Wrapping Up the 2019-2020 Specialty Crop Block Grant

Turfgrass Sod Social Media Promotional Campaign

Christina Wrenn

One grant, seven videos and a total reach of 1,517,000 end users; the 2019-2020 Specialty Crop Block Grant has come to a close.  I have helped manage the grant since starting as the marketing liaison between NCDA&CS and NC SPA over the past year and four months, and what a whirlwind it has been!

To start, the first three videos had already been filmed prior to my arrival at the NCDA&CS. This was exciting, because my first step with the grant was to create a social media campaign utilizing the videos. The social media campaign included promoting the videos on Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads (YouTube) and Pinterest. The campaign ran until the beginning of summer, when it became obvious to producers that they were selling out of sod, much more quickly than usual. The total reach was 1,517,000 end users across all platforms.

Why and how? The COVID-19 pandemic had hit North Carolina hard, and homeowners were spending more time working from home. Home projects became a priority, as traveling and typical vacations were no longer an option. Sod sales surged, and North Carolina producers, overall, benefited greatly.

Instead of continuing with the promotional campaign, which was not necessary at the current time, I looked towards another media group to produce a series of DIY Sod videos. Planning and production took longer than expected, due to the constant rain, but we were eventually able to get all filming and editing finalized. In total, there ended up being four videos produced in the DIY series, including; DIY Sod Installation, a DIY Sod Installation teaser, Choosing Sod and Sod Maintenance.

The videos will be promoted during the 2021-22 grant year. The final DIY Sod Installation Video is at the top of the page. Be on the lookout for the other sod videos this spring on the NC SPA social media channels. Enjoy!