THE key to a successful, thriving business undoubtedly lies in its marketing strategy.

Those companies with the vision to develop an effective multimedia campaign will always steal a march on their competitors - a fact recognised by in-cumbria in its Business Awards this year.

A distinguished panel of judges from the world of Cumbrian business will assess entries for the Best Marketing Strategy .

This is one of 16 awards to be presented by the BBC's media editor Amol Rajan, a former editor of The Independent, at an evening of celebration at The Halston Hotel in Carlisle on November 9.

Helping Cumbrian businesses grow and develop while building their brand is central to in-cumbria's ethos which is why this Best Marketing Strategy honour is an integral part of this year's awards.

In tune with this is Carlisle Brass, who as sponsors of the award recognise just how important marketing is to a thriving, developing company.

Lucia Dickinson has been appointed to manage and drive its ambitious marketing strategy which is putting the company firmly at the forefront of its industry.

She moved to Carlisle Brass from Warwick where she worked in the automotive industry relocating to the county with her husband Andrew Dickinson, a logistics manager who is from Workington.

Based at Parkhouse Road in Kingstown, Carlisle Brass has grown over the past 31 years into one of Europe's leading distributors of architectural brassware and fittings.

In addition to its Carlisle centre which has a staff of 90, the company has 59 working in Blackburn and on the road. Its businesses in Kirkham near Preston, Dublin and Dubai employ a further 47 people with another 200 working in its factory in China.

Another company which recognises the importance of a good marketing strategy is the Daffodil Hotel and Spa in Grasmere which last year won in-cumbria's Best Use of Media category again sponsored by Carlisle Brass.

The hotel was recognised for its outstanding success in relaunching after the devastation of the 2015 floods.

It was closed for seven months finally opening last year after a full refurbishment. As part of its relaunch the hotel underwent a complete rebrand including a new website and major social media drive.

After picking up the award Laura Wolstenholme, marketing and sales manager at the hotel, said: "We were closed for seven months and wanted to stay in touch with our customers, and used a variety of marketing techniques to do that."

Jonathan Lee, group development director at CN Group said: "We see every day some excellent examples of marketing strategy, with innovative thinking, creativity and delivery from businesses across a range of sectors throughout the county. I would urge all businesses who make marketing a key part of their strategy to enter these awards so we can showcase and celebrate the best in Cumbria."

The winner of this year's award will be a business which has a successful marketing strategy undertaken in the last year which has:

- Identified a clear market opportunity to launch a new product or develop an existing one

- Documented a marketing strategy to realise the market opportunity

- Implemented an action plan to deliver the marketing strategy

- Been able to show early positive measurable results of the strategy

Find out more about the awards

HERE