Those efforts helped recipients generate 75 million impressions, which was 147 per cent more than anticipated. The campaign resulted in increased awareness, partnership opportunities, new referrals and traffic on social media and websites for the beneficiary businesses.
Publicis, Canada’s largest digital advertising agency, also provided strategy consultations and creative design to the recipients as part of its initiative.
Many of the small businesses involved were owned by women and Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC).
“Small businesses are the cornerstone of our communities and Publicis Media is committed to serving its community, especially those in underrepresented industries,” said Publicis chief strategy and data officer David Rusli in a media release.
“Many of us personally know small business owners impacted by the pandemic so it’s an amazing feeling to work on a campaign that has tangible impacts to these small business owners.”
LOCO is a Quebec-based zero-waste grocery store that opened in 2016 and is committed to providing a range of food and daily use products that are healthy, ecological and without packaging.
CH Studio is a Guelph, Ont.-based, female- and BIPOC-owned company that sells a line of clean beauty products made with natural and earth-friendly ingredients to suit different skin types.
MacaronZ is a tea salon and online pastry shop in Brampton, Ont.
“Being on 14 ZUM Buses, plus the digital board and all the added ads we received we are all so speechless, grateful, excited and just so full of emotions,” MacaronZ founder Zanda Rodrigues said in the release. “No words can express how grateful we are for this.”
Hydrocephalus Canada is a Toronto-based charity that empowers those impacted by Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida by establishing environments that protect, support and enhance the lives of those living with the disease.
Quill Inc is a female- and BIPOC-owned podcast agency that develops, produces and markets podcasts that drive reach, awareness and growth through brand storytelling.
“The campaign brought an influx of not only awareness but also credibility to our brand,” Quill founder Fatima Zaidi said in the release.
inkbymi is a Toronto-based paper stationery company that creates modern calligraphy and hand-drawn illustrations.
CD by Sendi is an Ottawa-located, female- and BIPOC-owned creative service-based practice with a focus on the BIPOC artistic community.
“This initiative definitely gave my brand more exposure and it was surreal seeing my ads on billboards in rotation with other big brands,” founder Rachel (no last name given) said in the release. “A huge thank you again for supporting small businesses!”
Key to Speech is an Ottawa-based speech therapy clinic with a bilingual team of speech-language pathologists who provide assessment and intervention to people of all ages.
Love UR Body is a women-owned nutrition, fitness and wellness consultancy in Markham, Ont. that offers lifestyle coaching and retreats.
“This campaign helped me to understand how much we have been through and how much we have done for the past few years,” Love UR Body founder Anna Jourabloo said in the release. “It was truly humbling to see the advertisements and know that an increase in awareness is happening.”
Ziggy's At Home is based in Toronto and sells French soaps, glassware, dishware, contemporary furniture and accessories from around the world.
Mikey’s Cream Pies is based in Hamilton, Ont. and sells home-made baked goods.
Publicis launched a similar campaign early in the pandemic that offered out-of-home media support to 30 businesses.
The agency provided monetary support to three charities and introduced a charitable matching program for employees last year.
Pro bono work is also a core pillar of Publicis and it recently launched a partnership with The DMZ, a technology incubator affiliated with Toronto’s Ryerson University, to support startups. Over the years, the agency has provided $6 million of pro bono media value.
All of these initiatives are part of Publicis’ corporate social responsibility strategy, which is focused on five elements: environmental; societal; talent; ethics and governance; and client support.
Publicis prides itself on its corporate culture and policies that favour diversity, real inclusion and equality of chance.