Perhaps the only constant at the moment for small businesses is a pervasive feeling of uncertainty. From the potential of another lockdown, to broader industry turbulence and the continued challenge of forecasting the current climate is full of challenges for the business communities. 

Arguably one of the hardest hit groups of businesses are SMEs as they grapple with an ever-changing commercial landscape. Not only is it tricky to determine what consumers will want, it is simultaneously proving a continuous process of adjustment to meet them where they are.

Over the lockdown period, the media arena has heralded a second coming for TV, perhaps a more nuanced focus on social media and even a reach back to the radio ads of old. With people spending more time at home, on their phones with the radio on for company, these media channels are where smart brands have only grown their investment.

The power of TV, believes David Sanderson,  Director of AdSmart Local & Development at Sky Media, comes from its contextual trust; the inherent trust people have in the medium lends itself to these times, as brands continue to boycott social media platforms. The trust is between viewer and advertiser because the consumption is a choice.

“TV is actually having, quite rightly, a good time based on the integrity of the messaging that they can get across,” says Sanderson. TV is, he adds, “a platform that people implicitly know they can trust…[it’s] more powerful than ever particularly when so many others trust is being called into question.”

Sanderson is part of the team at Sky Media behind the launch of the SME250 scheme, which was developed in partnership with Shutterstock. The AdSmart support scheme has been designed to help SMEs thrive, not just survive during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The £2.5 million fund offered 250 businesses 30-second TV ad campaigns with Shutterstock committing to support at least the first 100 advertisers taking part.

The integrity of TV

“I think it’s [the current crisis] been a useful trigger to consider what’s appropriate in the way you put your brand across,” says Sanderson. The reality is that brands have had to check their tone more than ever, to consider their messaging, both in the way it lands and who it ends up reaching. It is a difficult terrain to navigate which is why Sanderson believes TV has been such a vital medium for many brands.

Those businesses involved in the SME250 scheme are almost exclusively ones that have never advertised on TV before but who perhaps see the benefits in the media channel. “The one way you can stand out is by using a trusted medium,” explains Sanderson. “And it’s ironic that when Facebook get into difficulty, the first thing they do is advertise on TV,” he adds.

The relative surge in TV viewing over the last few months has perhaps come from a combination of people spending more time at home, turning to TV to unwind in the evening rather than their laptops. But simultaneously this has coincided, Sanderson says, with countless editorial stories about “the lack of credibility in social media.”

The SMEs chosen to take part in the scheme were selected for a variety of reasons, with many of them being digital-first brands having to learn, for the first time, that the rules and regulations that govern TV advertising look distinctly different to those which rule the internet. As Csaba Szabo, VP, EMEA at Shutterstock adds, “These brands, although they are small businesses, they are quite savvy. They understand that digital still plays an important role and they can actually amplify the message that they were putting [out] through the TV channel.”

The selection process proved to be an interesting one for the team as they chose businesses who could get their message across in 30 seconds; who could easily measure uplift; and had the capacity to scale. It was also important to Sanderson that they understood what advertising on TV really meant: “There’s a degree of expectation management that we have to do to say look, this isn’t all about sales…This is a longer game of raising credibility, building integrity, starting a relationship with customers from who you will hope to trade for many years.”

Sanderson reveals that, “working with brands who haven’t advertised on TV is always a mixed blessing.” It’s excitement mixed with purposeful ignorance, which meant that, “we wanted to make sure we got serious, significant worthy winners,” he adds.

A collective upward spiral

Szabo agrees that the winners they chose ended up creating some brilliant ads, using stock footage and editing suites that meant many of the slots cost less than £2,000 to make. It was the simplicity of the process that Szabo says surprised the teams, most of whom were first time users of the Shutterstock platform.

He explains: “They [the brands and local agencies] were genuinely surprised at just how simple the whole process of creating a TV ad actually ended up being. Most of them walked into this process thinking that it was going to be complex.”

Sanderson expands, revealing that not only was the scheme a collaborative project between Sky and Shutterstock but also between the SMEs and production companies making the ads, most of whom were based in the local markets where the businesses operated. “There is a collective upward spiral that we can generate through this sort of collaboration that should continue,” he believes.

Collaborations such as these prove to be even more essential during times of crisis. As Szabo says, Shutterstock had seen since February that the SME segment of their client base were the hardest hit. They wanted to step in to support businesses who needed help, and appreciated it, the most.

Sanderson says, “None of us are doing this altruistically. We’re doing this because we think this is a collective, holistic benefit to everyone involved.” The team are investing in businesses now, today, in the hope that they’ll return to the platforms in the future, more established and with more experience. He adds that, “we found some really interesting advertisers that we otherwise wouldn’t have found.”

A different level of responsibility

Szabo talks about how considerably the landscape has shifted since the global lockdown began, as we’ve invited people into our homes. “Just that alone requires an element of trust,” he says, “and trust really is a key building platform for collaboration.”

He goes on to explain: “Over the last five months, consumer mindset has evolved more than in the previous five years. Consumers are demanding a different set of values, a different level of responsibility and trustworthiness from brands.”

Brand behaviour during the ongoing crisis has been scrutinised more than ever, as people look to businesses to offer them more clarity on their messaging and on their values. We will remember the way brands have acted during these times and those memories will stay with us. As Szabo adds, “those brands who lean into responsible advertising, lean into collaboration, lean into these values with an authentic voice, I think those are the brands and those are the companies who are going to be emerging as winners in the long haul.”

The SME250 is an offer of assistance that has not only been a welcome but also a necessary lifeline for UK SMEs, a further example of the power of collaborative creativity to keep businesses moving forwards during these uncertain times.