Space recruits for £10,000 Devon evangelism competition

The "Lovemydevon" campaign calls for people to attend one of three auditions from November 24 to identify people who can share their passion, creativity and knowledge of Devon and represent the county nationwide.

The overall aim of the concept by integrated agency Space is to increase the number of visitors to the area and position Devon as a year-round quality destination for UK holidaymakers.

Space has designed pre-promotion material, which uses language and imagery in a collage embracing "the warm, personal local spirit of Devonians", to publicise the auditions and recruit people to attend.

The creative will appear in press ads in regional newspapers and lifestyle magazines, posters, outdoor, ambient opportunities and on the Visit Devon website and partner sites.

Auditionees will need to demonstrate why they should be picked for the job to a judging panel which will include a celebrity guest, Exeter-born chef Michael Caines, two Visit Devon representatives and a member of the local media.

Visit Devon is looking for three teams, which can be comprised of individuals, a couple or groups of people.

The audition winners will be charged with developing publicity campaigns linked to their "love" for the county and the different ways in which this can be shown off to potential holidaymakers and visitors through non-paid-for media channels.

They will be paid a salary during the month-long challenge to generate as much media coverage outside of the county as possible and the overall winner who generates the most inventive campaign and media value will be awarded £10,000.

Nicola Poultney, chief executive of Visit Devon, said: "This is certainly a unique approach for us to target people in this way, but we believe that this will be very effective in promoting Devon as a year-round quality visitor destination."

Caines said: "We all know how great Devon is, that's why we live here and who better to promote Devon than Devonians themselves.

"This is the perfect opportunity for some of our most dedicated and creative residents to share their love for Devon with the rest of the nation."

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com