Lincolnshire Agricultural Social Case Study

Overview

Lincolnshire Agricultural Society (LAS) is the charity behind the Lincolnshire Showground. It is dedicated to supporting the agricultural community and funding local food, farming and countryside. Annually, in November it hosts the Lincolnshire Food & Gift Fair, an event designed to promote local businesses and bring the community together with festive food, gifts and activities.

Shooting Star was commissioned to drive awareness and increase attendance for the Lincolnshire Food & Gift Fair across both the VIP preview and the event weekend.

Objectives

LAS approached Shooting Star to:

Build awareness of the event through a mix of marketing channels
Increase ticket sales compared to previous years
Generate strong media coverage
Ensure influencer and local media attendance at the VIP preview evening

Approach

To achieve these objectives, Shooting Star implemented a multi-channel strategy:

Media and Press Engagement

We distributed four press releases to target media and liaised with contacts to ensure regional coverage.

A strong media outreach plan targeted local and regional press and relevant influencers, encouraging them to attend the VIP preview and cover the event. This approach attracted a variety of press and influencer attendees over the weekend, creating additional coverage and visibility.

Social Media Strategy

Shooting Star developed a high-volume content plan across four social platforms, producing a total of 106 posts and stories specifically for the Food & Gift Fair. This consistent, engaging content boosted awareness and kept the audience engaged leading up to and during the event.

Competitions

Competitions were run in partnership with Lincolnshire Co-op, Lincolnshire Life, Lincolnshire Scene, Lincs Kids and LAS itself. These competitions gained hundreds of entries and strong engagement on social media.

Advertising

Adverts were run in Lincolnshire Life, Lincolnshire Today, Lincolnshire Scene and Nottinghamshire Aspect. These were in both print and online formats.

Digital Marketing

Drafted all digital content including for the website, email marketing, social media and competitions.

Four email campaigns were sent, to foster excitement and drive urgency. Four blogs were published, with ‘The Countdown Begins’ blog achieving the highest engagement.

Results

The Lincolnshire Food & Gift Fair saw impressive growth in both attendance and engagement:

A 15% increase in visitor numbers, attracting over 9,200 attendees

22 press and influencer attendees, expanding regional event coverage

Achieved 10 pieces of print and online coverage with a readership reach of over 6.1 million, 450K online visits and 16 minutes of broadcast coverage including BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Lincs FM and Siren Radio

Consistent social media engagement through 106 posts and stories

Strong email campaign performance, achieving an average open rate of 29% and an audience of 12,000+

High engagement on blog content, with the ‘Countdown Begins’ post leading in views with 264

This integrated campaign effectively met the objectives, enhancing event visibility and establishing the Lincolnshire Food & Gift Fair as a key annual event for the local community and visitors from across the region.