Spencer Berwin, Co-CEO of JCDecaux UK
JCDecaux, the UK’s leading Outdoor advertising company, today announces its partnership with Virgin Media Business and Crowdfunder for Virgin Media Business’s #VOOM 2016 project, the UK’s biggest pitching competition for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
#VOOM 2016 gives entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to win a slice of a prize fund worth over £1million. An attempt to set a new Guinness World Records title for the Longest Business Pitch Marathon took place over 29 hours in London, from June 1 – 2.
The final winners of the two categories – ‘Start-up’ and ‘Grow’ – will be announced on 28th June 2016.
As the exclusive outdoor media partner, JCDecaux handled all the outdoor media activity for the #VOOM campaign, including a stream of the pitch marathon on Waterloo Motion (the biggest indoor screen in Europe). The outdoor media campaign has boosted entries to over 3,000 this year.
JCDecaux will be offering all entrants mentoring support along with access to consumer insight and case studies following the competition. The #VOOM 2016 winners will receive a bespoke £250,000 Outdoor media campaign, as well as advertising on a JCDecaux premium site, Waterloo Motion.
The winners from the ‘Start-up’ category will also be invited to enrol on JCDecaux’s exclusive start-up ‘Nurture’ programme, which works to scale start-ups (at all stages) by delivering fame and familiarity through outdoor advertising and mentoring programmes.
The #VOOM 2016 entry and voting platform is powered by Crowdfunder, a proud partner of the JCDecaux Nurture programme, with entrants also able to raise funds by crowdfunding their VOOM business pitch. Currently, over £677,000 has been raised in crowdfunding for pitches. JCDecaux is on the judging panel for the Crowdfunder Five and the top crowdfunding business will be named Champion Crowdfunder 2016 – winning £50,000 cash, as well as a bespoke media campaign from JCDecaux.
Spencer Berwin, Co-CEO of JCDecaux UK, said: “Innovation has always been at the heart of JCDecaux, and by offering UK entrepreneurs and SMEs access to our services we’re opening up the power of outdoor media for businesses of all shapes and sizes. With our outdoor network reaching every single possible audience, the opportunity to scale businesses and deliver stand-out brand campaigns is huge.”
Peter Kelly, Managing Director of Virgin Media Business, said: “Having JCDecaux and Crowdfunder on board for #VOOM 2016 means all of our entrants benefit from the invaluable expertise the companies can offer across the advertising and funding sectors. This level of advice and opportunity will prove invaluable to all entrants, especially our winners.”
Rob Love, Chairman of Crowdfunder, commented: “Crowdfunder’s unique relationship with JCDecaux encompasses our joint ethos and ambition to serve the needs of SME’s across the UK. It’s never been a better time to launch and grow a business here in Great Britain.
By working together, we are able to ensure that start-ups and growth businesses have every opportunity to launch ideas that might just change the world, creating long-term economic growth and innovation.”