep consumers returning to the independent garden centers carrying the plants.

STEPABLES® plant varieties are available in most parts of the United States and in Ontario. Canada, but Hopkins is now accepting applications and inquiries from growers in all parts of the continental United States with the goal of expanding the brand’s reach. With the inclusion of additional growers during late 2007 and throughout 2008, the STEPABLES® brand is slated to serve as one of the most comprehensive plant sources in North America.

Professional growers interested in joining the STEPABLES® consortium should contact Hopkins at 503-581-8915 during an “open call” period through the end of the year

More information on the STEPABLES® brand can be seen online at www.stepables.com, and a feature article about STEPABLES®‘ GPN Creative Marketing Award can be found in the June 2007 issue of Greenhouse Product News (GPN).

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Notes to Reporters / Editors:

• Please see the accompanying image that is publishable with the news contained in this release.

• Additional information, interviews, and supplemental high-resolution / Associated Press-ready images may be obtained by directly contacting Eberly Public Relations.

• If possible, please feel free to notify regarding the publication of this or any STEPABLES® information by calling or emailing the media contact(s) listed at the top of this release.

Thank you.