The Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards: A Creative Journey for Knapton Wright
Friday, February 28th, 2025 was the culmination of 11 months of hard but incredibly fun work.
3 rounds of judging, 6 weeks of accepting applications, 200 or so submissions, 18 categories, 11 judges, 79 businesses on the shortlist, 18 winners, 300 guests (and cookies, and programmes), an array of incredibly generous sponsors and awards partners, and a combined effort from some phenomenally skilled people across several different teams. It was the day of the Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards, in partnership with Visit England, and a day for the history books of Knapton Wright.
A year under the influence
The last year has seen the team - under the expert watch of our co-founder and seasoned event pro, Louise - deliver a variety of events, from corporate summer barbecues to community events designed to drive social change. But this one has been our biggest to date. We did, however, have a head start… Having worked on these awards during her time immersed in the Destination Lincolnshire team over the last few years, Jo took the lead on this project for team KW, which acted as the creative delivery partner, collaborating closely with the DL team from day one. So, we’ll hand you over to Jo to give you a very real insight into the ins and outs of project managing an event of this scale…
TLDR;
If you can’t read to the end - and you should - the short version is that we loved it!
In Jo's words...
“I’m going to start this off by saying this project was FAR from a solo effort. The night and every single day, week and month that brought the event itself closer saw a literal village pull together to bring ‘the vision’ to life. From the wider Knapton Wright and Destination Lincolnshire teams to other experts in their fields who supported the event with branding, printed collateral, trophy design and print, AV, staging and lighting, venue styling, catering and front of house management, world-class illusions - I could go on - so many people had a hand in making this event land as well as it did.
Not just a "Manage the award on the night" job!
“Because this was not a ‘just manage the awards on the night’ job. It was a project that was, at its heart, a partnership. One which saw myself and the team work with Destination Lincolnshire daily to support the entire awards cycle for 2024-25.
A veritable smorgasbord of task and activities.
This was a project that included:
- Pre-awards prep - supporting the discussions around what this year’s event and cycle was going to look like, what it would involve, how business could support it, and how it would make a (positive) impression, celebrating Destination Lincolnshire’s move to take the awards in house and away from any previous delivery/media partners.
- Developing a new brand and a supporting suite of design templates, including those for sponsorship and toolkits for applicants at each stage of the competition.
- Pre-launch comms.
- Launch PR and related collateral.
- Supporting the application process and outbound comms to help the Partnership team push for more submissions.
- Curation of options for the event host and managing the relationship throughout the process.
- Supporting the organisation and delivery of applications masterclasses with industry expert Nell Barrington and co-hosting them to support businesses with any questions they had regarding the regional competition.
- Supporting with the selection of the judging panel, organising and hosting their training sessions and managing their round one scoring process.
- Shortlist release PR and comms.
- Supporting comms to Destination Lincolnshire partners.
- Organising event suppliers - host, decor, AV, staging, lighting, production, photography, entertainment - and working with Destination Lincolnshire to ensure catering, bar and venue were also engaged and progress on track.
- Supporting the mystery shopping providers for round two of judging alongside Destination Lincolnshire.
- Working with Destination Lincolnshire to organise the round three - and final - judge’s lunch.
- Creation of digital assets for the event screens and projections.
- Crafting the host’s script and that for the speakers of the event.
- Creating the evening running order and the ‘bible’ for suppliers and involved parties so all information is easy to access and to-hand.
- Final event prep and set-up two days prior.
- Winners PR drafted and signed off, ready to release post-awards.
- On the day event management, co-ordinating suppliers and timeframes and managing the set-up and rehearsals.
- Post-event clean up, debriefing with suppliers and follow-up with all involved teams.
- Consulting on post-event comms with the Destination Lincolnshire team.
A background in hospitality
“The visitor economy and tourism industry is one I adore, maybe that's because of my background in hospitality - who said running a bar wouldn't come in handy one day? Maybe it's because I see so many of the connections I've made over the years ploughing their absolute heart and soul into businesses that contribute to the £2.6billion our visitor economy contributes to Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland annually. Or maybe it’s because my time immersed in the team at Destination Lincolnshire before this year’s cycle gave me a humbling insight into how much effort goes on behind the scenes to keep this industry alive and our destinations relevant. Maybe it's all of those things.
“Making sure this project fulfilled its potential was incredibly important to me. Not least because I hold the work of Destination Lincolnshire and its team in high regard but also because it was a first. The first opportunity Destination Lincolnshire as the region’s LVEP has had to present these awards in their own vision, the first opportunity the team had to make a new first impression and relaunch the awards in a way, and the first time they had the chance to truly show businesses that make up our visitor economy how much they are valued with a celebration deserving of their efforts.
Elegant & Classy
“With a brief of creating an event that was elegant and classy, our collaborative teams got to work. Having always had a tendency to over-plan, obsess over little details and want to make sure everyone is happy all the time, it seems I’ve found a calling where all of those (marginally annoying traits) pay off. It soon became clear that the potential and possibilities for this event were endless, so energy was channelled into doing the ‘basics’ incredibly well. I say ‘basic’...anyone that has worked in events will know that so much is involved in executing even the simplest event. There was still so much to plan and take into consideration, given that we were supporting across all facets of this competition, including application processes, judging, PR, comms, branding, design, and the event itself.
“So, what made this project successful? From the point of view of guests - and as you’ll see from the feedback the event had - it was the attention to detail, the food, the welcoming and fun atmosphere, how intimate the event felt despite being in a huge event space, the styling and organisation on the night being seamless. From my point of view, and that of the agency as a whole, it was how smoothly the event ran, and that is in every way down to the expert suppliers who were brought together and gave the event their all. There were no on-the-night hiccups, no dramas, and no unexpected challenges. We ran ahead of schedule, and the teams running the front of house were exceptional. The communication leading up to the event and throughout the project as a whole, in fact, and the professionalism of all involved blew me away and honestly made my job an easy one.
Reigniting Passion
“Speaking on behalf of Louise for a hot minute, the Tourism Excellence Awards has absolutely reignited her passion for events. Drawing from her rich experience with organisations like Chelsea Fc and CRUK (including running multi-million pound events while heavily pregnant!), Louise’s expertise was a lifeline for me during the process, and there’s no doubt her input was hugely instrumental in the event’s success. Having that mentorship and support to hand during the project saved me from worrying about countless details, knowing she would have the answers and, if not answers, some ideas of suitable solutions that made me think my way around any challenges. Not forgetting that she geeks out as much as me over spreadsheets, making lists and being (slightly too) organised.
A foundation for National Representation
“And while I may well be wishing it was time to do it all again - and maybe it will be soon, who knows - but for 12 of the winners from the Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards, the fun is only just beginning. They have now all been submitted to the national judging panel to see if they are selected to represent our wonderful region in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence; a facet of this competition which brings even more kudos and opportunity to regional winners. A connection that was made even more special at this year’s awards by having VisitEngland and VisitBritain CEO, Patricia Yates, and Rachel Gillis, the Regional Development Lead for East Midlands & East of England for VisitEngland, in attendance.
“Knowing the winners and having seen county businesses represent Lincolnshire nationally for the last few years, we certainly have high hopes for those who now, not-so-patiently, await news from Visit England and the national competition as to whether they have been shortlisted. Fingers crossed.”
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