eBay gifts 5 small businesses a digital window on the high street

Elevating local businesses onto the national stage the campaign levels the playing field with established brands with eBay stumping up the huge advertising budgets needed to cover costs for five of its UK small business award winners.

Botanical brand Botanico joins hand-picked homeware provider Brown & Ginger and African jewelry purveyor Bosede Accessories in the push. They are joined by second-hand clothes brand Go Thrift and the charitable St Rocco’s Hospice who will each take their bow on the national stage on large-format screens in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Prominent QR codes will enable passersby to purchase on sight embodying the notion that the best Christmas gifts are not mass-produced.

Eve Williams, chief marketing officer of eBay UK commented: “With ongoing uncertainty around supply, what eBay can offer to shoppers is our secret weapon – a diversity of over 300,000 agile UK small business sellers that can give them more choice – whether they are looking for the new, the refurbished, the coveted, or the hard to find this festive season."

Matt Searle, creative director at McCann London added: “We’ve all been there: a never-ending Christmas list and only one free day to bag it all. Habitually, we hop online and shop in one-swoop from a big brand website. But where does the profit go? For eBay it’s a question that matters, and one which shines at the heart of eBay’s Small Business Shopfronts: a painstakingly crafted, interactive out-of-home campaign that asks the high street to ‘Make it a Small Business Christmas’ this year."

eBay's altruistic side was previously demonstrated by a 2020 commitment to protect 20,000 small businesses which were forced to close during the pandemic.