Digital marketing firm started by two young entrepreneurs in Portsmouth wins top national award for Covid campaign

Portsmouth-based Hewitt Matthews received the award for Best Crisis Communications & Response Campaign at the UK Agency Awards 2021 ceremony at Marble Arch in London.

The #WeAreTogether campaign was run across Instagram, Facebook and select websites on behalf of Universities UK International and their 140 member universities across the country.

The aim was to reassure international students, who may have been isolated due to the government-imposed lockdown, that they weren't alone and to signpost them to support services.

It also highlighted to prospective students living abroad that UK universities had made sufficient provision around hygiene and health and safety.

Universities invited international students to upload their own videos to Instagram with the hashtag #WeAreTogether and share their experiences of studying on campus. Vloggers were able to outline how their individual universities had responded to the pandemic with health and safety, online learning and mental health support being highlighted. This content was circulated by partner agencies too.

The campaign reached 59.8 million people and surveys showed that 67 per cent of prospective international students felt more confident to continue with their plans to study in the UK after engaging with the campaign.

Carl Hewitt, one of Hewitt Matthews' managing directors, said: ‘'We're so proud to have won this award. The #WeAreTogether campaign has been one of the most important projects we've ever been involved in.

‘The content was created by students for students, so viewers could respect its authenticity and make informed choices based on trustworthy information.'

SEE ALSO: Dinner held at Southsea restaurant Akash to mark university of Portsmouth's recent award win for work with Bangladesh community

Reece Matthews, joint managing director, said: ‘2021 continues to surprise us! It was five years ago that we started this agency and since then we've supported a variety of organisations to reach their goals.

‘Over the years, we've been nominated for a few awards and this accolade is a huge milestone. It's been a pleasure to work with Universities UK International on this campaign and help them at such a crucial time for students.'

Hewitt Matthews is based at Lakeside, North Harbour, Portsmouth. The company started in 2016 as DigitalDinos.