Step Up For Local
Revolve started a movement to shine a spotlight on supporting the backbone of our economy – small, locally owned businesses.
Over the past few months, Canadians have stepped up for each other like never before to flatten the curve. With the economy beginning to reopen, this culture of community support can’t change now. Revolve developed Step Up for Local (StepUpforLocal.ca) to shine a spotlight on the importance of supporting small, independent businesses. Small business is the backbone of the Canadian economy, represents 99.8% of all businesses in Canada and 70% of the Canadian workforce. An evolution of Step Up Not Out, a campaign we launched in March 2020 to encourage staying home to slow the spread of COVID-19, Step Up for Local pivots the narrative to focus on the humanity behind our economy.
To easily reach our target audiences of local business owners and consumers, we launched Step Up for Local with a robust social media presence. While the campaign is ongoing, our strategy is to use Step Up for Local’s social channels as megaphones to amplify the voices of small local businesses while sharing a #supportlocal message. We’re also working with our local, regional and national media vendors to have them support this messaging as public service announcements, as they did Step Up Not Out.
To help business owners and the general public share their support for local and encourage others to do the same, we created a free toolkit of assets including messaging, social media profile frames, customizable ad templates, door decals, bumper stickers, and more. We developed StepUpforLocal.ca as a hub to house the toolkit and make the assets easily accessible to all.
The Cape Breton Regional Chamber of Commerce recently leveraged the program materials to launch their own Step Up for Local campaign. The crew travelled around Cape Breton in a branded Step Up for Local van, visiting essential organizations and businesses in the local area. Using a custom vending machine, they distributed $18,000 in gift cards from local businesses to essential workers.
Revolve is executing Step Up for Local as a pro bono initiative. Small businesses, small business associations, chambers of commerce, local non-profits and beyond are encouraged to use the assets of this program at no charge. If you would like to discuss a more advanced approach to using the Step Up for Local campaign, email local@revolve.ca
