Open Farm Sunday

LEAF’s Open Farm Sunday has gone from strength to strength since the first event in June 2006. Working with the team at farming charity LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), Ceres encourage farmers across the country to either open their own farm, or to help out at a neighbour's event - through workshops, e-newsletters and media activity.  

Ceres also run the press office for Open Farm Sunday. In 2011 a new campaign theme of Discover Life on Britain’s Farms was introduced and a dynamic and integrated PR campaign ran to support this, which has been shortlisted for a CIPR PRide award.

BBC’s Countryfile TV presenter and farmer, Adam Henson featured in a video for news media with secured 40m OTSH about Open Farm Sunday. Adam was identified as appealing to both the target audience and to the farmers and industry organisations involved in Open Farm Sunday. 

National news media was harnessed to increase awareness with a variety of tactics and an exclusive story was placed with the Daily Mail, that showed consumers lack of understanding about the countryside. 

A press pack with diary date, new photography, farmer profiles, facts and figures and releases with hooks for key media was used to generate more than 217m OTSH, alongside a Farmtastic’ booklet of quirky facts for radio presenters. 

A social media communication programme conversed with bloggers and opinion formers to encourage them to become online ‘ambassadors’ and ensured that both the conversation and the Open Farm Sunday experience was enhanced. A Facebook group was created where host farmers could discuss OFS and a separate page used as a community for both hosts and visitors. Twitter was used to drive conversation and web traffic and the #ofs hashtag trended in parts of the country on Open Farm Sunday itself. Twitter fans increased by 40% from March to June. 

All activity highlighted the campaign website, www.farmsunday.org, which received 100,000 visitors in two months. 

Open Farm Sunday 2012 will take place on Sunday 17 June 2012.

www.farmsunday.org