The "Popcorn" Garden and How It Changed My Approach to Marketing

My very dear friend of three decades is award-winning landscape design specialist Justin Bartels , owner of Bartels Landscape Design in Lewes, DE. I've always been in awe of his talents and before I became interested in landscape gardening, what he did was an unknowable magic. Now that I've gained some experience in his craft, there is still magic, but I also see genius and strategic acumen as well.

Visiting his home and its extensive gardens is like stepping into a transcendent wonderland of sights and scents—and was years in the making.

Beyond the beauty, a key feature of Justin's handiwork is that no matter when I see it, something is always in bloom—it evolves and morphs in a continuous cycle of new flowers, from spring to fall. As we talked on the subject and I learned more about his creation, I understood that this was his plan all along. And I made it my goal for my own garden.

I'm not sure how he would feel about the term, but I like to call the result of this practice a "popcorn garden"—one that is continuously in action during the growing months. I'm proud to say I have my own popcorn garden, albeit on a much smaller scale.

From what I've gathered, a popcorn garden is designed with a few key principles in mind:

? Selecting plants with different bloom times, so there’s always something fresh and vibrant throughout the year

? Layering plants for visual interest and contrast in height, color, and texture

? Incorporating a variety of shapes like bushes, trees, ground cover, as well as climbers to make the most of a space

Some of the key benefits of a popcorn garden are:

? Aesthetic appeal: the blooms create a stunning display that will draw sustained attention and admiration, making your home or business stand out from the crowd.

? Increased biodiversity: by growing a variety of plants, you're supporting local pollinators and aiding in the preservation of our natural environment.

? Low-maintenance gardening: because of the diverse selection of plants, you don't have to worry about replanting or deadheading as often.

Now that I'm experimenting with this technique myself, I’ve (naturally) begun to draw further parallels between it and the world of marketing.

Long-term, "evergreen," or "always on" campaigns are a common marketing strategy that aims to build long-term relationships with customers by creating content that keeps the campaign relevant over time. Like a popcorn garden, "popcorn" marketing requires planning and foresight—and mixing up and diversifying the content components for maximum engagement.

Here are a few components to consider when designing a "popcorn" marketing campaign:

? Create high-quality, timeless content that speaks to the target audience

? Strategically leverage multiple channels such as email, social media, and digital display

? Refresh content on regular intervals to keep it relevant and interesting

? Analyze performance regularly to optimize the campaign

The key benefit, of course, is an audience that is consistently engaged which results in a positive effect on brand equity, return on investment, and revenue. And with the proper planning, all of your content can be developed at once and placed in a library for later deployment, which means less content maintenance as the campaign is in flight.

Just as a garden that blooms all at once is lovely just for a time, a marketing campaign that drops all of its messaging at once will lose its appeal after a fashion. Popcorn gardens are about creating long-lasting visual appeal for outdoor spaces, while popcorn marketing campaigns focus on engaging customers through fresh content. Both have their unique challenges and can take years to cultivate, but the payoff is certainly worth it.

For example, last year, I ran a regional brand equity campaign for Kaiser Permanente's Mid-Atlantic region. We saw great results early on as we organically released new content themes into the marketplace. June of 2022 was our high-water mark in terms of affinity for the brand and willingness to consider KP for health care coverage. As the campaign progressed, we saw those numbers soften so that by the time the campaign wound down in August, the numbers had declined considerably.

See the table below:

I huddled with my internal market research consultant Jason Smith , and we determined that a likely cause of the decline was that we didn't introduce new content themes from May 2022 for the remainder of the campaign. He advised that we release a new theme at least every 60 days to maintain high engagement. I have taken that to heart and it has become my guiding principle when managing and planning a long-term campaign.

For this year, the regional campaign will have evergreen core content that will run the entire length of the flight, with supporting topics that will cycle in and out monthly. The hope here is that engagement will ramp up and stay elevated as a result.

I'm consistently amazed at how beneficial gardening has been for my mental well-being and that it's given me a fresh perspective on marketing. Thanks to Justin and his expertise, I've learned that landscape gardening is the ultimate strategic planning exercise, and have applied these concepts to my approach to my craft.

While these are different crafts, there are striking commonalities:

• Both require planning, foresight, commitment—and a strategic vision. They will narrow your choices and ensure that each tactical decision ladders up to an overall goal.
• Both aim for long-lasting results—one must be comfortable that your ultimate result may not be immediately visible and may well be years away.
• Both require mixing up and diversifying the content components—variety is key to maintaining the viewer's interest.

If you're planning a long-term campaign, consider creating content themes or topics that you can introduce as the campaign progresses—it could be a great way to keep your audiences engaged and coming back to hear more of your brand's story, just like I keep coming back and checking what's in bloom in Justin's garden.

For more similarities I've found between gardening and marketing, check out this article .

Happy gardening! And happy marketing! Would love to hear your thoughts below.