the challenge

Too Many Crops, Too Many Messages

Across Turf, Landscape, Ornamental, and Ag, SePRO faced a common problem: how do you keep attention all year long without drowning your audience in noise? Each segment had its own needs, seasonal rhythms, and product highlights.

The goal? Create monthly print campaigns that hit hard, look good, and actually get remembered. With print media often feeling outdated or ignored, SePRO needed a strategy that made physical ads not just relevant, but anticipated.

But that came with obstacles:

• How do we drive ROI from traditional media in digital-first industries?
• How do we support different product lines without splintering the message?

the approach

Results You Can See

Our campaign centered on one clear focus: each ad highlighted 2–4 tangible results customers could achieve with our products, tailored specifically to the needs of each market segment. This approach put real-world benefits front and center, making the value easy to understand and act on.

To extend the reach beyond print, every ad included QR codes driving traffic to our website, seamlessly connecting readers to deeper product information and resources. This was paired with a targeted digital campaign on the publication’s website, reinforcing key messages and increasing engagement.

We also leveraged a free educational poster that positioned SePRO as a thought leader in the industry, emphasizing our science-driven approach and commitment to helping customers succeed with evidence-based guidance. This multi-channel strategy ensured consistent messaging across print and digital, focused on outcomes customers care about and supported by trusted expertise.

results

A Year in Print, And People Noticed

The campaign delivered. Not in theory. On paper. Literally.

“I don’t have the exact engagement numbers, but I can tell you this, I’ve had more and more customers mention our ads lately. That’s never really happened before. The increase in ads is definitely getting noticed.”

— Technical Specialist, SePRO

Fortunately I have the numbers. We increased both the cadence and consistency of our print presence, showing up more often, in more publications, and across all key business units: Turf, Landscape, Ornamental, and Ag. For the first time, we sustained a monthly presence with multiple print ads, creating rhythm, familiarity, and brand recognition. We were averaging around 5 major ads compared to 1 in previous years.

To further amplify that momentum, we strategically paired our print efforts with targeted digital campaigns, focusing spend around key buying windows and industry moments. These digital placements delivered:

• 20,000+ impressions across banner ads, email campaigns, and sponsored content, more than doubling our previous impression metic averages.
• A significant increase in web traffic to program pages and product resources
• Strong synergy with print, helping reinforce key messages across channels

Beyond visibility, we used the campaign to position SePRO as a trusted resource and thought leader. We created informational guide posters that aligned with campaign messaging, helping customers make more informed decisions while offering value beyond the sale. These were offered as a free resource, and to date:

• Over 2,500 posters have been sent to professionals across the industry
• Each request included an opt-in for future marketing, helping build a strong, qualified audience for ongoing outreach

The impact of the full campaign strategy:

• A 29% increase in ad recall, showing our unified visual system and focused messaging made a lasting impression
• A 12% increase in action taken, whether that meant visiting the website, referencing a product, or reaching out to a sales rep

From feedback surveys and sales conversations, a few key themes emerged:

• Customers appreciated the clarity and brevity of the ads.
• Several noted it reminded them of other options, a positive sign that our brand is competing in top-of-mind spaces.
• A few requested more product-specific info like quantitive data, label visuals, or comparison data to better inform purchase decisions.
• Others mentioned the ads prompted them to look into products they hadn’t considered before.

takeaways

Print isn’t Dead, But It Has to Earn it’s Place

• Print can still lead: When executed with discipline and clarity, print advertising can outperform digital noise, especially in industries where trust and presence matter.
• One campaign, many lessons: The 12-month cadence gave us more feedback, more room to evolve, and more ways to prove what worked.
• Focus on lifestyle vs product. We tested removing product images to focus on benefit-driven messaging (ease of use, trust, simplicity) rather than specs; while most feedback was positive, a few customers noted missing product details like labels and active ingredient percentages and requested side-by-side test results, this sparked an important conversation about balancing storytelling with specificity, helping guide future campaign decisions.

For many, print remains a trusted, tangible source of information, especially among longer-tenured professionals, a majority of our customer base.

At the same time, younger audiences are increasingly expressing a desire for less screen time. By expanding our print reach, we’re engaging these audiences where they want to be reached, offering knowledge and resources in formats they value. This dual approach ensures SePRO connects with the full spectrum of its market, balancing tradition with evolving market trends.

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