A travel agent has scooped £4,000 of marketing funding for her business after winning a Norwegian Cruise Line competition.
The line launched its Pitch Your Plan initiative in June through Travel Weekly with agents being urged to create a sales and marketing plan, based on NCL’s premium all inclusive fare.
Kate Holroyd, of Strawberry Holidays, beat stiff competition from Arrange My Escape, Reed Travel and Delmar World to win the prize after pitching her plan to four-person judging panel at Travel Weekly’s offices in London.
In addition to winning a marketing budget, staff at Blackburn-based agency Strawberry Fields will receive a consultancy visit from NCL’s marketing and PR director Karen Sequeira and business development director Nicky Foot, plus a £1,000 to go towards a night out.
Sequeira said: “We felt Kate delivered a well thought thorough plan that demonstrated both creativity and practicality in meeting our objectives.
“She looked beyond the traditional travel agency outlook by providing an out-of-hours service with a personal touch.
“It was a close call between all four shortlisted which included: Ann Anglesea from Delmar World Travel; Daniel Reed, of Reed Travel, and Jennifer Lynch from Arrange My Escape – and it was a tough decision. However, we felt Kate’s plan and presentation exceeded our expectations.”
NCL has also offered all three runners up a consultancy session run by Sequeira and Foot.