Innovation in Marketing Fund
Overview and Guidelines
2018
Program Dates
Round Opens: 18 January 2018 using the Creative Victoria Grants Portal.
Round Closes: 5pm, 15 February 2018.
You will need sufficient time to enter information onto the online system and attach files containing any supporting documents. We recommend you start uploading your application as soon as possible.
Applicants will be notified of the result of their application in April 2018. During April-May 2018, all successful applicants will be required to provide a detailed project plan for the proposed activity. Completion of proposed activity is due between Sunday, 1 July 2018 – Sunday 30 June 2019.
Overview
The 2018 Innovation in Marketing Fund provides one-off support for discrete marketing projects across Victoria with the aim of encouraging new marketing ideas and initiatives and new approaches to marketing within the creative industries.
The Fund supports marketers in small to medium organisations (less than 20 FTE staff) within the creative industries to implement new and innovative projects (to promote existing products or activities) which have the potential to inform core marketing activities in the future.
If you have an innovative marketing project or idea that explores different approaches to increasing income, engaging audiences and building brand awareness for your organisation we want to hear from you.
A total grant pool of $100,000 is available for individual grants of up to $20,000. Organisations are required to provide a minimum of 25% of the project expenditure in cash co-funding.
Only one application per organisation will be considered and the grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. Applications will be accepted for requests between $2,000 and $20,000.
Program Aims & Priorities
The Innovation in Marketing Fund supports new marketing projects and smart thinking that will:
· Create new strategic approaches to marketing activity;
· Promote your product, work or organisation to new people in new ways;
· Diversify and/or increase earned revenue streams;
· Achieve your business objectives;
· Inform future marketing activities; and/or
· Demonstrate new collaborative partnerships.
Eligibility
The 2018 Innovation in Marketing Fund will accept applications from small-to-medium Victorian organisations across the creative industries including arts, design and screen.
The focus of the proposal must:
· be new marketing activity, and
· undertaken by at least one Victoria-based, professional creative industries organisation.
Applications are invited from small to medium Victorian creative industries organisations that have:
· a staff of fewer than 20 full time employees, and
· a demonstrated record of presenting a high standard of work.
You must agree to supply a detailed project plan if your application is successful and to publically share the outcomes and learnings of the project with the wider creative industries sector.
Ineligibility
The Innovation in Marketing Fund will NOT support:
· The development or presentation of artworks or products;
· Business essential activity including website maintenance and development, CRM systems, social media advertising and core operational marketing staff wages;
· Existing marketing activity;
· The entire cost of any one project;
· One-off videos, apps, blogs or any other one-off marketing tools that are unsupported by a marketing plan/business case demonstrating the intended application of that tool.
· Equipment purchase; or
· Content creation, including: videos, podcasts, apps, blogs or any other one-off marketing tools UNLESS the concept is supported by a considered and comprehensive marketing plan demonstrating the intended marketing effect of that content.
Thought Starters
“Marketing matches the right message/cause to the right person. Finding someone who has a personal connection with your product, service or cause in a way that is unobtrusive and inviting. Marketing can be as simple as networking at an event or as complex as a multi-million dollar global campaign that integrates print, digital, PR, social media and broadcast delivering a specific message with one unified goal. Some of the best marketing outcomes come from the simplest initiatives. Keeping it simple is sometimes the best strategy.”
Lisa Buyer – President and Chief Executive Officer, The Buyer Group
The Innovation in Marketing Fund seeks to support smart thinking. Some recent examples in other sectors include:
· “Like My Addiction” for an example of creativity applied to content creation, with careful thinking and planning in executing the marketing.
o The Guardian: Who is Louise Delage? New Instagram influencer not what she seems. Click here to read the article.
o AdWeek: Who is Louise Delage? The troubling truth behind an overnight Instagram sensation. Click here to read the article.
· “Penny The Pirate” for an example of a creative marketing solution aimed to increase awareness of children’s vision testing. While this is a project with a large budget, the innovative thinking and looking beyond traditional channels to reach the desired audience showcases excellent marketing.
o Cause Marketing: OPSM Penny The Pirate Case Study.
Click here to watch the clip.
o Digital Training Academy: App Case Study: Penny the Pirate makes kids’ eye tests fun. Click here to watch the clip.
Funding Available & Requirements
A total grant pool of $100,000 is available in 2018. Each grant will contribute up to 75% of the total project expenditure, to a maximum of $20,000 per project. Applications will be accepted for requests between $2,000 and $20,000.
Organisations are required to provide a minimum of 25% in cash co-funding.
Projects involving Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Cultural Material/Content/Communities
For the protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts practice from misappropriation, moral and copyright infringement, appropriate documentation must be submitted if you propose to work with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander stories/cultural material that is not your own. Please call program staff to discuss further.
Assessment
Assessment Process
Applications will be assessed by a panel of industry marketing experts and Creative Victoria staff. The panel will assess and rank each application against the program assessment criteria.
Assessment Criteria
1. ADVENTEROUS MERIT (25%) /2. MARKETING EFFECT (25%)
Your proposed activity:
· Initiates new and innovative ideas, practices or approaches to marketing for your organisation. / Your proposed activity:
· Has the potential to be embedded in future core marketing activity
· Demonstrates the capacity for building brand awareness and engagement
· Demonstrates the capacity for audience reach and engagement.
3. INCOME AND/OR
REVENUE GENERATION (25%) / 4. VIABILITY (25%)
Your proposed activity:
· Demonstrates the capacity for future commercial opportunities arising from the activity.
· Demonstrates the capacity to increase the success of your existing product(s), work or your organisation. / Your application must demonstrate the level of planning and organisational capacity required to deliver the proposed activity and must:
· Represent good value for money for projected outcomes
· Include a viable and realistic budget
· Include a viable timeline and confirmation of activity within 1 July 2018 – 30 June 2019.
How to Apply
Applications are submitted via the online Creative Victoria Grants Portal.
You will be required to address the assessment criteria and submit a project budget showing a minimum cash contribution of 25% from your organisation. Templates and drafting tools are available to download.
We strongly recommend speaking with a member of Creative Victoria’s Strategic Marketing team prior to submitting an application to ensure your project plan addresses the selection criteria. Contact details are found at the end of this document.
The closing date for applications is 5pm, Thursday 15 February 2018.
Preparing an Application
We encourage you to draft your application using the available drafting tools in advance of submitting your application online.
To address the assessment criteria you are required to answer the following questions in plain English – maximum of 500 words per criteria (3000 characters including spaces):
· What is the marketing concept/idea of the proposed activity and how do you plan to deliver it? Please provide a general overview referring to the Innovation in Marketing Fund’s project aims.
· How will the proposed activity innovate and inform future approaches to marketing? (Adventurous Merit)
· Demonstrate the Marketing Approach for the project by providing an overview of your marketing plan. Please highlight how the proposed activity has the potential to inform the organisation’s future core marketing activity, and how it will contribute to building brand awareness, audience reach, and audience engagement. (Marketing Effect)
· How will the proposed activity contribute to the development of your organisation’s revenue streams? How will it increase the success of your existing product(s), work or your organisation? (Income/revenue generation)
· What are the expected outcomes and how will you measure them? Please outline both quantitative and qualitative targets, including an indicative timeline for your proposed activity. (Viability)
If your application is successful, you will need to provide Creative Victoria with a detailed project plan for your proposed activity within three weeks of notification in order to receive the funds.
Submitting an Application
The Creative Victoria Grants Portal will be open for applications Thursday 18 January 2018.
To submit an application:
1. Register for access to the Creative Victoria Grants Portal.
2. Read the program information and guidelines thoroughly.
3. Contact program staff to discuss your proposed marketing campaign / activity.
4. Draft your application using the following tools:
· Innovation in Marketing Fund Grants application drafting tool
· Creative Victoria budget drafting tool
5. Copy and paste the content of your application from your draft template to the Grants Portal.
6. Upload completed templates and any supporting documents required as part of your application (refer to the Application Documents and Supporting Material section).
7. Submit your completed application by 5pm, Thursday, 15 February 2018. Once the Grants Portal has closed, applications and/or support materials cannot be accepted.
Responsibilities
As a recipient of Creative Victoria funding you will be required to:
· Provide Creative Victoria with a detailed project plan prior to confirmation of funding;
· Notify Creative Victoria of any changes to the proposed activity;
· Publicly acknowledge the support of the Victorian Government using specific logos and text; and
· Acquit your grant by completing a written report on the outcomes of your funded project within 60 days of the project completion.
Acquittal Reports
When your funded activity is completed, you must provide Creative Victoria with an acquittal report within 60 days.
Failure to satisfactorily acquit funding will make you ineligible for future Creative Victoria funding and may result in action to recover the grant.
The acquittal report includes a financial reconciliation.
For further information, please visit the Acquittals page on the Creative Victoria website.
Contact
To find out more or discuss your application, please contact:
Ruth Gormley, Senior Manager, Strategic Marketing on 03 8683 3216 or
Laura Perini, Marketing Officer, Strategic Marketing on 03 8683 3213 or
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