Marketing snapshot - Hortlink 2017, edition 1

This Hort Innovation Turf Fund marketing snapshot has been taken from Hort Innovation’s Hortlink 2017, edition 1.

The social media strategy employed in the turf marketing program remains strong, with the Lawnspiration consumer Facebook page (www.facebook.com/lawnspiration) continuing to grow and engage the public. Currently more than 37,700 people have liked the page and interact with its posts, with content posted three times weekly. There is also a regular influx of questions about lawn care and where to by turf being asked and answered through the page, as well as other positive turf-related posts generated by page followers.

• Video content to educate and inspire. A series of ‘how-to’ videos were produced to feed into the industry’s social media activity, and were well received. The targeted videos were designed to talk to lawn lovers of all different levels and are available for viewing here.

• Establishing Turf Australia as the go-to for all things turf. Social media activity is supported by the consumer content available on the Turf Australia website. To ensure a coordinated and consistent approach to answering consumers’ and lawn lovers’ turf questions, social media continues to point people to the website as the authoritative voice of the industry.

• Backyard cricket marketing activity. As reported in the last edition of Hortlink, in October a backyard cricket competition was launched on social media, working with turf advocate and cricket curating legend Les Burdett. The competition was designed to reinforce the natural, social and environmental benefits of turf around the home, and incorporated the aspect of fun and maintaining pride in your lawn. The competition ran over summer, with over 121,000 people reached. Entrants had to post pictures of their backyard cricket pitches, with five winners picked by Les and given family passes to a KFC Big Bash cricket game in their capital city.

The media and public relations component of the turf campaign has seen an autumn seasonal release being distributed to media, while a Galaxy poll is underway to provide insight into Australia’s shrinking backyards. The findings will be used to drive media coverage, inform social media content, and provide growers with information on the state of Australian yards. The results will help develop the next iteration of the industry’s strategic marketing plan, which is currently in the planning stages.