Philadelphia Flyers to award free advertising to 5 small businesses hurt by COVID-19

This story originally appeared on Philadelphia Business Journal.

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The Philadelphia Flyers will award $500,000 in free advertising assets to five area small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The businesses will be selected for what the hockey team is calling its “Flyers Hometown Assist” program through an application process launched Monday on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com.

The businesses selected will receive advertising assets beginning with this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs and continuing through the 2020-21 regular season.

Businesses must be headquartered in the Philadelphia region to be eligible. The program is open to businesses that are independently owned and operated, have reported no more than $3 million in annual revenue over the past three years, and have been directly impacted by COVID-19.

A minimum of two Black-owned businesses will be among the recipients.

“We recognize that an overwhelming number of small businesses in the Philadelphia area have struggled to remain on their feet during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Valerie Camillo, president of business operations for the Philadelphia Flyers and Wells Fargo Center. “These businesses are crucial to Philadelphia’s culture and economy, and the Flyers are positioned to help in a unique way.”

The advertising assets in each award package are valued at $100,000, the Flyers said. The packages will include radio commercials, digital/social promotions, and in-arena activations and LED signage. The Flyers marketing department will also be available to assist the awarded businesses design and create their advertising messages, graphics, and content.

Details on the program are available at PhiladelphiaFlyers.com/HometownAssist. Applications will be accepted up until Aug. 2.

Camillo said with this week’s restart of hockey, “hundreds of thousands of Flyers fans” will be engaging around their brand.

“We want to provide the opportunity for small businesses to connect with this audience to drive sales,” she said. “As we designed the program, we were purposeful in targeting Black-owned businesses to encourage a diverse pool of applicants and in support of racial equality.”