STV has announced the return of its Inclusion Fund and is seeking to award four small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) committed to diversity and inclusion.
Following a pitch process, these successful SMEs will each be gifted £25,000 worth of airtime to create and produce an advertising campaign to help grow their businesses.
The funding comes via the £30m STV Growth Fund, which aims to make advertising more accessible and affordable for SMEs in Scotland.
STV launched the Inclusion Fund in 2021 and last year’s recipients of gifted membership were Social Stories Club, a social enterprise in Edinburgh; Daisy Tree Baby Boutique, a family-run high street and online store in Aberdeenshire; Deaf Action in Edinburgh, which supports the diversity of hearing-impaired people; and community interest firm Women’s Enterprise Scotland.
Previous winner, Karis Gill, co-founder of Social Stories, said: “We were so excited when we found out that we had been awarded this opportunity as recognition for our diversity - we really enjoyed working with the STV team and watching our campaign come together.“
Social Stories Club was advertised alongside I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here and Mamma Mia! - The Movie. Gill said that web traffic soared by 1,200% during peak times and Social Stories was seen by more than a million people.
This year’s judging panel is comprised of:
- Femi Otitoju - STV’s diversity and inclusion advisor and founder of Challenge Consultancy, part of the EW Group, which supports some of the UK's leading brands and organisations to develop inclusive practice.
- Evelyn McDonald - Chief executive of Scottish EDGE, a competition aimed at identifying and supporting Scotland’s high growth entrepreneurial talent.
- Aarti Joshi - A radio and podcast presenter, and marketing consultant, previously marketing chief at DF Concerts and on the board of trustees for Sub Club.
- Mike Adams OBE - Chief executive of Purple, an organisation highlighting the value, contribution and advantage disability can bring to business and society.
Danielle Kelly, director of strategy and sales for Scotland at STV, said: “Last year’s initiative, providing gifted airtime for four SMEs, was a huge success and we have strong evidence highlighting the positive impact their bespoke campaigns had on their business performance.
“Diversity and inclusion are key priorities for us and we can’t wait to hear from interested businesses from across the country.”
STV is inviting businesses with a commitment to inclusive growth and who are keen to kickstart their marketing campaigns to nominate themselves or an SME for one of four funded memberships.
Interested businesses should download an application form from the STV Commercial website before midnight on 6 March.
Finalists will be invited to present their proposals in April, will include a chat with the panel about how they champion diversity through their brand, thoughts on their marketing plans and to provide details on their longer-term diversity and inclusion strategies.
The STV Growth Fund launched in 2018 and to date, more than 500 deals have been done, including almost 200 SMEs which were new to television advertising.
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