Landscape and Irrigation is read by decision makers throughout the landscape and irrigation markets — including contractors, landscape architects, professional grounds managers, and irrigation and water mgmt companies and reaches the entire spetrum.
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IRRIGATION AND WATER MANAGEMENT ated an activity kit for kids with fun water facts, coloring pages, a word search and other activities. The free kit was sent to more than 200 summer camps nationwide. HUNTER INDUSTRIES, INC. To promote Smart Irrigation Month, Hunter Industries, Inc., San Marcos, Calif., introduced the unique and engaging "Be a Hero" campaign. The campaign transformed Hunter's top water-saving products into cartoon-style superheroes to illustrate their powers for good. Hunter used social media, print materials, email blasts and web advertising to promote their Smart Irrigation Month mes- sage to a widespread audience. "Hunter caters to irrigation professionals. Therefore, it is criti- cal that we educate our audience about the appropriate water- efficient methods best used in the field," said Troy Leezy, marketing manager at Hunter. "Smart Irrigation Month is the prime time to communicate with our customers about best practices to guaran- tee efficient results." For the campaign, Hunter introduced the hero of smart irri- gation: the professional contractor. In order for the contractor to truly become a hero to his clients, he needed to use various water- saving tools. To illustrate which tools were the most water-efficient, Hunter created a video titled "Be A Hero. Save Water. Save the Day." In the video, the contractor encountered six common water- wasting situations. The heroic contractor battled these water- wasting foes by using Hunter products to save water. Viewers could quickly learn how to combat excess water use by properly installing water-efficient products. "Our campaign reached global audiences through various out- lets. To get numerous participants involved we distributed print materials to our distributors and internal staff, created web mes- saging for publishing agencies, posted weekly updates to our social media sites, sent e-blasts to all our contacts, and used the Hunter home page to attract people to campaign-specific web pages," said Leezy. Contractors were also encouraged to enter Hunter's contest by submitting a past or planned water-saving project and photo. Two grand prize winners were selected from entries for commercial and residential projects. The winners received credits to be redeemed at any Hunter distributor for water-efficient products to use in a future project. Hunter also created a contest for distributors to get branches in- volved in promoting the Smart Irrigation Month initiative. When participants entered the online contest they were asked to select their preferred distributor branch. The branch with the most votes won a branch upgrade package. This contest encouraged distribu- tors to talk with their customers about water conservation. IRRIGATION-MART The Smart Irrigation Month promotional campaign from Ir- rigation-Mart, Inc., Ruston, La., focused on social media and print, radio, and web advertising. Irrigation-Mart used IA re- sources to develop custom irrigation tips and tricks for daily posts on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. "Smart Irrigation Month is important to Irrigation-Mart because water is our most precious resource and is carelessly wasted on a daily basis," said Irrigation-Mart Advertising and Marketing Manager Danielle Gray. "Irrigation-Mart feels that it is important to bring awareness to our contractors/customers so they start irrigating smartly to save water and money." The company engaged local media outlets by using IA tem- plates for press releases and public service announcements. Irrigation-Mart sent a public service announcement about the initiative to several local radio stations; the announcement was played on several stations throughout Northeast Louisiana for the entire month of July. The initiative was also covered in the Ruston Daily Leader, a local newspaper. The sales team created a Smart Irrigation Month Savings campaign that was promoted in stores, on their website, and on all social media channels. The campaign offered deep discounts on smart irrigation items, such as controllers and weather sta- tions. Getting involved can be as simple as adding the Smart Ir- rigation Month logo to your website, ads and newsletters, or highlighting water-saving products during the month of July. Or make it a year-round celebration to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to efficient watering practices. Either way, your involvement can help to build and retain a loyal customer base and to position your company as a leader in smart water stew- ardship. Visit www.smartirrigationmonth.org to take advantage of lo- gos, press release templates, smart irrigation tips, sample proc- lamations, public service announcements and more. Article provided by the Irrigation Association. www.landscapeirrigation.com Smart Irrigation Special Edition 7 LI