“Let nature do the job”: A groundbreaking gardening approach encouraged people to leave more up to chance while buying less. A bold, radical call during the busiest time of the year – that clearly no one expected, least of all from a DIY chain focusing on gardening and construction. The campaign had everyone talk about the Status quo of how we treat nature and our gardens. Furthermore, a celebrity collaboration with musician and superstar Bill Kaulitz added momentum.

The assumption that the best gardener of all is nature itself, inspired people to experience their garden in a completely new way.

Spring is traditionally the busiest and most lucrative season for large DIY and garden stores such as HORNBACH – and the most competitive. Most spring marketing focuses on low prices, great offers, and selling as many products as possible. In this environment, HORNBACH's call for minimal consumption is a revolutionary step for a German DIY brand.

HORNBACH's customers are true perfectionists when it comes to their gardens, diligently tending to every detail for the front yard of their dreams. But with droughts, dying insects, and scarce resources, meticulously trimmed, high-maintenance lawns and hostile monocultures are no longer in keeping with the times.

So, it was clear to us that it was high time for HORNBACH to make a statement in favor of more sustainability in the garden – yet without finger-wagging or alienating our most enthusiastic customers; without having to compromise on garden beauty and quality; and without deviating from the brand’s tradition of impressive and memorable storytelling. So how can it be done?

In times of dwindling resources and rising prices, our ideal of overly manicured gardens is woefully outdated. That's why during the busiest time of year, HORNBACH launched a bold call, asking customers to do the unthinkable: nothing.

HORNBACH’s 2023 spring campaign “Let nature do the job” initiated a vital rethink by asking people to leave more up chance – and by inviting them to experience their gardens from a new perspective.

Giant OOH proclamations questioned the concept of the perfect garden; an epic film told the journey of wild seeds as heroes in a natural landscape, showcasing the monumental beauty of the best gardener of all: nature itself. Numerous OOH, print and online ads promoted weeds as free useful, beautiful plants for your garden; and a social stunt had musician and superstar Bill Kaulitz filming himself while urinating in this own garden to use his urine as a natural fertilizer.

How to change customer’s long held assumptions about gardening? By changing their perspective of what a perfect garden looks like. True to the brand’s tradition, the campaign did not bore people with facts – but dazzled them with epic storytelling that aroused emotions. So the campaign did not speak about nature – it let nature speak for itself. Underestimated wild weeds were turned into heroes:

- Monumental TV adverts accompanied wild seeds on their hero's journey, showing just how beautiful and fascinating nature can be.

- Radio adverts let the weeds themselves speak about their many useful properties.

- The underestimated plants also became the heroes of regular and giant OOH posters and (D)CLPs, of online and print motifs.

- Supposed sales posters advertised the wild plants as pretty, useful – and free.

- A celebrity co-op with musician and superstar Bill Kaulitz promoted urine as a natural plant fertilizer.

The Work appeared on TV stations across Europe (e. g. ARD, ZDF, RTL), in cinemas, on the radio, in regular and giant OOH Posters and (D)CLPs, as ambient installations, large print ads in select newspapers, online ads, as well as on the HORNBACH channels and in social coops.

The film first appeared online on March 20, 2023, and first aired on television on the 31st of the same month. The film ran until July 11, 2023. Outdoor billboards and CLPs appeared on March 17, 2023 and were taken down on April 15, 2023.

- The giant proclamation OOHs that formed the start of the campaign reached 17 million contacts in the 6 biggest German cities.

- The German radio flight alone reached over 80 million contacts, i.e. on average every person in Germany at least once.

- And moving image generated 663 million contacts in Germany and achieved net reach of over 80% in all relevant age groups.

- So, taken together with all other OOHs, social and further assets, the international campaign reached a total of over 1 billion impressions in Germany alone.

- The social highlight with Bill Kaulitz, who fertilized his garden naturally with urine, became HORNBACH's most popular post of all time with over 3,000 comments and 228,000 interactions.

- The campaign ensured a lively exchange in the community with a predominantly positive underlying tone. It achieved an aided advertising recall of just under 30%, the unsupported brand awareness reached well over 50%.