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The Green Scene

Scott Cohen has gained national acclaim, thanks to HGTV

By Heather Gooch

Eight years ago, The Green Scene president Scott Cohen was approached to participate in Landscaper's Challenge, a Home and Garden Television (HGTV) series where three landscaping companies present their ideas to a home-owning couple, who weigh their options and go with one of the three designs. Cohen, who is a general and pool contractor as well as a landscape contractor and designer, found the experience was a great one. It didn't hurt that the homeowners chose his design.

Cohen's natural presence on camera didn't go unnoticed. He was soon chosen to work on a variety of other HGTV programs, including Designing For The Sexes.

“That one was a lot of fun, because it was a familiar issue - as a designer, you're often put in the position as a sort of marriage counselor”, he says. Ground Rules, an HGTV series where two neighbors compete to have the better yard on a limited budget, also featured Cohen and his crew.

Most recently, The Green Scene has been involved in Get Out, Way Out!, which follows projects from conception to completion.

HGTV featured The Green Scene in two specials: Big Splash, which counted down the "Top 10 Swimming Pools", featuring three Green Scene projects , while Sizzling Outdoor Kitchens placed Cohen as one of the top 4 outdoor kitchen designers in the country.

Every time HGTV airs a program highlighting his company, Cohen notes, Web traffic, phone calls and Emails soon follow. “We might get 80 to 150 emails immediately after a show airs,” he estimates.

Drawings for sale

To tap into that national audience, Cohen created a separate company, Intellectual Property Sales. Its centerpiece is Fetch-A-Sketch.com: For a $10 fee, visitors can download a rendering of a The Green Scene design that they saw on a HGTV program — or any one of the dozens of other designs on the site.

Likewise, designers with sketches lying around can upload their works to Fetch-A-Sketch.com, and when someone downloads a file, they get half of the fee.

“We’ve found that waterfalls and outdoor kitchens have been among the most popular downloads,” Cohen says.

Cohen also uses Web technology to consult nationally. Clients send their yard’s existing layout and photos. He discusses ideas with them on the phone as they watch their computer screen.

Marketing Mania

Cohen notes that every moment on camera is a fantastic marketing tool, both for him and for the green industry.

If a landscaping professional is interested in pursuing an on-air opportunity, he needs to look no further than HGTV.com. “Just go to the Web site and email the show,” Cohen says. “They’re often looking for new talent.”

But even for the camera-shy, he stresses the importance of branding.

“You have to have a marketing program in place, even when you’re busy and you don’t think you need it,” he says. “Because eventually, you’ll slow down and that’s when it might be too late.”

“We’ve been busy year-round because our name is out there.” LM