Ever wonder if marketing works? Go look out your window.
If the ground sports grass, you’ve got your answer. Even with growing interest in movements to shrink the lawn, participate in No-Mow May and leave the leaves, the pressure to maintain “the perfect lawn” can feel surprisingly palpable to those who wish to deviate from that norm. And that’s no accident.
Read on to learn why—and discover how brands that value environmental healing can repurpose this playbook to get their message heard.
Reimagining More than Just Lawns
I recently took a seat in a chilly conference room to hear what some scientists had to say about supporting pollinators through unconventional lawn management practices.
They were preaching to the choir. Virtually everyone in attendance recognized the harm inflicted on our ecosystem in the name of a manicured lawn. We came to reverse the damage, at least within our own backyards. (If you’re new to this saga, the National Wildlife Federation’s story, Why We Have Lawns, is a great place to start.)
Now, plenty of public and private landscapes have a functional and aesthetic need for a turf area, and I’m not here to fault them for it. I repeat: it is O.K. to have a lawn in your life.
But, at long last, a growing number of Americans are beginning to question the long-accepted ideal of “the perfect lawn,” and whether it really deserves 40 million acres of our homeland in the midst of a pollinator crisis.
Back in the brightly lit lecture hall, an entomologist discussed locally prevalent pollinators and the plants that sustain them (spoiler alert, not St. Augustine). Next up, a plant scientist shared his progress breeding a flowering alternative to grass using the native forb Claytonia virginica.
Then came the rock star: Mississippi’s best-known name in horticulture— the unfailingly zany author, speaker, and radio personality Felder Rushing.
As Rushing spoke, the slide that grabbed me most didn’t show a bee, a moth, or a plant. It showed a book—one I had read, and remembered quite well, called Lawn, A History of an American Obsession by Virginia Scott Jenkins.
In the minute or so that followed, Rushing recapped its salient theme: The role marketing played in normalizing lawn practices that harm the environment. Then, he moved on. But my mind didn’t.
Discovering the Power of Un-Doing
Although the message of Jenkins’ book wasn’t new to me, it landed in a new way. I just so happened that days before, I had taken a nature walk in which Tammy Greer, director of Native American Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi, shared traditional stories and wisdom about native plants.
One such story began with a description of her daughter performing a traditional dance: She twirls and twirls. As she spins, her garment continually wraps around her. To keep from getting tangled, she counts every twirl. She must spin exactly the same number of times in the opposite direction in order to become safely untangled.
With this picture in our minds, Tammy said,
“Sometimes, we must remember to practice the un-doing as well as the doing.”
As I sat in the lecture about lawns, reflecting on the role my industry played in normalizing them, Tammy’s words about the practice of un-doing came back to me.
Clearly, the idea of “the perfect lawn” spread far and wide, but not without the help of clever marketers (and copywriters, and designers). Which tells us two things:
One, marketing works.
Two? If marketing got us into this mess, it can help get us out.
Already, and in large part thanks to the research of Dr. Doug Tallamy and the Homegrown National Park Movement, we are beginning to see a grassroots effort of un-doing, though we have miles to go.
Is your business or mission part of this un-doing? Are you an ecological gardener designing landscapes that benefit wildlife? Maybe you’re a landscape architect who helps your clients design with nature. Do you run a botanical garden that educates the community about the value of its native ecosystems? Do you manufacture safe, organic gardening products? Then your message is too important to be shooting from the hip.
Developing a marketing strategy and/or a strategic communications plan can make a difference in your work.
Why? First, these tools will help you clarify your goals for growth and reach them more efficiently. Second, going through this process will help you intelligently target your audience, craft the right story just for them, and make the most of the precious time and effort you invest in spreading the word.
If the thought of developing and implementing an intentional marketing strategy and communications plan feels overwhelming, or simply floods your mind with questions, let’s talk.
Before I directed a public garden, I worked as a creative director, copywriter, and content writer for a full-service ad firm. I’ve seen firsthand the way national brands approach their marketing strategies. When every word, image, and video clip on a website, social post, or interpretive exhibit supports your overall strategic communications plan, each effort you make becomes exponentially more effective.
One of the reasons I started The Communications Naturalist was to bring that same level of intentional thinking to the very brands that are doing some of the most important work of our time—connecting people to nature.
And while it’s true that we live in a pay-to-play world, strategy can happen at any budget.
The point is, great marketing is not just for huge corporations. But when only huge corporations take advantage of this tool, don’t be surprised if your brand, or even your entire field, gets drowned out.
One thing’s for sure. In an era when time is of the essence, brands seeking to change minds and behaviors can’t afford to let their message go unheard.