Communication & Education

The Bloom Committee have forged a strong relationship with the local media. The Coventry Telegraph has put their weight fully behind the campaign through a ‘Best Garden Competition’ The partnership involves a regular weekly page dedicated to the competition and also highlights recent developments within the community for Bloom. Coverage generated includes reports on the activities at Vicroft Court community clear up to officially launch the campaign where residents and the gardening club teamed together to clear the communal area outside the flats, Sherbourne Fields School including the work on their vegetable plots, the re-homing of gnomes from the city centre and work with children from more depraved areas to create garden furniture and hutches with their pupils.

Thumbnail : Planting at Sherbourne Fields School : Click image to enlarge

Sherbourne Fields are leading the way setting a shining example by working alongside other schools in creating pens, hutches and coops for their animals, planting and growing their own vegetables as well as creating an orchard, introducing a green house and rockery to their grounds the school also ploughs a lot of time and energy into providing an enjoyable and educational experience in its onsite wildlife area, with bird boxes and hives situated all within its leafy compound.

Thumbnail : Press coverage during the Bloom campaign : Click image to enlarge

Whitefriars Housing Association held a Bell Green In Bloom Day where their residents were offered free plants to create their own mini gardens to brighten up the area and build a strong sense of community pride and involvement. English Landscapes undertook garden maintenance at Lady Herbert’s Cottages to create easily maintainable grounds for the elderly residents. From the 11th of May to the 11th of June the Coventry in Bloom Campaign generated £94,292 worth of PR coverage in the local press including the Telegraph Series and the Coventry Observer, in addition the events and activities have also been broadcast through local and regional radio stations including BBC Coventry & Warwickshire, Touch FM and Mercia. This publicity has helped to raise awareness of the campaign across a broad and diverse section of the community, this was particularly evident in the turn out for the plant giveaway this year as it was one of the most successful and well attended giveaways to date.

Thumbnail : Coventry in Bloom poster : Click image to enlarge

To maximise impact and audience awareness the campaign has had various branding and marketing materials produced including planter signs in high footfall areas, these signs are doubly effective as the beds are eye catching with their bright floral displays which is accompanied by the branded boxesfull of flowers in eye catching and bold colours and accompanied by the artwork on the exterior. The Police Box has also been branded up with Bloom, centrally located this popular meeting place was used as the area to host the plant giveaway. Bus Shelter and Car Park posters are also in abundance across the city, the size and location of the Bus Shelter Ad Shells provides a low cost and high impact brand awareness strategy in key locations, the litter bins have been branded with vinyl artwork. Press clippings for the main competition with Coventry Telegraph, signage and displays with this year’s theme, engaging with schools on projects such as bird houses, hutches, gnomes etc, educational awareness through Coombe Abbey activity centre, discovery zones and woodland walks, press coverage of community groups and competitions to evoke response.
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