Amsterdam, May 2020 – Over 250 advertisers have made grateful use of the Ocean SME Support Fund in the past two months, with the result that in the last week, we hit the 10 million euros gross, which Ocean had made available for this.
At the end of March, Ocean Outdoor Nederland went live with the Ocean SME Support Fund. This is an initiative to support and help the hardest-hit sectors and SMEs in these extreme times. For that purpose, we set up a fund with a media value of 10 million euros gross, which could be used by affected enterprises in April and May of this year. Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, enterprises and trade associations register with Ocean. Throughout the Netherlands, the campaigns have been visible in recent weeks on the digital large-format screens in the cities and the billboards along the motorways.
The type of advertiser that has registered was very diverse, each with its own story and needs. Clothing and shoe brands, seconders, hotels, restaurants but also caterers, cultural institutions such as museums and orchestras, bicycle brands, car companies, travel organisations, holiday parks, various retailers, insurers, sports brands, construction companies and much more. At Ocean, we have tried to accommodate everyone as best as possible, resulting in unique experiences and many positive reactions. The final total gross media value used is €11,564,604.
Melle Strikwerda van Igen – Igen wants to show all organisations in the Netherlands how they can deploy and grow the energy, creativity and talent of the Digital Generation.
Thank you for your wonderful initiative, Ocean. You have made a fantastic media campaign along the motorways of the Netherlands possible for us with the SME Support Fund. We receive a lot of positive reactions from our entire network and far beyond, from employees to (potential) customers. A unique experience to achieve so much reach and visibility”.
Caroline van der Lande van De Buurtboer/De Buurtwinkel – De Buurtwinkel delivers a wide range of fresh products from its local suppliers to homes. De Buurtboer is the largest supplier of corporate lunch products at the office.
“We were pleasantly surprised by the many reactions to our outdoor campaign. Not only the expressions themselves, but also the communication about this on our social media channels has had a huge impact. A huge boost for us in these times of crisis! It’s great to see how Ocean Outdoor has taken the pioneering role to support the hard-hit SMEs and thereby boost both the economy and initiatives such as ours.”
Many studies and articles published in recent months, weeks and days strongly show that advertising is of great importance to brands in times of crisis. Being visible as a brand creates trust. At the end of March, the Ocean Nederland management board did not have to think twice about keeping the economy going to some extent with Ocean’s national network and making a contribution in this way. Ultimately, Ocean was able to support more than 250 SMEs and trade associations through the Ocean SME Support Fund by making them visible throughout the Netherlands.
Meindert van den Heuvel, one of the Managing Directors Ocean Outdoor Nederland – We’ve done what Ocean’s good at: quickly anticipating the needs of entrepreneurs. It’s fantastic to see that we’ve been able to help so many companies and organisations in the past two months. And that several media companies have now taken over our initiative.”
Ocean Outdoor Nederland
Ocean Outdoor Nederland is the market leader in Digital-Out-of-Home (read: DOOH), the fast-growing specialisation within Out-of-Home. With a national network of 154 locations and 272 screens along motorways and in the cities, we reach millions of people each day.
Ocean Outdoor Nederland attaches great importance to quality and innovation. That is why we continuously invest in the latest DOOH technology and research opportunities for advertisers, media agencies and contracting authorities.
Ocean Outdoor Nederland is part of Ocean Outdoor Limited with offices in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Germany.
For other questions, please contact:
Marlies Smits: marlies.smits@oceanoutdoor.nl of +316 1076 6161.