BACKGROUND:
It’s little-known that the air inside our homes can be up to 5x more polluted than the air outside, with toxins coming off everyday items like paint, scented candles, cleaning products and even furniture.
We all know that plants oxygenate the air, but few are aware that they also have the power to remove toxins too. This was proven in the 80s when NASA conducted research to see if plants could help clean the air for astronauts living in the International Space Station. This data was declassified years ago, but nobody has truly done anything with it. Many plant retailers advertise their plants as ‘air-purifying’ - but never go into the specific details about the pollutants and which ones can help clean the air in our homes.
Houseplants have exploded in popularity in recent years. ‘Plant Drop’ is an online retailer for plants, but they face stiff competition and exist in a saturated market with little differentiation. They needed a way to set themselves apart, steal market share and drive sales.
STRATEGY:
We wanted to engage a wide audience and make them aware that there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to buying house plants. We broke down NASA’s complex science data into something everyone could understand – pulling out the 5 main toxins found in homes and making people aware of where they come from. For instance, the harmful chemical benzene if often found in paint and cigarette smoke, whilst ammonia is given off by cleaning products.
Whilst most retailers sell plants based on appearance, we developed an entirely new way to market them, reframing specific house plants as ‘Smart Plants’ – tools in the fight against indoor air pollution. The new positioning gave PLANT DROP’s range of Smart Plants deeper purpose and value, whilst establishing them as the experts in indoor plants that don’t just look good, but do good too.
EXECUTION:
Plant Drop launched SMART PLANTS, rebranding an existing range of houseplants as air-purifiers for the home. Working with a lead botanist from Oxford University and inspired by the ‘Energy Rating System’ for household appliances, we created the ‘Pollutant Absorption System’ – for house plants. Complex NASA data detailing plant variants and the toxins they can help remove was distilled down into a simple, easy-to-understand key. The design system fused together the design language of molecule structures with the visual aesthetic of plants and educated people about the 5 main toxins found in the home, and what items emit them.
The ‘Pollutant Absorption System’ changed the way consumers shopped for plants. Instead of buying plants based on looks, they now bought plants based on their lifestyle.
A simple e-commerce tool reinvented the plant buying process. Customers were invited to answer a few simple questions about their lifestyle and were served the plants that would help create a healthy, pollutant free home.
This hyper-targeted approach changed the way consumers shopped for plants. Instead of buying plants based on appearance, they now bought plants based on their lifestyle. For example, if they had recently painted or smoked, they could opt for the Red-edged Dracaena, as it has the power to remove benzene from the air; if they had pets, they could buy the Weeping Fig as it has the power to remove xylene, a toxin given off by flea treatments.
An open-source design system took the form of stickers and plant tags that were affixed to plant pots, as well as living online within the e-commerce buying experience.
https://www.pollutantabsorptionsystem.com
https://plantdrop.co.uk/pages/smart-plants
RESULTS:
The Pollutant Absorption System democratised clean air data for the masses – breaking down thousands of data points into an easy-to-understand system. Consumers now had a better understanding about the toxins inside their homes and could buy plants based on their lifestyle and living arrangements instead of just looks.
The new system encouraged people who used to buy just one plant to buy multiple plants, to offset the different toxins in their homes – toxins that they never even knew existed. Plant Drop saw a 64% spike in web traffic since the campaign launched, over 50% of customers buying more than one plant in the Smart Plant range.
Plant Drop believe that everyone should have the right to breathe clean air. So the Pollutant Absorption System was made open-source and free to download online for other plant retailer to adopt and integrate into their own e-commerce sites.
