The seeds you sow
I love being outdoors in my garden. It instantly boosts my mood, gives me fresh perspective, improves my wellbeing, creates green space to encourage more bees and wildlife to flourish, and allows me to live a more sustainable life . That is exactly what the RHS stands for!
So when I saw their recent brand material acknowledging changes to gardens opening and how they are positively contributing to UK life in a post-coronavirus era, I got excited. I knew I had to share it with you on here too. The Royal Horticultural Society RHS is a perfect example of how a charity aligns goals with brand design, seamlessly. It works!
Let’s dig right in (pun intended)!
The RHS knows that getting outside and enjoying nature improves the UK’s mental health.
In a printed flyer, RHS mentions “with lockdown easing, many of our Partner Gardens are now reopening.” The flyer continues to share guidelines to follow due to coronavirus, while encouraging people to get outside. RHS understands how the garden experience “improves and benefits the UK’s health and wellbeing.” That is taken directly from the RHS. It is the number one strategic objective of the organisation.
So it comes as no surprise to see the RHS finding ways to improve the UK’s mental health through Instagram design and campaigns too!
#RHSPhotoComp improves people’s wellbeing
The wellbeing goal effectively translates with online design too.
By asking the public to participate in the Instagram #RHSPhotoComp, the charity encourages people to get outdoors, enjoy the gardens, and appreciate the flowers surrounding them. It makes people stop, breathe, switch off, enjoy, and look. It also gives others FOMO (fear of missing out), increasing the amount of visitors and charity reach. The more people that come along, the more people the charity helps (wellbeing). Also, the more revenue for the charity.
RHS also mentions how a UK staycation is the perfect time to get involved with the competition. This is a smart move. It shows empathy and understanding.
RHS gets it. They are “in touch” with the reality of the situation. They know that more people are participating in UK staycations. It shows the public that RHS listens and tries to help, in any way they can.
It is a brilliant example of how branding, design, and messaging mirrors the wellbeing mission of the organisation.
RHS also continues the brand’s strategic goals by developing programs that encourage and support educational programs for children to understand the origin of food, how to reduce food waste, and how to become self-sufficient with food through gardening, to name a few.
Having this consistent vision, understanding the relevance of your services to present and future generations (which will be the ones who support you not just now, but in 30 years), and incorporating this within your charity brand design makes for a strong, identifiable, empathetic to the public, and sustainable brand. It makes RHS stand out over the rest.
That is what you need for your charity or organisation! You need to funnel down to the core values of your organisation and discover ways to relay this through print, packaging, and digital.
Design to tell your story.
If you’d like to find out more, feel free to contact me today!
Images: Becks Neale
