Relating to the Lawn Waterers of LNK
First things first: Who is watering lawns in Lincoln? We set out to reach Lincoln homeowners, renters and business owners with lawns to care for — with a targeted nod at anyone overusing water outdoors. The truth is, peer pressure is real — and it doesn’t end in adulthood. When we set out to build this campaign, we knew we were speaking to a diverse audience with one thing in common: They all feel obligated to maintain a certain level of curb appeal or keep up with other lawns in the neighborhood. Furthermore, our research revealed that many American lawn waterers overestimate the amount of water actually needed to keep grass healthy. Instead of shaming residents for overusing the city’s treated water supply, our campaign aimed to help Lincolnites take ownership and pride in their lawns — without wasting their time or the community’s resources.
Connecting Through Influencer-Style Videos
To get lawn waterers of LNK to do their part in protecting the community’s local water supply, we knew we needed to replace the peer pressure to have a lush, green lawn with education and tips about efficient lawn care practices our audience could still take pride in.
There’s more to healthy lawns than green grass.
We empowered our audience to take better care of their lawns — and in the process, use less water and smarter maintenance techniques — through a series of three selfie-style videos starring longtime Lincoln influencers such as former radio host Lauren Durban.
In her video, “Wise Weekly Watering,” Durban communicated the city’s proposed watering schedule based on odd and even addresses — with a suggested lawn maintenance moratorium every Monday.
In the second spot, “Moisture for Your Money,” Lauren’s husband Paul Durban demonstrated lawn care practices to help Lincoln residents achieve healthy, well-manicured grass even with minimal water use.
Finally, Video 3 focused on weather-wise watering practices — taking aim at the irresponsible practice of setting automatic sprinklers.
“Watering on timers,” warned Lincoln actor Braxton Carr, “is like refilling a water glass…that’s already full.”
Just 15 seconds long, these lighthearted videos still managed to convey an abundance of worthwhile takeaways about healthy lawn maintenance throughout the hottest days of the year.
Reinforcing the Message
We cast our hook to Lincoln’s online users with the entertaining yet effective video series — and reeled them in with a second series of digital ads reinforcing the benefits of wise water use.
Packaged in a light, approachable brand identity developed by the BCom creative team, these ads doubled down on useful tidbits — and underscored our witty but important message.
For example, did you know that watering your lawn to the roots once a week is far more beneficial than watering lightly every day? Or that longer grass keeps more moisture in the soil, allowing you to water less?
Our media distribution strategy sprinkled these ads across the capital city by retargeting viewers of our initial video series.
Meta ad impressions (1 month)
Wise Watering for
the Win
“WaterWise LNK” ran from mid-June to mid-July, playing an important role in Lincoln’s successful summer water conservation.
In just one month, the campaign generated more than half a million impressions, reaching nearly 103K Lincolnites through Facebook and Instagram alone.
Those are the digital metrics, but the real win goes out to Lincoln’s local lawn waterers: Despite intensifying drought conditions across eastern Nebraska, the city was not forced to enact burdensome water-use restrictions.
