The team from Castle Howard are celebrating after taking a top accolade at the Museum + Heritage Awards last night (Wednesday).
The iconic attraction near York scooped Marketing and Communications Campaign of the Year.
Their winning campaign saw Into the Woods: A Fairytale Christmas, Castle Howard’s much-loved festive experience, bring record-breaking visitor numbers to the stately home in 2022.
Castle Howard came top of the category, which was judged by a panel of respected industry experts, alongside other fantastic shortlisted campaigns and organisations, including Tate Liverpool and the Imperial War Museum.
The awards are open to all museums, galleries, archives, and cultural and heritage organisations, both digital and in-person.
Hosted by comedian, podcaster and history presenter Iszi Lawrence, the award ceremony took place in London.
The judges described Castle Howard’s Christmas campaign as: “Achieving a remarkable return on investment, this campaign is theatrical in approach and successful in its outcome, building both audiences and experience.”
Director of marketing and visitors at Castle Howard Abbigail Ollive said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have won this prestigious award.
“It was a joy to be in a room full of incredible peers, and we were thrilled to be recognised at a great night celebrating the wonderful work across the sector.
“We welcomed over 80,000 visitors to Christmas at Castle Howard last year – our whole team across the organisation are dedicated to delivering a magical and joyful event; this award recognises a grand team effort.”
Entrants were from all areas of the cultural sector. Anna Preedy, Director of Museums + Heritage Awards said: “What is particularly wonderful about the Museums + Heritage Awards is the vast and varied range of organisations represented on our shortlist – from large, national museums to small, local heritage organisations and everything in between.
“The awards provide a rare opportunity to recognise and celebrate the determined, confident, and creative work of our extraordinary sector and are the ultimate stamp of approval!”
Castle Howard will announce their Christmas theme for 2023 tomorrow (Saturday 12 May), with tickets going on sale soon.