Garden.com's Spring Campaign to Sprout

Garden.com, an e-commerce site that sells gardening supplies, on Thursday launched a multi-media advertising campaign, whose tagline is “Everything New Under the Sun.”

“Our research has shown that spring is the best time for us to acquire gardening customers — customers with whom we can forge lifetime relationships,” says Lisa Sharples, chief marketing officer and co-founder of Garden.com Inc (GDEN).

“So we make our most significant investments in marketing now because as a company, we’ve always believed spending valuable dollars when it’s most relevant is the smartest thing we can do to ensure continued, substantial growth.”

The campaign, which begins Feb. 21, will include network television and cable spots, a catalog, and a billboard displaying a living topiary shaped like the company name. Its aim is to position Garden.com as the best resource for people interested in gardening. Spending was not disclosed.

The six television ads will each feature a different plant begging to be the one the customer takes home.

Garden.com is also rolling out a print magazine called Garden Escape, published through its partnership with PRIMEDIA. The magazine will be structured as a companion to the Web site, and is aimed at driving traffic. It will leverage the Web site’s expert content producers, and is expected to be available by subscription.

The company is also trying out other customer acquisition tools during the big growing season. It’ll be distributing and promoting a CD-ROM-based Web site, participating as a SkyMall Merchant, attending flower and garden shows, and mailing out a newsletter and a catalog.