Commonwealth Bank Executive General Manager Small Business Banking, Rebecca Warren, said many small business owners were facing challenges on multiple fronts as revenues decline with tightening household budgets and costs of doing business continue to rise.
Recent research commissioned by CommBank1 shows 70 per cent of Australian small to medium businesses have had to cut costs in the last 12 months due to economic pressures, with marketing being one of the top categories where they’ve reduced spend.
“Running a small business is hard work, and often stressful. We know that right now small business owners are finding it particularly tough, and our customers are showing incredible resilience,” Ms Warren said.
“One of the best ways of maximising spending events, especially if you’re running a small business, is targeting your local community with promotions, and a little marketing budget can go a long way.
“We wanted to see what else we could do to back our small business customers at this time, to complement our existing suite of measures to support with cash flow or expenses.
“Whether you’re a dog walker on the Central Coast of NSW, a baker in Fremantle WA, or an online fashion brand based in Melbourne, our business customers could soon have some CommBank Matildas feature on their ads, all paid for by us. We’re excited to be shining a spotlight on some of the amazing businesses around the country.”
The campaign is designed to boost the visibility of the winning businesses with their target audience, be it their local community or online target demographics, and help with the costs of marketing. Along with providing the opportunity to have some CommBank Matildas promote the winning business, CBA will be paying to run the ads in the business’ local area.
To be eligible, applicants must hold an active CommBank Business Transaction Account, have an ABN and operate in Australia. The competition, which can be accessed online, launches today and closes on 9 December 2024. For full details, visit: commbank.com.au/backingbusiness
1 YouGov research conducted on behalf of CommBank (August 2024)
About YouGov research
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov. Total sample size was 510 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 1 - 7 August 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Australian small and medium business owners and decision makers (aged 18+).