Why Chelsea FC are giving away digital advertising to London’s small businesses
Chelsea are offering London’s small businesses a pandemic pick-me-up in the form of free digital advertising.
The Premier League club plan to showcase a different start-up each matchday for the rest of the season, giving away digital assets worth five figures a time.
“Rather than celebrating us, we wanted to celebrate the city that we’re in,” Chelsea marketing director Gary Twelvetree told Morning Wire
The chosen businesses will benefit from a branded story on the club’s Instagram channel, which has more than 25m followers.
They will also receive logo placement on half-time and full-time social media posts, which the club says typically have a reach of 2.5m.
These assets are normally reserved for the club’s commercial partners, which include Nike, Three, Hyundai and Hublot.
Proud of London – the criteria and how to apply
Chelsea will choose London-based businesses with fewer than 50 employees that have made special efforts to launch, survive or grow during the pandemic – and retained a community focus.
“It’s about what they’ve done for their business, because we want to support businesses that help London and the economy grow,” said Twelvetree.
“But equally we’re looking for business that have given back to their community.”
This initiative, part of the club’s ‘Proud of London’ campaign, is not the first form of help Chelsea have extended during Covid-19.
Last year, the club offered free rooms at the Millennium and Copthorne Hotel at its Stamford Bridge home to NHS workers.
“It has always been a really important part of the club,” said Twelvetree. “When things are tough maybe the spotlight turns on those things a bit more but we have always done this.”
Interested businesses can apply to take part in the initiative here. The deadline for applications is Friday 26 March.