Sky announces a 1 million pound SME support fund

Sky Media, the advertising sales arm of TV company Sky, has launched a 1 million pound fund with its AdSmart SME support scheme, SME100, which will provide help to 100 businesses across the UK with TV ad campaigns to support them during the pandemic.

SME100 is open to SMEs that 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. With Sky Media encouraging people to highlight the businesses in their local area that need support during this time and who would benefit from accessing the power of TV advertising at a moment when TV consumption has significantly increased.

The aim of the fund is to help SMEs survive and thrive during the pandemic with Sky Media looking to reward businesses that they claim are “demonstrating true resolve and ingenuity” and that would “further thrive” with the extra exposure TV can deliver.

“Businesses up and down the country are facing some of the hardest trading conditions in recent memory,” said David Sanderson, director of AdSmart local and development at Sky Media. “We want to help our nation’s SMEs where possible by giving access to highly relevant audiences via AdSmart totally for free.”

Sanderson added: “SMEs are the lifeblood of our economy, making up 99.9 percent 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.”

Sky to help 100 businesses with TV ad campaigns to support them during the Covid-19 pandemic

Creative execution of the ads will be supported by local creative agencies and through an exclusive partnership with Shutterstock, who will assist the 100 businesses by providing complimentary access to high-quality images, video and music to aid the creative process and effectively tell their story with engaging content.

The campaigns will be delivered via AdSmart from Sky that allows a brand to target audiences that matter to its business, to reach households by postcode area, within a designated distance of their store, or by household make-up or lifestyle attributes that best suit their service.

Small Business Minister, Paul Scully added: “This Government is fully committed to supporting SMEs through this challenging time, with 12.3 billion pounds in grants and 100 percent government-guaranteed loans of up to 50,000 pounds through our Bounce Back Loans scheme.

“However, we all have a role to play in the national response to Covid-19, so I welcome Sky’s announcement today, releasing a 1 million pound AdSmart fund to provide SMEs with free TV advertising campaigns.”

Image: courtesy of Sky Media