During  the COVID-19 lockdown Wirral-based OON Media saw its income plummet to zero but has come out of the dark period and won a top industry award. Tony McDonough reports

Wirral digital marketing agency OON Media has been named Best Digital Marketing Agency Merseyside in the 2020 Media Innovator Awards by Corporate Vision magazine.

The news comes as a timely boost for OON Media who, like many creative businesses, have been bit hard as a result of COVID-19. Award winners are described as being able to “adapt, grow and evolve to the needs of the industry in the pursuit of bettering it and challenging others to follow their lead”.

The agency has continued to trade throughout lockdown despite a devastating three months of zero income, with all pre-booked work cancelled due to lockdown and social distancing.

Instead, the team spent the time researching and developing new ways to expand the business in a bid to come out the other side stronger. No staff were placed on furlough and the OON Media directors took a reduced salary.

Mike Sowden, chief executive of OON, said: “Being named Best Digital Marketing Agency Merseyside 2020 in the Media Innovator Awards is a huge boost especially in the current climate.

“OON Media was created in 2016 and we’re still in our formative years compared to some of our peers, so this accolade is something we really must stand up and shout about. Our clients’ core values and objectives are at the heart of all we do, and that feeds our appetite to exceed their expectations.

“We used lockdown to complete a full skills analysis to identify how we wanted to expand both client services and our own team. It was a crucial task and will ultimately move us forward, helping to future-proof us as an agency. Our next step is recruiting the right people for the four new jobs we have also created.”

OON Media’s previous public and private sector clients have included theatre, television, charities, SMEs, corporate, and events companies. A new social media marketing campaign was launched recently to showcase the agency’s expanded portfolio of services, skills, experience and qualities.