TruGreen

Home Services
Media Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility, PESO Campaign

4,200+

Media placements

15,462%

YoY increase in media placements

520M

Impressions

Living Life Outside

During the pandemic, spending in the home care category skyrocketed as millions of Americans spent more time at home. The lawn care category in particular was thriving—and competition was growing with mom-and-pop shops, DIY brands, and digital disruptors.  

National lawn care provider TruGreen had 80% brand awareness in its service areas, yet only 30% of homeowners with a yard were using them. Even greater, door-to-door marketing—a key driver of TruGreen’s annual sales during the peak spring season—was significantly impacted due to the pandemic. The brand needed a fresh approach to increase leads and sales.  

By seeding unique stories in the media whitespace and adding a relevant earned media platform in TruGreen’s marketing mix, Red Thread PR supported a meaningful lift in sales. 

Selling the Season

To compete against the growing number of industry players, we rooted our campaign in a drive-to-TruGreen calendar, complete with four key selling season campaigns—each with relevant seasonal messaging that correlated to TruGreen’s services and an array of PR tactics to achieve scale.  

Several seasonal campaigns highlighted data from a series of original research projects, helping drive conversations around service lines while also providing useful statistics to audiences. In collaboration with OnePoll, we uncovered the truths behind how Americans care for, and use, their outdoor space, surveying 2,000 American homeowners on the importance of outdoor spaces during the pandemic. An additional survey was conducted in the fall, focused on understanding homeowners’ (lack of) knowledge on aeration and seeding and highlighting TruGreen’s expertise in this service. 

Red Thread PR also collaborated with TruGreen to tell its story with First Tee—a youth development organization introducing the game of golf and its inherent values to youth. By activating TruGreen’s First Tee story around PGA TOUR milestones, we not only leveraged the built-in audience of TOUR fans, but also highlighted its commitment to the next generation of scientific leaders.    

Driving Tru Impact

The 2021 program far exceeded anticipated goals, with notable year-over-year growth. Red Thread PR secured more than 4,200 placements in communities across the country, totaling nearly 520 million impressions—a 15,462% and 7,318% year-over-year increase respectively. TruGreen’s share of voice increased 31% year-over-year. In addition, nearly 25,000 shares associated with owned or earned TruGreen content were published across social channels.