Scotts LawnService Direct Mail Campaign Wins Marketing Award

BALTIMORE, Md. – Marketing firm Vertis today announced the success of its direct marketing campaign for Scotts LawnService, Marysville, Ohio. Vertis’ direct marketing campaign management contributed to Scotts LawnService being recognized with a Gold Echo in the Consumer Category at the Direct Marketing Association’s 2004 International ECHO Awards.

“Our Integrated Data Solutions group developed a predictive model by enhancing existing consumer data and using customer segmentation to refine and precisely target Scotts’ most likely prospects,” said Art Hall, senior director, Integrated Data Solutions for Vertis, Baltimore, Md.. “The data analysis allowed us to generate a more targeted direct mail piece that increased consumer response by targeting consumers with a higher propensity to purchase a lawn care service.

As a means of comparison, Scotts’ previous direct marketing vendor was also included in the spring 2003 campaign process via head-to-head testing against Vertis in 13 of the Scotts’ markets. The challenge was designed to give each vendor equal access to similar prospects and equal opportunity to lift response rates by building an improved model.  Target markets were split evenly with Vertis and the incumbent vendor each providing approximately 1.6 million records across 13 markets where Scotts LawnService was currently operating. 

After developing a detailed analysis of Scotts’ customer demographic, the Vertis team was able to identify prospective customers most likely to respond to Scotts LawnService offers. The research found that the ideal Scotts customers were busy parents with busy families, individuals who prefer other leisure activities than lawn care on the weekends, and those who generally strive for a lush, green lawn they can be proud of. This test “snapshot” became the basis for Vertis’ test mailing.

At the conclusion of the direct mail challenge, the Vertis model resulted in a higher response rate across all 13 markets. In aggregate, across all markets, Vertis had produced a 15-percent higher response rate than the incumbent vendor .84-percent response vs. .73-percent response. In recognition of their success, Scotts’ hired Vertis for the company’s 2003 fall marketing campaign and has continued as a direct mail provider ever since. 

“Vertis’ campaign allowed us to overcome the challenge of adding new market segments and growing in existing markets,” said Dan Adams, marketing manager for Scotts LawnService. “Their direct marketing program allowed us to target our best prospects and develop a communication piece that consumers were most likely to take notice of, resulting in increased consumer response across all market segments.”