$17 billion a year
Do you have a lawn?
You know, the wasteful green expanse in front of your house... that kind of lawn.
It turns out that lawns were virtually unknown in the USA until after 1850, and were invented in the UK not too long before this.
The reason for a lawn? To demonstrate wastefulness. A lawn tells your neighbors you can afford to waste land, waste water and have a team of servants to keep it all pretty (History of Lawns In America.)
The marketing of lawns is true marketing. Not interruptive clever ads, but an idea that spreads and sticks. Just like Starbucks. Or e-mail. The challenge facing industries and organizations is to create ideas that have the marketing built in.
You don't have a front lawn so your kids can practice soccer. You have one so your spouse won't yell at you for embarrassing the family in front of the neighbors.
Happy mowing.
