#ForwardTogether: Rogers Expands Support for Local Small Businesses to Provide Free Resources and Promotion
New site expands on Operation Support Local, which features local businesses on Rogers Sports & Media radio stations and Breakfast Television
TORONTO, June 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rogers Communications has launched a new and social campaign to showcase small businesses as they continue to innovate and adapt with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. The site also provides access to resources like Facebook Blueprint, LinkedIn Learning and Twitter Flight School to help businesses pivot and adjust to new ways of serving customers. With 98 per cent of all Canadian businesses having fewer than 100 employees, small business is a key driving force in Canada’s economy, representing 70 per cent of all jobs and contributing over a third of the country’s GDP.
Launched in April in partnership with Scotiabank, Operation Support Local, has delivered more than $1 million in free media support to local businesses across the country through Rogers Sports & Media radio stations and Breakfast Television. The program, created to promote local businesses and the ways Canadians can support them during these critical times, has featured more than 8,500 businesses to date. Through Operation Support Local, Canadians can show support for their favourite local businesses by checking the Operation Support Local hub of their local Rogers Radio station and submitting businesses they want to be featured. Businesses submitted through the hubs have a chance to be featured on-air on one of the company’s 56 radio stations across Canada.
In an extension of this program, Rogers will now feature some of its small business customers and their stories on a new website: , which will be supported by a targeted social media campaign to help highlight the businesses in their local area. The site includes small businesses like Toronto-based event catering company . With COVID-19 causing social events to be cancelled, caterer Kat Soderstrom knew she needed to adapt for her customers. To help them celebrate special occasions remotely, she shifted her business to providing home-delivered treats.
“We know that for our industry, it's going to be a while until things come back, and there is certainly going to be a new normal,” said Kat Soderstrom, Founder, Sweet Event. “I knew that I needed to evolve the business and focus on moving forward in a new direction. We've quickly expanded new offerings that help provide packages for more intimate milestones such as birthdays, Mother's Day and even ‘staycations’ such as a movie night in, and now graduation buckets. We're happy that we’re able to put a smile on a child's face with our birthday home deliveries and we’re also focused on providing some relief for our essential workers through our ear saver program, which are accessories we’ve been making to help their masks fit a little better.”
In addition to putting a spotlight on local businesses, the Operation Support Local website provides access to a selection of free online learning programs and modules designed to help small business grow and adapt. As part of the initiative, Rogers has teamed up with companies like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Through the site, Canadian small business owners will have access to Facebook Blueprint - an online training platform for advertisers with over 90+ e-learning courses.
Here’s how Canadians can get involved with Operation Support Local:
- Visit the website of their local Rogers Radio station: KiSS, Sportsnet, JACK, SONiC, ROCK, Country, Adult Contemporary, or Green News brand such as 680 NEWS and NEWS 1130, and click on the Operation Support Local hub. Or, visit and click on “Business Spotlights”
- Explore the list to see which local businesses are open and ready for customers. If they can’t find one of their favourites, they can fill out the form to add them. Submitted businesses will be added to the local radio station hubs and will also automatically be entered into a pool to be featured on their local Rogers Radio station. Rogers Sports & Media has radio stations in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Nova Scotia.
About Rogers
Rogers is a proud Canadian company dedicated to making more possible for Canadians each and every day. Our founder, Ted Rogers, purchased his first radio station, CHFI, in 1960. We have grown to become a leading technology, sports and media company that strives to provide the very best in wireless, residential, sports, and media to Canadians and Canadian businesses. Our shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). If you want to find out more about us, visit .
For further information: , 647-747-5118
