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In 2015, the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association – also known as RINLA – learned from their member businesses that the number one problem that they faced was a shortage of trained individuals coming into the workforce. They stated that part of the reason they could not find workers was because there is a lack of understanding of what the industry does and how important it is to cultivate the next generation of natural resource professionals.  

In Rhode Island, agricultural and plant based industries provide over 16 thousand jobs and represent over 2.5 billion dollars of economic impact, and the data also shows that the industry is growing. Aside from having a huge impact on our economy, plant based industries provide meaningful, living wage jobs that are increasing the resiliency of our built and managed landscapes, protecting farmlands, coastal, and urban infrastructure, designing and maintaining sustainable landscapes, and  feeding our communities.  

The goal and hope for RINLA’s content efforts and social strategy was (and continues to be) to build an audience – whether they are students, teachers, parents, or an individual searching for a new career – and provide them with a better understanding of the variety of good paying and vital careers that green industry has to offer, and inspire them to get involved. 

Client - Rhode Island Nursery & Landscape Association

Director - Dana Saint

Creative Director / Writer - Dan Riordan

Creative Producer - Kyle King

Associate Producer - Aaron Schurman

DP / Aerials - Tyler Murgo

DIT / AC / 2nd Cam - Jack Ieronimo

Edit + Color - Jordan Ingram & Jack Ieronimo

Assistant Edit - Jack Ieronimo

Sound Design + Mix - Jared Blizzard

VO - Jordan Ingram

THE GOAL

This RINLA project was unique because we were tasked with building their content library from ground zero.  When they reached out, they didn’t have any visual content that could effectively consolidate their mission statement and they really needed a way to introduce an audience to the meaningful opportunities that exist in the green industry.  From the beginning, our goal was to capture beautiful footage of local RINLA partners; farmers, horticulturists, compost wizards, landscape designers, innovators of urban agriculture...all of the amazing humans that are doing the hard work to push green industries into the future in our beautiful state.  Our mission evolved and was bolstered by the disruptions of the pandemic because of massive job losses in Rhode Island. As everything suddenly shift, it became apparent that people might want to choose an outdoor career instead of a cubicle job in an urban highrise or office park. Fresh air!

Our first goal was to create an anthem video that would capture the essence of RINLA’s soulful message, and hopefully inspire people to consider a career in a green industry.  We wrote a 2-3 minute script and then, in close collaboration with RINLA, we coordinated shoots all over Rhode Island. 

THE DELIVERABLES

It was an honor to help craft RINLA’s important message into an ANTHEM video so that their audience can be introduced to these career paths in an inspiring way. However, we are well-aware that in this new, social-centric world, we can no longer create 1 video.  Audiences need c.o.n.t.e.n.t. to stick around.  We knew that RINLA wanted to establish a social presence and create enough assets to keep their audience engaged for the long term.  We wanted to reach a new, widespread audience with RINLA’s purpose to fill Rhode Island plant based jobs and their strong message of encouraging people to follow their passions when choosing a career. The content needed to visually seize a viewer’s attention while they scroll through their feeds and show what the versatility of working in green industries means. We started with 1 minute cut-downs using an interview with Jayne Merner (from Earth Care Farms + Golden Root Gardening) as a strong foundation.

SOCIAL SHORTS

We knew RINLA’s target audience spends a lot of time on social media, so we put a great deal of time and effort into creating short 15 second videos that could deliver an impactful message. We came up with these shorts that highlight different fields within green industries. The vertical style allows for these videos to be used over a wide range of social media purposes. Whether that be Instagram/Facebook stories, Instagram reels, or promotional posts.

PODCASTS

In addition, we used some of RINLA’s existing audio recordings with mentors, apprentices, and business owners to create a series of 10+ podcasts. The goal was to offer a more complete and conversational perspective on some of the elements involved in the different stages of these varying careers. Here is a sample of one of the podcasts.