Gardner Award for Design – Printed magazine/single page design, advertising “Syngenta GreenTrust 365 Advertising Design”

Provided by Gibbs & Soell Inc. (Lyndsey Newnam)

Please briefly describe your winning project. GreenTrust 365 (GT365) is the annual early order program for Syngenta, which means customers are incentivized by making purchases for the following year during the fall early order period. Each fall the program is promoted throughout the golf, lawn and ornamental industries, using various communication tactics, including print and digital advertising. There are many aspects of the program, so the ads had to convey a lot of information within limited space while also standing out from competitive programs being advertised simultaneously.

What were your main objectives in developing this project? At G&S, our approach is always to assess our client’s business goals first and ensure our communication proposals align with those goals. For Syngenta, the program’s goal was to increase sales by garnering participation in the program. From a communications standpoint, that meant succinctly sharing the various ways customers could easily participate while creating a cohesive identity applicable to all three audiences. Additionally in 2020, Syngenta made some substantial changes to the GT365 program, so we had to share those changes without causing confusion. Specifically, G&S was tasked with developing a brand identity for the campaign that visually showed the main savings benefit of the program and built awareness of the new GT Bonus Booster Rebate.

What influenced your approach? Since some of the program features were changing, it was important to reassure existing customers the program would continue to benefit their businesses and educate those who hadn’t participated previously about how easy it was to save. Since the audiences varied across golf, ornamentals and lawn, G&S developed one campaign identity and theme, but customized it to address each market specifically. The headline “Straight to Savings” was chosen because of its simplicity and straightforwardness, literally and figuratively. Although parts of the program changed, there was no doubt for customers that with GT365, they would save. The campaign design featured a maze with a direct path cutting through a golf course for golf/sports turf, a nursery for ornamentals and a residential yard for lawn and landscape customers. This allowed the theme to be shared across the Syngenta businesses but be customized for each audience. When creating this concept, G&S had previous ad study feedback about other Syngenta brands in mind. These studies have consistently outlined the audience’s desire for print ads to communicate benefits clearly and directly. Although a rebate program may seem complex, the goal was to show customers how easy it is to save with GT365. Within the design, the headline and messaging conveyed this sense of directness.

Please tell us what you think stood out in your winning entry. I think the simplicity of the visuals and the headline made the ads most impactful and helped clearly communicate the most important message, which was that saving money was simple through GT365. The design also used iconography and clear subheads to emphasize the new aspects of the 2020 program. Using a powerful visual allowed us to keep the messaging succinct and help deliver what our audiences wanted regarding clear and direct benefits, as well as savings for their businesses!