The session, part of Santander’s Breakthrough Programme, took the small companies to Saatchi & Saatchi’s head offices in Central London to take part in a range of individual workshops and group sessions delivered by TEAM Saatchi experts.
Attendees were given the opportunity to develop their core brand positioning and create a marketing and communications strategy to help them fulfil their growth plans.
Breakthrough Masterclasses are part of Santander’s wider Breakthrough programme, which is providing up to £200 million of growth capital loans to fast-growth companies looking to invest in and grow their business.
In addition to finance, Breakthrough also offers businesses access to a range of support and development programmes, not typically available to small companies, including international trade missions to learn about the advantages of exporting abroad.
Andy Clarke, Sales Director at Ridgway, who attended the Masterclass, said: “The chance to learn first-hand from leading marketing experts TEAM Saatchi was a one off opportunity we couldn’t afford to miss. The Santander Masterclass was tailored specifically for helping smaller businesses understand successful marketing strategies and I came away from the event feeling motivated and ready to put their advice into action to help grow the business.”
Peter Lovatt at TEAM Saatchi said: “We understand the importance of supporting small businesses and ensuring they can continue to play their vital role in bolstering the UK economy. Marketing is an essential tool for all businesses, but can be something a lot of smaller firms may not feel they have the talent or the expertise to use as part of their day-to-day business practices.
We hope that the experience that we shared with attendees to the Masterclass will give them the confidence to make the most of simple marketing tools to help them grow their business and meet their long term ambitions.”
John Williams, Head of Breakthrough at Santander UK, said: “Santander is committed to supporting businesses at all stages of their lifecycle. Through Breakthrough we are partnering with other private institutions such as Saatchi to provide bespoke support designed to help fast growth small businesses unlock their potential. Collaboration is at the heart of our Breakthrough Programme, which aims to help transforming the entrepreneurial ideas of today into the successful and wealth generating businesses of tomorrow.”
