Local businesses offered advertising campaigns free of charge

In recognition of the UK’s small business community that’s worked tirelessly to evolve their services in light of the coronavirus crisis, local firms have been offered professional advertising campaigns free of charge by a number of organisations.

Clear Channel Direct, a firm which specialises in affordable outdoor and billboard advertising for small businesses, has pledged to support the sole traders who are keeping the communities of towns and villages running by managing Digital Out of Home (DOOH) campaigns on their behalf.

Its #BusinessAsUnusual initiative will see 250 local brands benefit with localised advertisements displayed clearly on billboards and screens within a one-mile radius of their stores. It’s an opportunity to help raise awareness of the local independent businesses still going and adapting to provide for their communities.

The DOOH campaigns can be used by the 250 lucky entrepreneurs and small business owners to communicate everything from new products and discounts through to alternative opening hours or delivery methods, keeping local brands firmly on the radar of their customers.

Martin Corke, Chief Marketing Officer, Clear Channel Direct, said: “The efforts that local business owners have gone to keep their communities watered, fed, healthy, happy and safe are astounding and they deserve celebrating.

“I’m immensely proud that we can offer 250 free-of-charge campaigns to local businesses, especially at a time when they all need our custom more than ever.”

Any local business selected for a free DOOH campaign will also get access to Clear Channel’s in-house design team, which can offer creative concepts for the new advertisements on screens and billboards. Local business owners must provide an image and the words to be used and the Clear Channel team will do the legwork for them.

Sky Media, the advertising sales arm of Sky, has launched its AdSmart SME support scheme, the SME100. This £1 million fund will provide 100 businesses with TV advertising campaigns via AdSmart to support them during the difficult times.

SME100 is open to small businesses which have been running for at least one year in the UK with up to 50 full-time employees. Businesses can nominate themselves or be put forward by their own customers. Sky Media is encouraging communities to highlight the businesses in their local area that need support during the COVID-19 lockdown and who would benefit from accessing the power of TV advertising at a moment when TV consumption has risen dramatically.

David Sanderson, Director of AdSmart Local & Development at Sky Media, said: “We want to help our nation’s SMEs where possible by giving access to highly relevant audiences via AdSmart totally for free. SMEs are the lifeblood of our economy, making up 99.9% of all business in the UK. We know that although there are economic slowdowns, people are still spending money and we want to help brands connect to these audiences. This initiative is about giving businesses confidence in advertising and their ability to succeed no matter the situation.”

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has partnered with Mail Metro Media to give 1,000 small businesses access to a £3 million free advertising fund during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The scheme allows small businesses to apply for £3,000 worth of advertising to run across the business’ print and online channels: the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Metro and i, and will be further supported with online ads running across MailOnline and Metro.co.uk.

FSB national chair Mike Cherry said: “The COVID-19 pandemic is going to have an impact on businesses for months, if not years, to come and they now face a difficult future as they try to navigate through these challenging, unprecedented times.

“They will now need to think outside the box to attract new customers and take on a more proactive approach when it comes to marketing products and services. However, there can be a cost associated with this, leaving many small businesses with nowhere to turn."

---

For our latest COVID-19 news and guidance for your business, visit our dedicated Coronavirus Hub.
We will be updating it regularly as we continue to monitor and digest all the latest information

Date published 13 May 2020 | Last updated 15 May 2020