Marketing snapshot - Hortlink 2017, edition 3

This Hort Innovation Turf Fund marketing snapshot has been taken from Hort Innovation’s Hortlink 2017, edition 3.

Hort Innovation invests the turf marketing levy into a range of activities to drive awareness and use of Australian turf, under the Hort Innovation Turf Fund.

The industry’s traditional public relations and social media program – the ‘Lawnspiration’ activity – has been running for the last three years and recently concluded, with some impressive results.

In the last 12 months, turf has featured 213 times in the mainstream media, with an estimated reach of 9.4 million people.

On social media, the Lawnspiration Facebook community grew from just over 22,000 people to more than 42,000 fans, with over 6.5 million people seeing content focussed on the positive benefits of turf and how to care for it.

As reported in the last edition of Hortlink, Galaxy research commissioned with turf levy funds was able to quantify the social importance of turf to Australians – with the majority of Aussies saying they want a grassed backyard for their family. A number of infographics about the results were sent to media outlets as essentially a pictorial press release, to generate a newsworthy conversation, leading to press articles.

A new three-year marketing strategy is under development. At the time of writing it was set to be workshopped with the turf SIAP in late September, for implementation before the end of 2017.