As a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, the renowned Lincolnshire Show was forced to innovate and go online for the first time in its 135-year history last month. Account executive Danielle Hall explains how we helped to ensure the show’s success by utilising our presenting and content creation specialists.
The show must go on
In March, the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society made the heart-breaking decision to cancel this year’s Lincolnshire Show. However, fast forward a couple of months and it was announced that the much-loved event was going online for the first time in its history.
The action-packed day, which was designed to suit all ages and tastes just like the traditional show, was filled with virtual entertainment, online networking, live music, cookery demonstrations and much more.
Although the 136th show took place on a website rather than on site at the Showground, the typical show format remained the same where online visitors were able to explore six different zones including Main Ring and Aviation, Education Zone, Lincolnshire Kitchen and Food Court, Trade Exhibitors, Agriculture Zone and Countryside and Heritage Area.
Creating quality content
To execute this mammoth plan, content creation specialists from Cartwright Communications were brought on board to film a selection of videos which were to be broadcast throughout the day.
From start to finish – including storyboarding, arranging interviews, on-location filming and editing – the project was completed in just five working days and included 13 pieces of unique content.
Presenter-led links were recorded to help visitors navigate the wide breadth of activities and events on offer, and interviews were filmed to give people a taste of what it’s like behind the scenes at one of the county’s most popular events.
The videos were a great success, with our opening link making it into the top five most popular videos on the day, and really set the Lincolnshire Show Online apart from other showgrounds who had taken the decision to go digital.
National recognition
From Australia to America, viewers from all across the world came together virtually to be part of the show, with the general manager of the Queensland Chamber of Agricultural Societies getting in touch directly to congratulate the team for their vision.
The virtual show has also quickly become one of the most successful online agricultural shows to date, with more than 60,000 page views recorded throughout the day. The website also saw more than 10,000 unique visitors to the website in just one day. This would be a third of the usual visitors to the traditional Lincolnshire Show, if it were held on one day instead of the traditional two days.
Jayne Southall, CEO of the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society, said: “When we made the decision to cancel the traditional show this year, we were absolutely devastated, but we tried to be positive and quickly thought of ways to keep the Lincolnshire Show alive – and the Lincolnshire Show Online did exactly that.
“We have been overwhelmed by the support received, from our exhibitors, sponsors, partners and most importantly the visitors, online or in person, who help bring the Lincolnshire Show to life.”
Want to know more?
Interested in incorporating video content or other elements into your campaign? At Cartwright Communications, we can provide a whole range of content creation strategies that can be tailored to your individual requirements.
We also recently created an online webisode series called CC Live which features conversations with industry leaders and professionals from across a whole range of sectors. Webisodes are available to sponsor so please get in touch here if you’re interested in hosting your own programme or want to know more about our content creation offering.
