If you ask which country loves lawn care the most, the U.S. would definitely be at the top.
Because of the strong sense of community and backyard culture, Americans are very enthusiastic about taking care of their yards. Just like you often see in American TV shows, homeowners either do it themselves or hire temporary workers to mow the lawn.
In the U.S., not mowing your lawn can get you fined. You’re also not allowed to hang clothes to dry in your yard, and community members can even vote to kick out homeowners who don’t maintain their yards. So in the U.S., good neighborhoods keep both public areas and private yards in great shape.
Against this backdrop, Coulter Lewis, a designer with entrepreneurial experience, got inspired to start a lawn care company when he was overwhelmed by the smell of pesticides and herbicides while shopping for lawn care products.
Lewis began researching safer backyard fertilization methods. He found that the typical American lawn uses five times more pesticides per acre than an industrial farm but often to no avail, leaving people to endure the stench. Seeing a market gap, he launched Sunday.
Sunday, a DTC brand founded in 2019, aims to sell custom eco-friendly lawn care products to 90 million American homeowners. To date, the company has fertilized over 10,000 acres of lawns.
After the first order, the brand sends a soil testing kit to analyze lawn issues. Based on the results, they provide customized services.
Their product lineup includes plant-based insect repellents tailored to different types of pests, grass seed fertilizers designed for various climates, and pet-friendly lawn care solutions. Sunday also offers a weed identification guide, detailing how to recognize different weeds and providing solutions. The brand aims to promote ecological balance by nurturing healthy, nutritious lawns.
Sunday's pricing varies based on lawn size, but it’s much cheaper than hiring professionals for fertilization services.
So how did this niche startup build its reputation and drive sales through marketing?
1.The Niche Market You Can't Ignore
Lawn care might seem like a niche market, but in North America, with its strong backyard and outdoor culture, it’s quite the opposite. With 90 million users and an average household income of $65,000, the private lawn market has significant scale and potential.
According to Mordor Intelligence, the U.S. lawn care market is projected to reach $58.69 billion in 2024 and $75.71 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.20% from 2024 to 2029.
The U.S. is almost the most important landscape industry market in the world, providing opportunities for companies and operators in the lawn care business.
Lawns are an essential part of almost every American home. The demand for landscaping services for suburban lawns, golf courses, sports fields, and public parks is increasing.
Additionally, the government’s emphasis on expanding and protecting green spaces is part of environmental sustainability efforts. In 2023, the U.S. government announced a $1 billion fund to increase the use of trees and green spaces in urban and community forests, where over 84% of Americans live. This indicates a rising demand for lawn care services and tools in the U.S. market in the coming years.
2. Sunday’s Marketing Strategy
As a startup brand, Sunday’s core marketing strategy focuses on acquiring new users around their core audience.
Interestingly, Sunday’s paying customers are relatively young, between 30 and 40 years old, primarily located in the central states of the U.S. where lawns are more common. This includes new families moving to the suburbs and first-time homebuyers, most of whom have smaller suburban lawns.
To reach these users, the brand chose TikTok and YouTube, which brought in significant new traffic and attention.
01 Leveraging TikTok for Attention
The brand places great importance on amplifying its reach on TikTok, a platform known for both traffic and e-commerce potential. On TikTok, there’s a content campaign tag called #SundayLawnCareBeforeAndAfter, which features a lot of user-generated content comparing lawns before and after using Sunday’s products.
The content is posted by real users or small-scale influencers, which keeps collaboration costs low for the brand and helps in scaling up early on. Comparison videos clearly show the product's impact on different private lawns. The large volume of videos accumulating millions of views also serves as a testament to the product’s effectiveness.
02 Influencer Effect
To reach an older audience, Sunday bets on YouTube, using long-form videos to detail the advantages of their products.
YouTube has many influencers from various fields who excel at creating in-depth product review videos. Sunday leverages the participation of users and influencers to turn brand-focused selling points into user-perceived buying points, effectively boosting product sales and business growth.
A key part of this strategy is influencer marketing.
Jon Chan, a life skills guru on YouTube with 6k followers, might be considered a micro-influencer, but his content is straightforward and practical, resonating well with his highly engaged followers.
Jon Chan’s audience is relatively mature and values product performance and brand quality over low prices. Therefore, the brand collaborates with YouTubers to create in-depth, long-form content that deeply engages potential customers.
In a 10-minute video, Jon thoroughly introduces the brand, discusses the best seasons for weed removal and lawn care, explains the tools needed, and shares the soil test results after using the products.
This video currently has 5.8k views, 649 likes, and all 64 comments are focused on the product. Some users are ready to make a purchase due to the influencer's recommendation, while others are developing a positive impression of the brand. With a discount code link in the video description, this video has successfully driven conversions and garnered attention for Sunday.
In addition to general lifestyle influencers, the brand also collaborates with humorous review influencers like Kite Army. The influencer behind this account, Andrew, has a funny and exaggerated style. His content mainly consists of various gadget reviews, and he currently has 70k followers who enjoy his entertaining approach.
In the promotional video, Andrew uses exaggerated body language and facial expressions to highlight the results of using Sunday's products. He demonstrates how to use the products in a short video, focusing on his engaging narration, which raises users' expectations. Everyone is eager to see the changes after using the products for a while.
This video currently has 34k views, and many fans in the comments say they were persuaded by his funny video to place an order and give the products a try. It shows that choosing the right influencer with an engaging style, even for humorous short videos, can effectively drive interest and sales.
03 Viral Promotions
In addition to the previous methods, Sunday uses giveaways as a tool for viral marketing. They often run social media contests that encourage new users to follow, engage, share, and tag friends. This series of actions helps attract genuine new users. Looking at the average engagement data on Sunday’s Instagram page, their interactive posts consistently perform well, proving to be an effective method for driving new user acquisition.
In summary, as a niche brand, Sunday has effectively utilized TikTok and YouTube as its marketing platforms. By creating engaging content, collaborating with influencers to endorse its products, and using online giveaways to attract new users, the brand has successfully increased its visibility. This strategy is also a great reference for SMBs looking to expand into international markets.
If your brand operates in a similar niche and aims to make a big impact locally, consider consulting with us to leverage influencer marketing!
SocialBook has access to over 200 million influencers across eight major global regions, including North America, Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, Australia/New Zealand, and the Middle East. Our influencers span various industries such as tech, e-commerce, gaming, finance, beauty, fashion, home, social media, food, and travel, providing professional overseas marketing services for your brand.
We offer a full suite of services from creative planning and influencer management to project execution. Beyond influencer marketing, SocialBook also provides one-stop professional services in areas like offline events, brand collaborations, celebrity endorsements, and media PR.
