Small Businesses: Win $50,000 In Advertising!

Staples is looking to push small businesses into the spotlight by giving away money for them to advertise to potential customers.

The office supply chain store has created the “Give Your Small Business the Push It Needs” contest to give five small businesses $50,000 each in local television advertising.

Small businesses can enter to win the “Give Your Small Business the Push It Needs” contest by submitting a 15-second video about their company on Facebook.com/Staples by Wednesday, March 14.

Of these submissions, five winning small businesses will be chosen to receive 15-seconds of advertising in a 30-second Staplestelevision ad to run in their local market.

Winners will also receive $500 in Staples Copy and Print or Staples EasyTech services.  They also have a choice of either $50,000 in advertising or $40,000 in advertising plus $10,000 in cash.

The sixth annual Staples National Small Business Survey found that seven out of 10 small business owners are optimistic about the future. Further, 52 percent of small business owners revealed they would grow their business through advertising and direct marketing if they had a larger marketing budget.

“With more than 25 years of experience working with our core small business customers, we know that investing in marketing to grow a small business is essential, yet many do not have the money to do so,” said John Giusti, vice president of small business marketing at Staples.  “Staples wanted to do something unique to support small businesses in their local markets.  The ‘Give Your Small Business the Push It Needs’ contest will help small businesses achieve their business goals in 2012 by providing an advertising boost to help their bottom lines.”

The Staples survey also revealed that more small business owners are turning to social media with 35 percent increasing their social media presence in the past year.

“Successfully marketing your small business is the life blood of any company, but with limited budgets, entrepreneurs must be creative and resourceful,” said Rieva Lesonsky, CEO and President, Grow Biz Media/SmallBizDaily.com. “Any marketing boost that they receive from a program such as the Staples ‘Give Your Small Business the Push It Needs” can make all the difference in the world, especially in the current business climate.”