Known more commonly as the "Fresh Summit" and held this year in mid-October in Houston, Texas, E.W. Brandt & Sons, Inc.^® has attended the PMA's Fresh Summit for several years. It has successfully used it as a showcase for the marketing of its soft fruit crops and apples.

This year the use of the EWB^® booth and booth space to not only feature those EWB^® products but the inclusion of the Associated International Group of Nurseries (AIGN^®) and Prevar^TM. The booth back drop represented AIGN^® while Prevar^TM was represented with a retractable banner.

As the manager of Brandt's Fruit Trees, Inc.^® and AIGN^® communication representative, it was a eye-opening experience to help man the booth at this PMA event which this year generated an attendance of over 16,000.

A major factor involved is the coming together of EWB^®, AIGN^® and Prevar^TM at a single event like this required no small amount of planning and coordination. Katie Brandt took charge in this area and deserves our gratitude for the results.

One of the many elements that proved to be a hit was the flags for each of the AIGN^® countries on the front table. As an international occasion, seeing their flag when they walked by tended to draw them in and then lead directly into a conversation.

Katie also developed special brochures for the show which matched the layered theme of the booth and provided good background information. AIGN^® was touted as "global network of nurseries that has expertise in the control and management of plant intellectual property and commercialization of new varieties."

A great tie-in was Hertha^TM which also added another level to the conversation. Its global features turned out to be a great fit for the mix apparent in the giant hall housing the show.

It seems that the AIGN^® logo brought in the growers/shippers and the Prevar^TM banner peaked the interest of the produce buyers and merchandisers. These folks where especially interested in seeing the fruit samples also associated with EWB^®.

The new apple and pear varieties that will be available through Prevar^TM in the future and healthfulness of these fresh products were certainly considered important as was the food safety/traceability features connected with the products marketed by EWB^®.

Did this new PMA approach work? Well, it may be awhile before that can be measured as it often takes time for the contracts at such shows to have an impact.

However, one very positive factor that started early on was a good indicator of how this new scheme was a welcome addition. This had to do with the way those of the booth were able to "pull" interested folks from one to the other. They may have started out seeking information from EWB^® but by the time they moved on, they also had the opportunity to chat about AIGN^®, Prevar^TM and in some cases, Hertha^TM.