Bloom: Launching Ireland’s Largest Gardening and Lifestyle Festival

When Bord Bia launched Bloom in 2007, it aimed to create a standout event celebrating Irish horticulture, food, and family life. Cullen Communications was appointed to manage the PR campaign from the inaugural event through 2009, delivering a strategic, creative, and integrated communications programme that positioned Bloom as a must-attend festival.

Our campaign began months before the gates opened in Phoenix Park. We rolled out a series of creative, high-impact initiatives to generate excitement and early ticket sales. This included national photocalls with the Minister for Agriculture, floral guerrilla stunts across Dublin, family-focused school competitions, and fashion-inspired partnerships with Irish colleges.

In tandem, we secured consistent media coverage through expert interviews with garden designers, chefs, and food producers, while developing co-branded campaigns for event sponsors. In the weeks leading up to Bloom, a wave of media activity took place across TV, radio, and print, supported by on-street promotions, garden centre activations, and media previews.

During the event, we ran an on-site media centre that hosted journalists from Ireland and abroad, facilitated daily press content, and coordinated themes such as show garden awards, Best Dressed competitions, and family highlights. The result was a campaign that not only drove strong attendance but built Bloom into a cultural fixture for the Irish summer.

Cullen Communications continued as Bloom’s PR partner for three consecutive years, helping the event grow year-on-year and establishing its reputation as one of the most successful public events in Ireland.