UEL celebrates Gold at annual Heist Awards

The judges said it was "a bold, ambitious, and well-integrated campaign, with clearly defined and thought through channels to have a maximum impact".

They added they were delighted to see the growth that can be attributed to this campaign – "congratulations University of East London."

The Heist Awards celebrate the best in education marketing and held its annual award ceremony at the Kimpton Clocktower hotel in Manchester on 14 July, hosted by comedian Tom Allen. 

The Gold Award was not the only time the team had reason to cheer. The University was nominated in eight categories including five individuals in the Rising Star category alone. This all-round excellence helped secured the Bronze Award for Marketing Team of the Year.

The judges said, "This entry really showcased how the marketing team have brought to life the mission, vision and values of the university and tapped into its student populations' beliefs. With an excellent focus on building short-term success to achieve long-term sustainability, this team is leading change across the institution. Well done."

In the judges' words, a "story told through data" won the Silver Award for Best Use of Data, Insight or Marketing Research.

And the University was also Highly Commended for its Summer School Challenge 2021 which brought teenagers onto the campus for a range of fun and educational challenges to make up for time lost during the pandemic.

Judges hailed "a careers first approach to widening participation that delivered extremely positive outcomes".

Vanessa Varvas, chief marketing officer, said, "This was a very special night for all of us. We're pleased and proud to bring home all these awards and commendations which reflect the dedication and hard work of all the team and showcasing our authenticity in our marketing approach which brings out our core vision, mission and values as an organisation.

"And it was especially pleasing to win Gold for our Never Not Pushing Forward campaign which was inspired by our ambition to give every young person the belief and the skills to embrace their future career."

David Smith, head of marketing, said, "We're thrilled to bring home these awards. We operate in a very competitive market which requires the team to think more creatively to find messages that will resonate with our potential students.

"These awards show the breadth of that work, from using data-sets to respond to market trends to our showpiece Never Not Pushing Forward campaign which demonstrated how the University shares our students' drive and tenacity."