Greener Spaces Better Places rebrands to target consumers
By Gabrielle Stannus
1. The new look Greener Spaces Better Places logo
(Image: Hort Innovation)
Hort Innovation is relaunching the Greener Spaces Better Places brand on 24 September in what it says is a bid to bring consumers into the fold under one, united master brand. The rebranding of this program comes on the back of levy-funded research into consumer usage and attitudes conducted earlier this year to improve knowledge and effectiveness of future marketing activities to help grow the nursery industry.
Through the Nursery Fund - Consumer usage and attitudes research project (NY20002), research agency The Navigators conducted an online survey of Australian residents (n=1,651) aged over 18 years and representative of the Australian adult population between 23 February and 11 March 20211. Survey respondents were asked a series of questions about their attitudes and behaviours regarding purchasing plants for indoor environments and outdoor areas of their homes. They were also asked a series of questions to understand their experience and perceptions of plants and gardening, their current ownership and role in buying, planting and maintaining plants in their home and questions about their attitudes toward plants and gardening.
A total of eight consumer segments were identified through this research, from which the following six groups offer opportunities for industry growth according to the researchers: Enthusiasts, Garden Proud, Early Bloomers, Small Space Curators, Dabblers and the Plant Curious. The research suggests that the best prospects for incremental growth are Early Bloomers and Small Space Curators. They say that the size of these two segments means that even a small increase in purchase frequency, (i.e., one additional plant purchased per year) among members of these two segments could meet the industry's short-term growth ambition.
In particular, the Early Bloomer segment represents a unique opportunity for the nursery industry. This segment forms 8 per cent of the market, with an estimated $205 million retail value. Early Bloomers are moderate to high purchasers of both indoor and outdoor plants who are actively building their knowledge and confidence in the category and have a passion for do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. Although a smaller segment in terms of quantity of people, they are however more valuable in terms of frequency of purchase, annual volume and annual value of plants purchased. This segment offers the advantage of stretching their purchasing power across both indoor, outdoor potted plants and plants for the ground. In contrast, Small Space Curators concentrate their spend on predominantly on potted plants. This group form 16 per cent of the market (estimated $261 million retail value) and are comprised of people living in apartments and medium density dwellings who are interested in indoor plants and outdoor potted plants for balconies and courtyards to improve the decor and look of their home.
Importantly, Greener Spaces Better Places’ rebranding and resultant focus on consumers will hopefully increase plant sales for retailers. Hort Innovation are initiating the first phase of a new marketing campaign through which they hope to target these consumer segments to increase plant sales and greening on private land. It is conducting a soft launch of the Greener Spaces Better Places rebranding this week, with a new look logo to be published on its website and Instagram. Plans are afoot to conduct a bigger launch next February, after the development of brand guidelines and appointment of a program ambassador to help drive publicity. Another marketing initiative being planned is the placement of billboards in central locations across five states to drive consumers to their local nurseries. In a first in this space, the program has a $100,000 budget dedicated to its media campaign. The greenlife industry potentially has an opportunity to influence the development of these marketing initiatives to ensure that the needs of retailers across the market are represented in this campaign.
What does this mean for Plant Life Balance?
The Plant Life Balance brand has been supported by Nursery Levy funding over the last four years alongside Greener Spaces Better Places. Plant Life Balance was created by the nursery and garden industry to bring a new audience into retail nurseries, to help increase their confidence with greening small spaces and to educate individuals on the health and well-being benefits of plants. Greenlife Industry Australia (GIA) own the intellectual property to the Plant Life Balance program and will continue to investigate opportunities to use this world-leading, award-winning program to engage consumers and drive greenlife sales.
Further reading
Hort Innovation (2021), Consumer Usage & Attitude Research: Segment Summaries
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