In response to the cancellation of Bord Bia Bloom 2020, Bord Bia launched an alternative, virtual celebration #BloomAtHome. We encouraged the public to join us for a series of online events, including gardening panels and cookery demonstrations and also to share images and videos of their own gardens at home.
Since the announcement on May 12, our website, BordBiaBloom.com, gained 70,000 page views. Over 70 food and drink companies who normally participate at Bloom ran offers or competitions or took part in our Virtual Food Village online in the lead into and over the Bloom weekend. RTE’s Countrywide special featured Gary Graham and Aine Lawlor, as well as some food producers who have traditionally taken part in the Food Village at the festival.
The culmination of the #BloomAtHome activities proved a great success. It received over 2 million impressions across our social channels over the June bank holiday weekend and the following two weeks. There were over 6,000 uses of the hashtag as exhibitors and visitors alike joined the campaign. #BloomAtHome was featured in the media over 60 times and the public’s gardening efforts were celebrated online through our competition with RTE, which gained over 5,000 entries. Check out BordBiaBloom.com to view all of the broadcasts of the campaign.
Bord Bia/ Healthy Ireland Show Garden
Bloom 2020 would have marked the second year Bord Bia partnered with Healthy Ireland on a show garden. While it wasn’t to be this year, we wanted to keep the conversation alive and get their message out there.
The theme of this year’s show garden was never more fitting for the times we live in now – how being out in nature, spending time outdoors especially in green spaces and being physically active (gardening) can help your mental health and wellbeing.
So to keep the spirit of Bloom and our conversation alive, we worked with Jack Caffrey from The Pimlico Project to produce a wonderful piece featuring our show garden designer, James Purdy, which captured our message in a beautifully creative way. The video formed part of the Government’s ‘In This Together’ campaign and was aired as part of our Bloom Day event on Sunday, May 31.
Follow this link to view the video: https://vimeo.com/423955136/a203237521. ✽
JAMES PURDY
