• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, March 21, 2013

Scotts Miracle-Gro has just kicked off a major branded content and advertising campaign across the Scripps Networks Interactive portfolio of cable networks, digital sites and print publications. It is said to be the first time an advertiser has executed a single campaign with branded content and ads that cut across all the media company’s outlets.
 
Scotts is said to be spending more than $10 million on the campaign, although the company did not disclose terms of the agreement.
 
The content was co-created by Scotts’ media shop MEC, a unit of WPP’s GroupM, and Scripps. The campaign theme is “Plant, Nurture and Enjoy,” a reference to the different cycles of a garden project.
 
The strategy behind the vignettes is to “take the consumer through the entire project journey” of a gardening scheme, said Chet Fenster, managing partner, MEC Entertainment.
 
The content includes six different vignettes, which feature on-air talent from the various Scripps Networks, such as HGTV’s Chris Lambton, host of the network program "Going Yard," as well as members of a garden enthusiast’s organization affiliated with Scott’s known as “gardeniers.”  
 
Three of the vignettes focus on a cutting garden project and three others focus on an edible plant project. The hosts focus on the projects without mentioning the brand, although Scott’s products are integrated into the content. The videos seen on the networks are two minutes long and online versions are 60 seconds. There is a “Presented by Scotts Miracle-Gro,” message at the end of each vignette.
 
The content and the ads are spread across HGTV, DIY, Food Network and Cooking Channel and the digital properties of Food Network and HGTV. Related advertorial content appears in the April and May issues of HGTV and Food Network magazines.
 
Fenster said the effort involved a “huge collaboration with the Scripps” program and marketing teams to “tie their assets around a central idea for Scotts.”

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