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There was a time when we feel that the grass is greener on the other side, and that working for a company is mundane and ‘hand-cuffed’. The dream of being your own boss, making your own decisions, working at your own pace, marching head-strong towards your mission and taking on all the challenges ahead by sheer willpower is the most wondrous dream ever. Everything would have been like a dream IF only you are looking through it from a rose-tinted glasses.
Entrepreneurship is tough. Sustaining a business is even tougher. And this Covid-19 pandemic isn’t helping either. We are now in the Phase 4 of the Movement Control Order (MCO), and it’s saddening as we read about small and medium businesses being forced to shut down amidst the crisis. This is alarming, simply because SMEs play a pivotal role behind the Malaysian economy with approximately 40% in GDP contribution. While we strongly believe that our local SMEs are a resilient lot, there are times when a little helping hand will be a much needed respite in times like these.
"Entrepreneurship is tough. Sustaining a business is even tougher."
We are a start-up on our own merit, and needless to say the journey is not void of bumpy roads & pitfalls. However, we are blessed to have been supported by many SME businesses whom had dive into their first foray in Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising by placing their trust in BRANDLAH; and this greatly boosted our sense of purpose and confidence that as we reward the community, we, will be rewarded in return. As the Covid-19 crisis goes on, there’s a possible economic recession looming as a result of lockdowns and businesses will be forced to pivot their financial budgets into what matters most – core necessities. Advertising activities will be reduced to a Nice-To-Have.
Nonetheless, key questions remain: How can a business get new revenue boost IF no one knows about who/what they are? How can the business compete in a sea of “clones”? What can the business do to stand out from the crowd?
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The team came together and took a moment to look back at our vision and reason of existence and it was very clear more than ever, that is the time to serve our industry, our economy and our fellow SMEs. What if we can offer a Support Fund for the SME community to help them regain their grounds post MCO? In times of survival, every little helps. What good can the Malaysian economy get if the local businesses cannot survive, let alone thrive.
"Something purposeful, something big, and something relevant that the SMEs need as a helping hand."
Thus, our team felt that we need to immediately kick-start something purposeful, something big, and something relevant that the SMEs need as a helping hand. It is our way of giving back to the community that supported us back when we first started; and what’s more appropriate than a Support Fund for free advertising in times like this! This SME Advertising Support Fund is our way of saying a very loud THANK YOU for those who have put their trust and faith in us.
This SME OOH Fund (deemed to be the first and largest fund of its kind) aims to offer support to Malaysian SMEs most severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis by offering free advertising on Out-of-Home (OOH) digital screens within Klang Valley, to be used once the Movement-Control-Order (MCO) is lifted. The fund, through the collaborative support from our media partners, is worth RM 3.1 million in media value and aims to help support and stimulate businesses, jobs and the local economy.
Consisting of more than 400 digital screen panels across 77 high traffic locations within Klang Valley, this fund is to ensure that SMEs get the best awareness and audience reach that they need to rebuild & strengthen their businesses after the MCO is lifted (especially when Malaysians get their highly anticipated “prison break” from homes). Our mission is to benefit a minimum of 70 shortlisted SMEs with an average advertising media value of RM30,000 each.
Photo by Tetiana SHYSHKINA on Unsplash
Learnings from previous crisis have seen a reasonably rapid return to ‘normality’ for strong brands with Kantar’s research illustrating that stronger brands recover nine times faster. “We strongly believe that SMEs need all the support they can to survive and rebuild themselves. The SME community has been instrumental to our rapid growth, and this is our turn to give back.” said Alex Goh, Managing Director of Pí Interactive & BRANDLAH.
"Stronger brands recover nine times faster."
Just like the saying goes “A friend in need is a friend indeed”. IF you are a business owner looking for means to ease the financial constraints for your marketing & advertising efforts, here’s how you can benefit from the fund:
This SME OOH support fund is open for small to medium size businesses. Participants need to be open for business. The digital out-of-home campaigns will be kick-off based on availability between the months from June to August 2020 subject to the MCO restriction status. SMEs can register their interest for the fund at https://www.brandlah.com/sme-advertising-fund