Cateys 2025: Best Marketing Campaign Award: Northcote

This year’s Best Marketing Campaign Award goes to a business that has proudly hosted a culinary festival for a quarter of a century.

Having grown from humble beginnings, Northcote’s Obsession has cemented its position as the UK’s leading gastronomic event, largely due to the luxury hotel’s commitment to a highly effective and strong marketing strategy that has delivered exceptional reach, sales and engagement.

This year, for Obsession’s 25th anniversary, the hotel received more than 10,000 inquiries for 1,000 covers from the UK and worldwide, with the remaining covers sold to corporates, hospitality guests and sponsors. During the 17-day event bridging January and February, this year’s 1,572 Obsession guests were treated to a selection of 97 dishes created by 22 world-class chefs, including Angela Hartnett, Yannick Alleno and Alain Roux, who between them have won 27 Michelin stars.

The event and its campaign have transformed traditionally slow trading months into a peak performance time for the hotel, directly fulfilling one of its core objectives: significantly boosting low-season income. The return on investment speaks volumes, reaching a highly impressive 1,100%.

Event marketing kicked off months in advance. A four-month pre-event campaign used email marketing and social media, culminating in a new online ballot system designed to manage high ticket demand. This was followed by a 10-day digital countdown, featuring interviews with Lisa Goodwin-Allen and guest chefs to drive traffic to the event website.

To maximise reach to an online audience, the marketing team leveraged both internal and external communication channels. Internally, it created daily digital content, including chef profiles and more than 40 social media reels and ‘behind-the-scenes’ glimpses, generating 820,000 views, 1.8 million impressions and 65,000 engagements. Externally, the team engaged with marketing agency Q Communications to offer national exclusives and chef interviews, as well as hosting journalists and influencers during Obsession evenings.

Crucial to the campaign’s success was financial viability and an enhanced guest experience. The marketing campaign secured sponsorship from both longstanding and new partners, achieving an impressive six-figure sum. This included brands such as San Pellegrino, Belazu and Louis Roederer Champagne, alongside out-of-sector collaborations with Bentley and Sarah Layton Jewellers.

Throughout the 17-day event itself, daily professional photography offered readily available content to instantly reshare, expanding the event’s reach and audience. Seamless branding in the form of programmes, menus and keepsakes reinforced the Obsession brand. Post-event marketing, notably a glossy magazine, served as both a lasting memento and a platform for sponsors and suppliers to showcase their contributions, as well as generating year-round buzz for next year’s festival.

But the campaign’s success extended beyond ticket sales, generating a brilliant £77,000 for Hospitality Action, as well as raising funds for early years education charity Eye Nepal, Northcote’s international charity partner.

Obsession is increasingly known as the “Glastonbury of gastronomy”, and it is easy to see why. A quarter of a century on, this campaign, and the event which it promotes, is not running out of steam – rather, it is just getting started.

What the judges said

“This event has grown over time to become an iconic gastronomic event. The occasion is now celebrating its 25th anniversary – testament to the success of the moment. This entry was so thorough, and I love how they included so much of the incredible feedback from attendees.” Lizzie Barclay

“A clear and concise campaign that puts their passion at the forefront and understands their audience. The legacy campaign was beautifully executed and commercially returned tenfold.” Ruth Carpenter

The shortlist

• The Grove, Hertfordshire
• Kerb
• Northcote, Lancashire
• Rudy’s Pizza

The judges

• Lizzie Barclay, Square
• Ruth Carpenter, Pizza Pilgrims
• Sarah Collins, Rick Stein Group

If you would like to enter the 2026 Cateys, or you know someone who you would like to nominate, register your interest for updates