The Sheffield Universities beat fierce competition and received national acclaim for a campaign which saw students take a tour of Sheffield on a sofa.
University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University set aside competitive goals to as they aimed to market the city as an attractive home for students.
The Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Marketing/Communications Team was given for the ‘Sheffield: Your University City’ campaign last night at the ACC in Liverpool.
The universities wanted to change perceptions after ‘target demographic areas had low awareness of Sheffield as a potential study destination.’
Dan Barcroft, Director of Student Recruitment at the University of Sheffield, said: “We are incredibly proud that our innovative and collaborative campaign with our partners has been recognised by this award.”
Jacqui Robinson, Director of Communications and Marketing at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “Anyone who has spent time in Sheffield knows how welcoming it is, and how important our universities are to the region.
“Thanks to this campaign, we have been able to highlight how Sheffield is a great place to study, live and ultimately to start a career – it has been a great success for us, and for our city.”
The 30 second advert, which saw three prospective students sat on a sofa in some of Sheffield’s most recognisable places, beat out campaigns by Norland College, the University of Nottingham, University of Portsmouth, London Metropolitan University and Queen University Belfast.
The panel said of the winners: “The campaign clearly delivered significant positive impact on the city and both universities in terms of attracting students to study in Sheffield.”
Sheffield is home to over 60,000 students from over 150 countries with £313m brought to local economy by international students, according to a report by Universities UK International and the Higher Education Policy Institute.
Sheffield Hallam University also won the award for International Collaboration of the Year for their partnership with the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration.
