The wholesale specialist METRO is giving independent businesses more visibility: tomorrow's "Own Business Day" will pay tribute to business owners for the fourth time. Beyond Germany, the initiative's activities will take place in more than 25 countries. Serviceplan Campaign Hamburg, METRO's global creative agency, has been in charge of the planning and implementation of the "Own Business Day" campaign since September 2014. 

Hamburg, 7 October 2019 — Owner-managed companies are important to Germans. This is shown by a representative international METRO survey: 43 percent of respondents agree that independent companies with their diverse offerings help them to lead their own individual lifestyles. It is very important to METRO to support these small and medium-sized businesses. Together with Serviceplan, METRO launched the "Own Business Day" to help them achieve greater visibility.

The initiative focuses on the online platform own-business-day.com on which these small companies can register their special offers and campaigns for consumers for 8 October. The platform will be accompanied by local campaigns and a globally integrated campaign in more than 25 countries, which will create additional attention for the "Own Business Day". Like the idea, they were developed and implemented by Serviceplan Campaign Hamburg. Serviceplan has developed a tailor-made, integrated and international agency model for the client METRO in order to be able to provide comprehensive support to METRO in all relevant areas. The team around Managing Director Michael Schneider delivers brand communication from a single source – including strategy, consulting, creation and digital.

The “Own Business Day” is very popular with independent businesses. Since the first edition in 2016, the number of specials and participating owner-managed companies offered internationally has risen continuously: from 20,000 specials in 2016 to 100,000 in 2017 and 380,000 in 2018 to over 650,000 specials in over 25 countries this year. 

"METRO is committed to supporting independent entrepreneurs and making them more successful because they play an indispensable role in our society. The "Own Business Day" is precisely linked to this brand promise, because it creates attention in many ways, which helps founders - especially in the early days - a lot", says Gisele Musa, VP / Global Director Branding & Activation METRO.

Alex Schill, Chief Creative Officer Serviceplan Group: “’The "Own Business Day’ has been a success story for four years with a constantly growing number of participants and an important mission. As an independent, owner-managed agency, we are proud to be able to support METRO in its efforts to promote independent entrepreneurs to give them more visibility."

Numerous local highlights around the world provide additional activation. At a pop-up live event at Schadowplatz in Düsseldorf, a newly founded restaurant will be presented at a stand and its specials will feed potential customers. Guerrilla projections, ambient media and a projection on the television tower provide further local attention. 

The holistic global campaign with a combination of moving images, print, online, native advertising, PR and social media creates strong communication of METRO's brand promise to make the self-employed more successful. With the creative idea under the claim "No Business Without You", Serviceplan sums up the importance of the self-employed in our society. The campaign emphasizes their individuality by showing them authentically in their respective specific work environment. Interactions with customers demonstrate the value of the self-employed for their quality of life. achtung! is responsible for global PR support.

On Social Media the campaign "#loveownbusiness Challenge" animates users to tag their favourite owner-managed business and thus help it to attract more attention. The nomination of three more people further multiplies the Challenge's reach.   

The official hashtags for the METRO "Own Business Day" are #ownbusinessday and #loveownbusiness.

All actions under: www.own-business-day.com

Further study results under: www.metro-cc.com/own-business-study

About Metro:

METRO is a leading international food and non-food wholesaler specializing in the needs of hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa) as well as independent retailers. Around 24 million METRO customers worldwide can choose to shop in one of the large stores, pick up goods ordered online or have them delivered. With digital solutions, METRO also supports the competitiveness of entrepreneurs and the self-employed and thus contributes to cultural diversity in retailing and gastronomy. For METRO, sustainability is an essential pillar of all its activities; METRO has been the industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for four years. The company is active in 36 countries and employs more than 150,000 people worldwide. In financial year 2017/18, METRO generated sales of € 36.5 billion. For the retail chain Real with its 34,000 employees, METRO AG initiated the sales process in September 2018.

Credits:

METRO AG:

Gisele Musa (Global Director Branding & Activation)
Christa Wellershoff (Head of Design & Seasonal Activation)
David Fehlberg (Head of Master Brand)
Anila Brahmakulam (Head of Master Brand)
Alicja Korkosz-Foltyn (Head of Category & Service Activation)
Julia Münster (Expert Brand Management; Master Brand)
Laura Llamazares (Expert Brand Management; Master Brand)
Sonika Grotjans (Expert Brand Management Category & Service Activation)
Kristina Krauter (Expert Brand Management; OBD Project Management)
Mario Costa (Media & Content Management)
Nina Zeiler (Head of Master Brand)

SERVICEPLAN:

Alex Schill (Global Chief Creative Officer)
Michael Schneider (Managing Director)
Johan von Gersdorff (Client Director)
Lukas Paschke (General Manager Strategy)
Adam Bekassy (Senior Strategist)
Oliver Henares Cabrera (Strategy Director)
Patricia Kahr (Strategist)
Michael Makowiecki (Senior Strategist)
Daniel Bremer (Head of Brand Campaigning)
Henrik Haake (Head of Brand Digitization)
Nicole Werner (Senior Account Manager)
Annemarie Groppe (Account Manager)
Philipp Schneidewind (Senior Account Manager)
Darko Timotijevic (Senior Account Manager)
Roland Raith (Executive Creative Director)
Kolja Danquah (Executive Creative Director)
Davide Zicca (Senior Copywriter)
Amelie Scheinert (Senior Art Director)
David Fischer (Art Director Digital)
Mat Owen (Senior Copywriter)
Rodrigo Alberto de Molina Fernandes (Senior Art Director)
Denise Wernick (Senior Art Director Digital)
Jan Götze (Senior Concept)
Janina Elena Janzen (Junior Art Director Digital)
Vera Karpova (Senior Copywriter)
Claudio Castagnola Queirolo (Junior Art Director)
Delio Félix Dos Santos (Copywriter)