By : Sara Luker
Source : http://www.prweek.com
Category : Small Business Grant
The pitch for the £180,000 brief went down to a three-way shoot out between Octopus, Seven Hills and Ketchum Pleon. Incumbent of four years Hotwire also repitched.
Seven Hills won the brief, having previously worked with Intuit on its entrepreneurial programmes.
Despite its global position – in 2011 its annual revenue topped $3.9 billion – Intuit is relatively small in the UK market and has low brand awareness.
Intuit wants to be billed as a ‘champion of small business’ – a company that knows ‘what matters to small businesses and is committed to their success’.
Intuit provides practical help for UK entrepreneurs in the financial aspects of running a business and has put its weight behind campaigns like StartUp Britain, a government campaign to accelerate entrepreneurship within the UK and Fund101, a business-funding scheme which gives start-ups from £50 to a maximum of £500 to start their companies.
Intuit has also announced a new government-supported scheme of Financial Fitness training workshops, offering practical training to ‘get small businesses into shape’.
Head of PR at Intuit Scott Rowe told PRWeek: ‘We’ve seen a dramatic increase in our services and the importance of our role in championing small businesses in the current economic climate.
‘We want Seven Hills to help raise our awareness, increase sales but also promote us as a backbone for UK small businesses – as start-ups and entrepreneurs need more help than ever to succeed.’
Seven Hills founders Nick Giles and Michael Hayman will head up the account, reporting to Rowe.
Intuit challenges Seven Hills to build positive awareness of its brand and show the benefits of its services to drive word of mouth and increase sales.
Seven Hills is also briefed to help Intuit to be recognised as ‘an innovative growth company and small business champion that improves our customers’ financial lives so profoundly they can’t imagine going back to the old way’.
In the UK, Intuit’s customers range from start-ups and businesses owned and run by one individual to established and growing companies. The firm also helps accountants and bookkeepers and small businesses who use spreadsheets to manage their finances.
Intuit offers businesses financial management software that includes QuickBooks, the top selling accounting software in the UK, and QuickBooks Payroll, which aims to simplify payroll processing for small businesses.
Source : http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/1121636/intuit-hires-seven-hills-promote-champion-small-business-credentials/
