18-21st April 2024
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) hosted their first ever Urban Show in Depot Mayfield in Manchester, focusing on gardening and green spaces in towns and cities whilst addressing challenges as well as offering solutions. As a presenter with a passion for environmental issues, I was thrilled to be assigned coverage of the event and planned a special two-part series for my show, The Botanical Garden.
The first episode, The Botanical Garden - Houseplants for Healthy Living featured an interview with Andy Vernon, during which we delved into the therapeutic benefits of houseplants, practical advice for students wanting to create indoor jungle experiences in transient spaces such as dorms, the upcoming RHS Urban Show, and even my pitch for a plant-based TV competition program. This episode garnered significant attention, securing the 11th spot on the Talk - Education Charts and 50th overall on the College Radio Charts.
The following week, I immersed myself in the vibrant atmosphere of the RHS Urban Show, conducting a series of over 15 interviews with key figures involved in the event. From the award-winning landscapers commissioned to create installations to innovative horticultural scientists giving lectures on their research, I captured a diverse range of perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of urban gardening, as well as gaining a deeper insight into the logistics behind such a massive and monumental event. These interviews formed the backbone of the second episode of the series, and heart of the collaboration; The Botanical Garden - The Creative Minds Behind RHS Urban Show, which was also uploaded to Mixcloud and was ranked 14th on the Talk - Education Charts and 43rd on the College Radio Charts.
In addition to the radio broadcasts, I created engaging short-form content for Instagram and TikTok. I created a trailer for the special episode of my show, using clips I had filmed from my interviews alongside b-roll from the event, which was posted in collaboration with the main Fuse FM account as a reel, boosting the reel beyond the reach of my followers and publicising the show on a larger scale to the wider Fuse FM community, performing exceptionally and gaining nearly 1.7k views. This series of video campaigns earned me 'runner up' for Best Video Execution at the International Student Broadcasting Championship.
Secondly, I chose to create a second, more light-hearted, short-form video which was uploaded on TikTok, taking a more playful approach and creating an informal “sizzle reel”, compiling some of the more comical parts from the interviews to show a more authentic and personable aspect to the entire process, to align in style with other videos that would be favoured by the TikTok algorithm and boosted further. This strategy paid off, with the video being reposted and commented on by the RHS themselves, not only boosting awareness of the episodes but also the important themes and messages of environmental consciousness.
'The Botanical Garden - The Creative Minds Behind RHS Urban Show' Trailer
'The Botanical Garden - The Creative Minds Behind RHS Urban Show' Sizzle Reel