March 11, 2015 1.54 pm This story is over 114 months old

Success for the first Lincolnshire Digital Awards

#LDA15: The first Lincolnshire Digital Awards showcased a new way of thinking with digital technology and the first eight winners have been announced.

By Sarah Harrison-Barker Business Reporter

Eight outstanding businesses were awarded for their use of digital technology and innovation at the first Lincolnshire Digital Awards.

The inaugural awards ceremony was hosted by Lincolnshire Business magazine at the DoubleTree by Hilton on March 10.

Tech guru and TV personality Jason Bradbury made a memorable appearance, beaming himself into a robot on stage to welcome everyone to the event, before gliding to the front of the room on a Hovertrax hands free hover board.

He then announced the winners and congratulated them on their awards.

BBC Radio Lincolnshire presenter Melvyn Prior hosted the evening, announcing that there had been over 60 entries for the eight categories.

Councillor Colin Davie, Executive Member for Economic Development, closed the ceremony with a speech encouraging delegates to continue to represent the county and innovate.

The winners were determined by a panel of six independent judges.

The unique awards presented on the night were created by the Lincolnshire Technology Hub at the University of Lincoln.

They were made using a mixture of 3D printing, CNC milling, laser etching and traditional woodwork – bringing together the past, present and future of technology.

Also see photo from the Lincolnshire Digital Conference earlier in the day

Dean Graham, Associate Publisher of Lincolnshire Business, organisers of the event, said: “When we formed the idea of a digital awards for Lincolnshire we didn’t know how well it would be embraced; there’s always an inherent risk that you can create something that no-one is really interested in attending.

“Luckily our expectations were surpassed, not just with the amount of nominations that were received, but the support from the creative industry in Lincolnshire has been fantastic to see.

“Lincolnshire Business magazine was designed to celebrate, promote and connect businesses within the region, and I think our first event has achieved exactly that.”

Tom Whittaker, Managing Director of Trade Clients and winners of Best Digital Startup award, said: “The scaleability of what we do, combined with the future potential, gives us a leap above the other competition but they all did very well; they all have very good businesses and, as a start up, we now have to put our money where our mouth is.

“Version two is about to be submitted to the app store, once that goes in it is about scale, boosting the numbers and getting our customer acquisitions is where we want them to be.”

Daniel Westlake, Managing Director of Artsgraphica, and winner of the Digital Business of the year, said: “There is so much good talent locally; we’re delighted to be honoured with this award. There is a real buzz around the digital sector at the moment and it’s great to be a part of that.

“Artsgraphica is a bit unusual in that we don’t offer online marketing services. Instead, we see the web as a place that helps business to work better, not just to sell more.

“I think events like the Lincolnshire Digital Awards are crucial in recognising and developing local talent.”

The Lincolnshire Digital Awards 2015 winners were:

Best Use of Digital Photography

Sponsored by Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce

Double Red

Best Use of New Technology

Best Use of Mobile Technology

Best Digital Startup

Best Use of Multimedia

Best Digital Campaign

Innovation in Web Design

Digital Business of the Year

Sponsored by Streets Chartered Accountants

Artsgraphica

Look out for a full gallery, photo booth pictures, videos and additional highlights from the first Lincolnshire Digital Awards in Issue 20 of Lincolnshire Business Magazine on Friday, March 13. Subscribe to the email newsletter to receive the weekly magazine in your inbox.