Wonderwall
National Trust
The Challenge
To counter preconceptions that the National Trust only looks after country houses, by raising awareness of its vital conservation work across the Midlands.
Summer 2019 presented a perfect opportunity to convey this message, as a little-known, curved walled garden at Berrington Hall was to return to National Trust stewardship after years of use by a local tenant farmer. One of just two curved walled gardens to have ever been created by world-famous landscape designer, Capability Brown, the doors to the garden had been locked for 150 years.
The Idea
To make the restoration and conservation story as appealing to local and regional press as possible, we devised a “secret garden” hook – inviting local media to attend the grand unlocking. Video content was provided to all other outlets, which was also repurposed for social media.
The Results
- Three broadcast outlets attended the grand unlocking resulting in:
- A five-minute feature on ITV Central, including interviews with two National Trust representatives, plus an additional weather report
- A two-minute, 30 second slot on BBC Midlands Today
- A prime-time feature on the BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester Breakfast Show, with a Facebook share too
- Nine further pieces of regional coverage were also secured across print, online and publishers’ social feeds
- Crucially, 100% of coverage referenced the National Trust’s essential conservation work