How Bayer grew market share without launching a single new product.
YEAR
2013 – 2022
CLIENT
Bayer Environmental Sciences
INDUSTRY
Environmental Pest Management
SERVICES
Research, Strategy, Branding, Learning, Web, Email Marketing, Campaign Delivery
The challenge
No new products. No bigger sales team. But big growth targets.
Bayer Environmental Sciences needed to grow revenue in two very different markets – Australia and South Africa – without launching any new products.
In Australia, their traditional wholesale model wasn’t connecting with small operators – the segment that made up 80% of their customer base.
In South Africa, Bayer was preparing to launch a direct-to-market model for the first time but lacked systems to engage end users directly.
Their sales team was lean. Loyalty was low. And most small operators had little time, or patience,for complex marketing programs.
Participating businesses delivered
52% sales growth in Year 1
Discovery
We didn’t jump straight to solutions – we started by understanding intent.
In Australia, we tapped into CRM data, customer surveys, and field interviews.
In South Africa, we ran a series of face-to-face in-market workshops and focus groups with pest control business owners, technicians, and Bayer’s own teams.
These sessions helped us uncover two critical insights:
46% of small pest control operators planned to grow.
But they lacked tools, time and marketing support.
Operators didn’t want more content. They wanted better support.
This flipped the strategy from selling products to enabling business growth.
Design
The idea? Make Bayer the most valuable business partner their customers had – without hiring a single extra rep.
We designed Amplify as a modular program that delivered real value to small pest control operators in both countries.
In Australia (2013), the program was initially built as a desktop-first experience, with optional mobile access. That suited the market at the time.
But in South Africa, we had to rethink everything. Most small operators had a mobile phone—but no computer. So we rebuilt the platform experience to be mobile-first before mobile-first was a thing – prioritising short content, fast loading, and thumb-friendly UX from the ground up.
Key components:
- Online Learning Platform – A single hub for training, registration, marketing tools and rewards
- Microlearning – Short, mobile-friendly video training (1–2 min), critical for South African technicians working remotely
- Earned Marketing Support – Bayer product purchases unlocked real marketing services
- Real Testimonials – Peer stories from successful operators helped build engagement and trust
In both regions, Amplify was built to scale and flex with Bayer’s evolving go-to-market strategy.
Delivery
A two-phase rollout across nine months on two continents:
AUSTRALIA
- Stakeholder co-design
- Platform build
- Content development
- Launch and comms
SOUTH AFRICA
- Stakeholder workshops + focus groups
- Platform adaptation (mobile-first emphasis)
- New comms workflows to support direct-to-market
- Onboarding + operator support
The Spinifex team handled strategy, content, creative, build, launch and reporting. End to end.
Results
Australia:
- 86% of small-business market reached
- 534 customer stakeholders engaged
- 52% sales growth among program participants
SOUTH AFRICA:
- Fully mobile-first rollout delivered high engagement from day one
- Workshops and co-design sessions ensured cultural fit
- Platform supported Bayer’s transition to a direct-to-market sales model
- Created a blueprint for scaling into other regions
Feedback from the field was clear: Amplify made Bayer useful.
Want to turn an under-served segment into
a high-value growth engine?
Let’s build it together.