Our aim is to get your story out there!
Here at Idenna we are in the storytelling business – but that doesn’t mean we deal with works of fiction – quite the opposite in fact.
We trade in controlling ideas, and by focusing on the crux of the issue, we aim to help our clients communicate more coherently and successfully with their customers.
Why does Idenna prioritise research?
Everytime we take on a new client, or begin working on a fresh campaign, we take our time during the research phase. It’s important never to rush into delivering the work, papering over the knowledge gaps as you go, with assumptions, generalisations or a ‘this is what we did with our last ten clients’ mentality.
Just as we look around our office and recognise the talented bunch of individuals that make Idenna a unique collective, we want to find out what makes our clients tick, and better understand their market needs, pain points and growth opportunities. It’s not just a case of doing our due diligence, we want to peel back the layers and see behind that carefully constructed customer facing facade.
Sometimes we have to dig a little deeper to get to the gold, or pause and scratch our heads a while, but we embrace this process. It eventually brings us face to face with the intricacies and distinct characteristics of our clients’ businesses.
The bottom line is that Idenna attracts ambitious clients who are on a mission to improve their market position. Knowledge is power, and with enough of it in our arsenal, we can tell your story the way it deserves, and needs, to be told!
What type of research do we do?
Let’s start with some definitions…
Quantitative research is objective, often based on numerical data or science and seeks to answer questions like when or where.
Idenna has a Campaigns team, who focus on the quantitative side of the scale. They plot, track and analyse, always seeking to optimise content, maximise engagement and monetise marketing opportunities for our clients. Although it operates in the background, it is a crucial element of what we do, underpinning every campaign and providing a foundation to all our projects.
Qualitative research on the other hand is interested in subjective phenomena, things that can’t be measured numerically, like how different people experience grief or what memory a particular scent evokes.
This is where our Words team with their penchant for storytelling come alive. Everything we write is bespoke – we aren’t in the habit of making generalisations. We want to tell your story, your way, so your customers can relate to you, and feel more connected to your business.
Case Study: Idenna’s 2024 Behind The Gardens Campaign for The Great Gardens of Cornwall.
Behind The Gardens tells the origin story of fourteen individual gardens, and plots the unique sequence of events which led each green space to evolve into a worthy member of the prestigious Great Gardens of Cornwall group.
This is compelling horticultural storytelling at its finest; highlighting the untold stories of each individual garden, sharing the daring history of plant hunting expeditions and showcasing the vast heritage of each location. These stories are told in long form blog posts, with an accompanying organic social media campaign.
Idenna has created a brand around Behind The Gardens, and also generated individual artwork for each garden, tying in elements from their stories into their visual identities.
How was the research conducted?
We asked each of the fourteen gardens to fill out a questionnaire, inviting the owners or head gardeners to volunteer some personal information about their gardens.
- What is your favourite area of the garden?
- What three things might visitors not know about your garden?
- What makes your garden a Great Garden of Cornwall?
- What other Great Gardens inspire you?
This provided us with an individual response from each garden which planted the seeds for the compelling narrative we would go on to create. These responses varied in length and detail, but each one gave us a launch point, or a direction at least, for our further research. By using the questionnaires as a preliminary research tool, each garden was automatically considered and approached on an individual basis.
The next step was to independently research each garden and fill in the gaps in the story using industry publications and historical accounts. We weaved the threads of the garden’s questionnaire response together with our independent research to create the origin story of each garden.
In some cases a research call was conducted with the head gardener or owner, to further tease out the story or clarify historical facts. Our team live in Cornwall and are lucky enough to have visited most of the gardens as a right of passage, but where this hadn’t occurred naturally, of course an in-person garden tour was all part of getting a feel for the topography and planting schemes of the gardens.
Below are some blog excerpts from the Behind The Gardens campaign:
A spring garden where tradition is celebrated but new ideas bloom year round
Caerhays Castle and Spring Gardens occupy a dreamlike slice of the Roseland, mere steps from Porthluney Beach the estate looks like a scene from a fairytale.
Caerhays is the perfect blend of tradition infused with new ideas. Owner Charles Williams is an oracle on the history of Caerhays, and the fourth generation of his family to document the development of the gardens. The history of Caerhays is rich and evocative, full of pioneering plant hunting expeditions and horticultural firsts. As befits a castle estate, this is a garden where the past is revered, but the mindset remains as it has always been, progressive, and focused on the continued growth and expansion of the gardens.
Lamorran House Gardens is defined by interesting shapes, sights and sounds
Maria’s Italian heritage and Robert’s passion for Europe can be felt across the gardens through the various exotic influences on display. Mounds of foliage and statue plants soar skywards, streams gurgle and water splashes into koi carp-filled ponds that look as though they have been there for centuries. It’s a romantic garden with curved paths that provide you occasional and spectacular reveals of the ocean. Moss-covered seats invite you to rest a while in a secluded spot, you feel as though intimate conversations can happen here. You can enjoy a secret corner of the garden by yourself when you visit, and you’ll likely not have to share the view with anyone.
The Minack Theatre Garden is as important to the visitor experience as the performance itself
The modern garden is only three decades old, but its connection to the theatre and the landscape make it feel timeless. Nature is all powerful here, and to soak up the sights, sounds and smells of the Minack is to flood your senses and soul with everything a garden should be.
This is a garden that makes you feel alive. Visiting the Minack garden is a life-affirming experience, and the atmosphere exuded by this exotic and carefully managed space is one of sub-tropical calm, artistic freedom and wild beauty. If only Rowena could take a tour of the garden as it is today, sit perched in her wheelbarrow one last time, and marvel at the fruits of her labour. Surely even Rowena would be blown away by the magic of the interwoven performance and planting. The Minack Theatre and its glorious garden have come a long way since the maiden performance of The Tempest in 1932, and their story is far from over yet.
Working with a client which has fourteen wildly different sub-businesses can be unwieldy, but our research is in place to help muddy waters flow clear. In this case, as a result of Idenna’s research, each of the fourteen blogs are distinct stories. Our Words and Graphics team got underneath the soil of the gardens, asking the pressing questions, digging deeper and gaining an understanding of each garden as an individual.
Campaigns such as these, bolster our belief in storytelling. Why? Because great stories plant a seed within you, they are memorable, and inspiring. Compelling stories change the way you feel or make you desperately want to visit somewhere; our stories paint a picture of each garden in your mind, you can see the vibrant colours, almost smell the scent on the breeze, and feel the soft cushion of grass underfoot. We transport you to the Great Gardens of Cornwall in your imagination, so that one day soon that seed will bloom, and you’ll make the journey there in person.
If you want to feel seen, heard and understood by your Creative Agency, then choose Idenna. We will take the time to fully understand your business, and tell your story in a way that supports your goals, and aligns with your future market growth.
To find out more, get in touch here.