The organisers of Small Business Saturday UK – the campaign that puts small, independent businesses in communities across the country in the national spotlight – has announced their most extensive nationwide promotional bus tour yet to raise the profile of the campaign and the day itself, Saturday 5 December.
Using the theme “5 million small businesses, 1 big day”, the bus tour, supported by TalkTalk Business, will begin on Sunday November 1st at John O’Groats before moving to Elgin and Glasgow to promote the campaign to both consumers and small business owners around the UK. The bus tour, which will visit the east and west coasts of the UK, as well as crossing the Irish sea for three stops in Northern Ireland will conclude at Land’s End on Friday 27 November.
Commenting on the announcement of the bus tour, Small Business Saturday National Campaign Director, Michelle Ovens says: “Small Business Saturday is exceptional example of collaboration and co-operation with small businesses teaming up in communities around the UK. The bus tour is a very visible way of enabling small businesses to engage with the campaign as we head around the UK, drumming up interest, support and enthusiasm. We are visiting even more places this year and are really looking forward to welcoming small business owners and consumers to the bus to get information and find out ways in which they can support small businesses and make the day work most effectively for companies in their own communities.”
The full itinerary for the bus tour is as follows:
- November 1st – John O’Groats
- November 2nd – Elgin
- November 3rd – Glasgow
- November 4th – Londonderry/Derry & Enniskillen
- November 5th – Belfast & Banbridge
- November 6th – Newcastle upon Tyne & Durham
- November 9th – York
- November 10th – Hull
- November 11th – Manchester & St Helens
- November 12th – Liverpool
- November 13th – Wrexham
- November 16th – Nottingham
- November 17th – Norwich & St Neots
- November 18th – Coventry
- November 19th – Oxford
- November 20th – London
- November 23rd – Brighton
- November 24th – Winchester
- November 25th – Cardiff & Swansea
- November 26th – Bristol & Weston-super-Mare
- November 27th – Truro & Land’s End
Now entering its third year Small Business Saturday is already the UK’s most successful small business campaign. Last year 16.5 million adults went out to support a small business on Small Business Saturday with 64 per cent of the UK aware of the campaign. The UK’s small businesses between them provide 60 per cent of private sector jobs and nearly 50 per cent of private sector turnover. The campaign trended at number one on Twitter on the day and received around 3.5 million views on its Facebook page. American Express is founder of the campaign in the US and principal supporter of Small Business Saturday UK, as part of its on-going commitment to encourage consumers to shop small.
The campaign also benefits from the backing of leading business organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses, which has a programme of supportive events planned across the country, the Association of City and Town Management, The Association of Convenience Stores, The National Federation of Retail Newsagents, the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association.
Logos, digital banners, a social media guide and toolkits are available to download from the websitewww.smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com and can be displayed online or on premises. Businesses around the country can also upload information to the ‘My Small Business Finder’ on the website (www.smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com) on what special events or promotional offers they will be running for Small Business Saturday.
