The race was the hook: how we helped Visit Lincolnshire maximise the Tour of Britain

When the Lloyds Tour of Britain arrived in Lincolnshire, the county had two days in the national sporting spotlight. Our job was to help Visit Lincolnshire turn that attention into something bigger: a reason to visit, explore, stay longer, and plan a return visit.

The Tour of Britain is much more than a cycle race. For every rider on the road, there are spectators planning where to watch, families looking for a day out, and cycling fans deciding whether to travel and stay overnight. It’s an invaluable opportunity.

With the right campaign, a major event can increase footfall, support local businesses and introduce a destination to people who may never have considered visiting before.

When Lincolnshire discovered it was going to host the first two stages of the 2026 race, we jumped at the chance to work with Visit Lincolnshire to make the most of that opportunity - before, during and beyond race day.

A race might last two days. Its impact can travel much further.

Seeing the opportunity beyond the race

Stage One started and finished in Lincoln, taking the riders through the Lincolnshire Wolds and straight past our office in Caistor. Stage Two then carried the action from Boston to Skegness, linking these two historic towns with a route that took riders back through the Wolds and along the Lincolnshire Coast.

It was an exciting route, but the campaign could not rely on the race alone. The wider opportunity was to show spectators what else Lincolnshire offered: places to eat and drink, attractions to explore, countryside to enjoy, independent businesses to discover and accommodation that could turn a day at the roadside into a short break.

That thinking shaped the central visitor message: come for the race, stay for Lincolnshire.

Rather than treating the Tour as a two-day event, we helped position it as the starting point for a wider destination story.

Building a clear campaign message

Large events involve lots of organisations, audiences and practical information. Without a clear narrative, activity can quickly become fragmented.

Visit Lincolnshire needed support to develop messaging that connected the excitement of world-class cycling with the county’s broader visitor offer. The campaign needed to work for residents already close to the route, as well as people considering travelling into Lincolnshire for a day trip or short break.

The message needed to be energetic and welcoming, but always useful, too. It encouraged people to:

• Choose a place to watch the race.
• Plan their journey and race day.
• Explore nearby towns, attractions and landscapes.
• Support local cafes, restaurants, shops and accommodation providers.
• Make a full day - or a few days - of their visit.

This gave the campaign a consistent foundation across social media, paid advertising, PR and out-of-home activity.

Reaching local and visiting audiences

Working with Smart Outdoor and one of our trusted collaborators, who is an expert in Meta advertising, we collectively developed a paid advertising strategy that separated audiences already in Lincolnshire from those within an agreed travelling distance. Local audiences were encouraged to enjoy the major sporting moment happening on their doorstep. Travel-in audiences saw the race as an excellent reason to discover the county, with messaging built around city atmosphere, countryside joy, market towns and coastal magic.

Creative assets and copy were developed for different stages and locations, including:

• The buzz of Stage One starting and finishing in Lincoln
• Cathedral views, historic streets and challenging cobbled climbs
• The journey through the Lincolnshire Wolds
• Stage Two’s route from Boston to a seaside finish in Skegness
• Reasons to eat, explore and stay before or after the riders passed by

Paid Meta activity helped direct audiences to Visit Lincolnshire’s dedicated Tour of Britain landing page, where they could find route information and inspiration for planning a wider visit. Out-of-home advertising added visibility away from social feeds, reinforcing the campaign in everyday locations.

Campaign performance

The paid social campaign exceeded the top end of its forecast across every key metric. It reached 115,965 people and generated 281,644 impressions, while 8,276 link clicks delivered a 2.94% click-through rate - almost double the upper forecast.

Most importantly, 6,832 people visited the campaign landing page, more than 2.5 times the upper forecast, at a cost of just £0.18 per landing page view.

Creating content people could use

Awareness was important, but practical and inspiring content helped turn that awareness into action.

Working alongside Visit Lincolnshire and its partners, we helped build a content journey from the initial announcement to race day. This included social content, visitor information, route-led inspiration and clear calls to plan a trip.

Instead of only saying that the Tour was coming, the campaign answered the questions that mattered:

• Where could people watch?
• What could they do nearby?
• Where could they eat and stay?
• How could they make more of their time in Lincolnshire?

The purpose of that visitor-first approach was to make the campaign more useful and give tourism businesses a natural place within the story.

Supporting the visitor economy

For local businesses, a major event can create opportunities before, during and after race day. Visitors need food, accommodation, transport and things to do; they may also return after discovering somewhere new.

That is why the campaign had to look beyond the bikes. It connected the Tour with Lincolnshire’s hospitality businesses, attractions, independent shops, market towns, countryside and coast.

The aim was not simply to generate a crowd. It was to encourage visitors to spend more time in the county and spread the value of the event across the wider visitor economy for longer.

It also gave businesses and communities something to rally around. Along the route, bikes, bunting and flags helped towns and villages create a colourful welcome. In Caistor, schools, residents, volunteers and local businesses came together as 108 riders raced through the town - a brilliant example of the pride and energy a major event can unlock.

Capturing the moment without losing the bigger picture

Race day brought everything together. Lincolnshire’s streets and roads filled with spectators, the county appeared on a national stage and communities had the chance to be part of an internationally recognised sporting event.

For us, it was especially memorable to see the riders race straight past Knapton Wright HQ. We captured the atmosphere and shared the moment, but our work did not end when the riders disappeared down the road.

The strongest event campaigns create material and momentum that continue afterwards. Photography, video, community stories and route inspiration can all help keep Lincolnshire visible and encourage future visits.

The Tour created a spike in attention. The wider campaign helped turn that attention towards the county and everything it has to offer, and will continue to do so with a legacy approach to PR.

The race was the hook, not the whole campaign

Our work with Visit Lincolnshire shows what is possible when event marketing and destination marketing work together.

The Tour of Britain provided excitement, urgency and national visibility. The campaign connected that moment with clear visitor reasons to come, stay, spend and return.

It brought together strategy, content, paid media, PR and local knowledge - all centred on a simple idea: a major event should create value beyond the day itself.

The race may be over, but Lincolnshire’s cycling and visitor story will keep on moving.

Planning a major event, visitor campaign or place-marketing project?

We help destinations and organisations turn moments of attention into integrated campaigns that reach the right people and create longer-term value.

Talk to the KW team about what’s next!