By: Rajiv Raghunath
Last updated : May 11, 2020 5:31 pm
Value of advertising space extended to £14million
One month after its launch, the fund has now closed having allocated £14 million of free OOH ad space across Ocean’s premium OOH network to SMEs and retailers.
The fund was established to boost a small army of businesses and stimulate jobs and local economies during the coronavirus pandemic.
Ocean Outdoor UK joint managing directors Phil Hall and Steve George said: “This has been an exceptional project which has without doubt helped some businesses keep their heads above the water, build brand equity, connect with new audiences and generate sales during a difficult period.
Business owners who applied for space include Manchester based Didsbury Gin, which recently switched operations to produce one million bottle of sanitiser in the space of seven days.
Co-founder Liam Manton said: “Now we’re grateful to have received this support from Ocean Outdoor in return. We haven’t let these challenging times dampen our spirit or creativity – and we’re really proud of this campaign. Hopefully, it will help drive sales on our website, which we’re reliant on now more than ever.”
Mark Middlemas, CEO and founder of The Athlete Media Group said: “Ocean Outdoor’s SME scheme gives a small business like AMG a fantastic national platform. We have never had more engagement as a business and several hugely promising new business leads have come off the back of the campaign!”
Scotland based l’Art du Vin is an artisan wine merchant, selling wines from small, independent growers to restaurants and hotels.
Managing director Philippe Larue said: “Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have had to alter our business, concentrating our efforts on contactless home deliveries to members of the public.
The Ocean SME support fund was opened on April 6 for small to medium sized businesses affected by the coronavirus and operated in association with the Local Authorities Ocean works with. To qualify, participants needed to be open for business or be able to trade in the short term.