Diana Marszalek 28 May 2020 // 8:17AM GMT
LONDON — Trade organisation Social Enterprise UK, which represents 100,000 social enterprise businesses, has tapped Parable to boost awareness of the sector’s response to Covid-19 through the media.
Parable is charged with garnering media coverage of the work the UK’s social entrepreneurs and enterprises are doing to provide critical products, support and services to communities, including vulnerable populations, and the healthcare sector. The brief also includes boosting support for social enterprises (businesses whose commercial operations have societal impact) among policymakers.
In announcing the business win, Parable said having those efforts in the public eye is an essential component of social enterprises being able to sustain their efforts, writing: “Despite their important contribution, the sector is in peril with many overlooked in the government’s economic support packages, meaning vibrant businesses and vital services could be lost — for good.”
SEUK leaders are among a coalition of social enterprise heads that have called on the government for support, saying that that half the organizations in the sector could run out of cash by June.
There was no incumbent agency, although SEUK has worked with agencies including Zest over the years. The organisation, however, is ramping up its communications program as it tries to avert businesses that should receive government support from collapsing.
Social enterprises employ 2 million people in the UK, accounting for 5% of the nation’s jobs, and generate £60 billion in annual revenue. They are in a variety of businesses including the likes of beer production and fitness (the Oomph) all sharing the common goal of combining profit generation with social impact.
“As our incredible membership organisations fight every day to deliver social impact and survive during this crisis it’s essential for us to get our message out and connect to policy makers and consumers. Parable understand our sector and we are really pleased to be teaming up with a highly creative agency,” SEUK chief executive Peter Holbrook said.