An initiative to attract new members to The Edge – the University’s health club – has won Best Marketing Campaign at the 2023 CUBO Awards.

As the national body for campus and commercial services professionals in HE and FE, the CUBO awards are recognised throughout the sector. The ceremony took place at their conference at the University of Glasgow last Thursday (6 July.)

Ann Allen, Director of Campus Innovation & Development said: 

“These are tough times for many people, including our students, and we work hard to offer great value for money in all of our commercial services, including The Edge which had a major upgrade just a few months ago.

“Working closely with students, the Sport & Physical Activity team consistently review membership packages to make sure they are meeting their needs.

“The marketing team’s imaginative and strategic approach to sales includes a full and sympathetic understanding of this external context. I send them my very warm congratulations for this well-deserved achievement.”

A new approach 

Following the pandemic, membership at The Edge severely declined and the club sought to understand more about what student members wanted.

Led by Tom Pickering, Sales and Marketing Manager, and Emily Halsall, Marketing Officer, the team undertook extensive research, creating detailed personas to understand what the diverse student membership population were looking for and their preferences for communication.

A key takeaway was that they wanted to hear more about the experiences of their peers and less from the University.

Feedback has been very positive for both the campaign and the services on offer and  almost as many people are using the Edge now as they were pre-pandemic.

To view the state-of-the-art facilities at The Edge, click here to visit the Leeds Sport website.