Our partners at Revolve have revamped their #StepUp (NotOut) campaign in support of local and independent businesses to assist in their success.

Who: Halifax agency, Revolve

What: “Step Up For Local,” a new advertising campaign and toolkit to encourage consumers to shop local whenever possible as the COVID lockdown restrictions start to ease and businesses are allowed to reopen.

When & Where: It’s rolling out now across social, coinciding with the reopening of bars and restaurants (with some restrictions) in Nova Scotia. The campaign is also an evolution of an earlier Revolve campaign, “Step Up, Not Out,” which launched in March and was intended to get people to stay home to flatten the curve.

Why: Because small and local businesses seem almost certain to be hardest hit by the COVID crisis compared to corporations and chains. Pro bono support for small businesses by agencieshas been a recurring theme over the past three months, and Revolve CEO Phil Otto makes it clear why Revolve wants to help small businesses in Nova Scotia.

“In this increasingly homogenized world, indie businesses give communities texture, colour, shape, taste and social capital,” he said. According to Otto, small businesses also contribute more financially to local communities.

Any numbers to back that up? According to Revolve,”45 cents of every dollar spent at a locally owned business stays in the local economy vs. 14 cents spent at large chains. This money cycles many times, creating tax revenue to fund healthcare, education and safer communities. Further to this, locally owned businesses contribute 2.5 times more to local non-profits.”

How: The new creative keeps much of the look and feel of  Step Up, Not Out”—which generated more than 22 million impressions—with simple, bold, black typeface on a bright yellow background. The main change is striking out “Not Out” and replacing it with “For Local.”

What about the toolkit: Revolve is offering both online and offline assets so business owners can remind consumers to shop local. For example, there are Step Up For Local frames for profile photos on social, stickers for Instagram stories and sharable social content with #SupportLocal. There are also window and door decals for in-store and even bumper stickers.

And we quote: “Step up for local is exactly what small businesses need right now. We have to remind Nova Scotians how important it is to support our local businesses as the economy reopens.”— Patrick Sullivan, president  and CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.