A festive campaign that drove visibility, engagement, and ticket momentum, without paid ads or a large following.

Brinkley’s Christmas campaign was designed to do more than showcase festive food. Alongside building brand visibility, the content played an active role in supporting ticket sales for Illuminate Oxfordshire, encouraging footfall and attendance across the season.

This was delivered through an Instagram account with fewer than 2,000 followers, proving that reach and impact are driven by strategy and execution, not audience size.

Over just six weeks, the campaign delivered standout organic performance and meaningful real-world impact.

The Challenge

Brinkley’s needed their festive content to work harder than a traditional seasonal push.

The objectives were twofold:

• Build sustained buzz and visibility throughout the Christmas period

• Actively support ticket sales and footfall for Illuminate Oxfordshire

All of this needed to happen organically, from a relatively small account, during one of the most competitive content periods of the year.

The challenge wasn’t just to be seen — it was to be relevant, timely, and compelling enough to influence real-world behaviour.

Our Approach

We treated the Christmas campaign as a live event marketing strategy, not a collection of festive posts.

Rather than chasing trends or overproducing content, we focused on how people actually discover events, decide to attend, and share experiences in real time.

Our approach centred on:

• Posts, reels and Stories designed specifically for Instagram’s native behaviour

• Keyword-rich captions to support discovery and event-related searches

• Active community engagement to extend reach beyond the follower base

• Collaborations with the event organiser to cross-pollinate audiences and reinforce ticket messaging

This ensured the content didn’t just entertain; it supported event awareness and attendance across the full six-week run.

The Creative

The creative direction was intentionally human and unpolished.

We avoided stock imagery and heavy staging, focusing instead on real moments that helped audiences visualise the experience:

• Behind-the-scenes food preparation

• Real staff interactions on site

• Festive food and drink in a live event setting

• Real-time Stories encouraging spontaneous visits

• Clips of the trail, atmosphere, and guest reactions

This made the event feel accessible and appealing, encouraging last-minute decisions and organic sharing; both critical drivers for ticket sales.

The Results

In just six weeks, all organic and from an account with under 2,000 followers, the campaign achieved:

• 63,409 total Reel views

• Watch time up 76.3%

• Interactions up 18.5%

• Consistent DMs, saves, and shares linked to event attendance and food offerings

• Increased visibility for both Brinkley’s and Illuminate Oxfordshire throughout the season

These results demonstrate how well-planned content can influence discovery and decision-making, even without paid media or a large audience.

The Bigger Picture

This campaign highlights Ninety8 Media’s core belief: audience size does not determine impact — strategy does.

By aligning Brinkley’s content with the wider event goals, we created a festive campaign that supported ticket momentum, drove real engagement, and strengthened brand perception at the same time.

Brinkley’s continues to partner with Ninety8 Media for ongoing social content, seasonal campaigns, and long-term digital strategy, focused on sustainable growth rather than short-lived spikes.