Who we are and what we do

Campaign activities can vary depending on whether a country is part of a current round of EU funding. Contact the representative in your country to learn more about what’s happening near you.

In general, countries that receive EU funding host widespread, holistic marketing campaigns with a broad mix of different activities. This involves consumer and trade PR in various forms, development of POS materials, social media, events, media partnerships, and more.

In country campaigns that are funded solely by the industry, our partners are adapting and delivering media material based on content produced under the EU campaign, creating consumer press coverage in line with the national markets. For the trade, free POS materials are available to download, and our extensive, yearly updated image bank can be used for free, for example, for creating social media content and bespoke POS materials.

In order to receive EU funding, specific targets must be set, for example, the amount of coverage in media publications or the total number of people reached by our content online. Our targets are defined based on 20 years’ experience of working in partnership with a wide network of experts and specialists.

We track our results by analysing market data over time; this is a necessary requirement for EU campaign countries. We source market data from a range of reputable sources including Germany’s largest market research institute (GfK) and trade body AMI, and by commissioning Kantar consumer surveys internationally.

SfE is the marketing initiative of European poinsettia breeders Dümmen Orange, Selecta , Beekenkamp Plants and Florensis. At board level, the organisation is represented by the staff of breeder members across both management and marketing.

Project management: Green Marketing Europe, Dr. Susanne Lux

Under the company umbrella of Green Marketing Europe GmbH (GME), Dr. Susanne Lux manages the Stars for Europe campaign alongside its sister campaign Pelargonium for Europe. Previously Dr. Lux has supervised numerous projects in the area of market analysis and marketing in the green sector. To manage the projects, GME is supported by a small team of dedicated staff and freelancers.

Partner agencies: SfE partners with a wide network of talented agencies and freelancers in order to produce materials and deliver campaigns in 22 European countries . Thanks to valuable, longstanding relationships with European experts in PR, marketing and horticulture, the campaign is able to deliver the very best results to support Europe’s breeders, producers and green trade. Any new tender opportunities are published on this website.

The campaign’s core funding is provided by a breeder marketing fee that is calculated according to the number of cuttings sold by breeding companies participating in the initiative.

Since 2011, SfE has been receiving additional financial support from the EU, enabling the campaign to grow significantly. When an EU campaign runs in certain countries, funding for those countries is split: 80% by EU, 20% by green sector.

EU-funded countries host large-scale, holistic marketing campaigns comprising a wide mix of boosted measures from PR to media cooperation, events, POS support and more. EU funds also enable SfE to produce central materials such as photography, videos and texts which can be used in all countries – including those who are not part of the EU programme. This allows the remaining industry funds to focus entirely on delivering campaign materials via partner agencies in other countries.

The EU has a promotion policy to help agricultural producers sell their EU products in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, at the same time as delivering jobs and growth at home. EU-funded promotion campaigns are designed to open up new market opportunities for EU farmers and the wider industry, as well as helping them build their existing business.

To support the ornamental plant sector, SfE has successfully applied for EU co-financing since 2011 . Not only is the EU application process extremely complex, but coordinating and actioning EU-supported activities also requires specialist knowledge and training. SfE is pleased to have secured this support and plans to continue fulfilling its campaign goals to benefit Europe’s wider horticulture sector and supply chain.

The country budgets are decided by SfE’s steering board of breeding companies. Non-EU funded budgets are decided annually, whereas EU programmes last for three years. If personnel working for breeders or producers can see an opportunity for increased budget in a certain country, this can be put forward to the board for discussion. Countries with EU funding see significantly higher budgets.

SfE conducts extensive market research to gather vital information about the poinsettia trade. We continuously assess market trends through close partnerships with industry experts in various European countries, and we conduct consumer surveys to gain insights into perspectives on the poinsettia and consumer buying trends for flowers and plants. All campaign content and strategies are based closely on this valuable knowledge and research – from target audiences to key messages, storylines to visuals and more.

Whilst SfE’s budgets have been significantly increased thanks to EU funding, they are still far from the level of famous global brands, so the campaign must be clever and creative with its marketing. Thus, strategic media partnerships are based on many factors. SfE works with highly skilled experts and specialists in each country. Their knowledge combined with SfE’s experience allows the campaign to target and achieve press coverage and collaborations with Europe’s top media including many outlets that could be viewed as ‘out of reach’ for SfE’s budgets.

There is a large appetite for printed POS materials in Germany and Poland in particular, so these countries are the biggest target markets for POS promotional activity. Thousands of items are distributed to retailers in Germany and Poland each year. In other countries, materials are available to download online for free, and SfE sees hundreds of downloads per year.

In most cases the answer is yes: if you are a journalist, grower, retailer, or working in the poinsettia trade, SfE resources are here to support you. You can find all materials available in our trade area, where you can also read the Terms & Conditions for usage of SfE photos.

On our website you can B2C press releases, a photo library and a consumer-facing blog featuring poinsettia care tips and design ideas. On social media, SfE runs an internationally facing Instagram and Pinterest feed, and multiple Facebook pages in various languages.

Subscribe to SfE’s trade newsletter to receive international updates on campaign activities and results during and following the poinsettia season.