Why Scotts Miracle-Gro Put Creative and Media Under One Roof With VaynerMedia

Two years ago, Scotts Miracle-Gro dipped its toes in the VaynerMedia waters when it asked the agency to handle creative work for Ortho, its line of pest and weed control products. The company, which sells fertilizers, soil and other lawn and gardening products, was clearly impressed: As of last fall, VaynerMedia is now creative and media agency of record for all of its brands. According to Josh Peoples, Scotts Miracle-Gro’s chief marketing officer, the company still works with Mediahub, its former media agency, on “special projects and miscellaneous brands.” Mediahub also remains “a partner for linear TV planning and buying.” Its decision to consolidate its creative and media comes following a year of growth at Scotts Miracle-Gro, which Peoples said is largely thanks to people “spending time at home and discovering the benefits of being outside and gardening.” It also comes as Peoples sets his sights on turning the company into one that is not only creatively-led, but also data-driven and “with the consumer on their terms.” During its most recent quarter, the company reported 90% sales growth year over year in its U.S. consumer segment, which encompasses brands including Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Earthgro, Hyponex and Osmocote. At the time, its CEO and chairman Jim Hagedorn attributed growth to “strong consumer demand” and retailer replenishment. Additionally, its Hawthorne division, an entity it formed six years ago to cater to cannabis growers, grew 68% during the quarter. To capitalize on its growth, the company is preparing to air its first Super Bowl commercial next month, and VaynerMedia is creating the ad. “Honestly, there’s not a better time than right now with [the growth that] just happened this past year,” Peoples said. Scotts Miracle-Gro spent roughly $63 million on measured media in the U.S. throughout 2019, according to Kantar Media, which doesn’t track social spending. Consolidation play For VaynerMedia’s part, it marks the first time that the 12-year-old agency, founded by CEO Gary Vaynerchuk, has had the opportunity to handle creative, strategy, media and production for a single client. Vaynerchuk said handling both creative and media capabilities has allowed the agency to serve as a “consumer insights engine” for Scotts Miracle-Gro. He explained it as such: By testing different pieces of creative work on digital and social channels, or “lower to mid funnels,” the agency can see what’s resonating while also garnering sales. It can then use these findings to inform upper funnel, or awareness-driven, work that reaches a broader audience. Peoples said bundling creative and media duties within one agency has resulted in a “dynamic, agile and totally impactful” approach, and comes as the agency changes the way it allocates ad spend. For comparison, he said that in 2018, Scotts Miracle-Gro would have been “locked and loaded” with its upfront media buy. After “pushing play” on a 12-week TV ad campaign, it would typically wait for it to end, assess results and determine what changes needed to be made the following year. “It kind of just happened to us,” Peoples explained. “Now, we’re spending a fraction on upfront [advertising].” Return to one-stop shop As brands increasingly funnel money into digital channels, Vaynerchuk said he believes “brand building” on these platforms has become more important. Never short on opinions, it’s for this reason that he said he thinks agencies and clients will soon return to the “golden era” of advertising, one where creative and media responsibilities were not split between two shops. “Separating media and creative has created a world of no accountability,” he said. “When Josh [Peoples] reaches out to me, I am suffocated for any excuse. There is no, ‘Well, Mediacom did this.’ We are accountable, from a single tweet to a Super Bowl spot." He said he expects clients to become “addicted” to this accountability, forcing a sea change. Nancy Hill, founder of consultancy Media Sherpas and former CEO of the 4A's, said she agrees that clients benefit from putting creative and media responsibilities under one roof. “It is crazy that it’s separated,” she said. “I grew up in the business in a time when it wasn’t separated, and I do believe that, in general, the work is better when placement, context and creative are all part and parcel of the same package.” Even so, she doesn’t see marketers returning to this way of operating anytime soon. According to Hill, advertisers, particularly large ones, view the money that they spend as an investment. Therefore, they expect their investments to be “handled in a fiscally responsible way” by people who are experts in investing money. “That’s not to say that creative agencies couldn’t hire some of those people, but right now, the big ‘investment brokerage people’ are the people that are at the media agencies,” she said. “I’m not saying it’s right; I’m just saying that that’s the sentiment.”