Fund Female

Background

Wunderman Thompson UK wanted to mark International Women’s Day on March 8th by showing its support for women-owned businesses. Only 27% of UK business owners were women and the agency hoped that by supporting female entrepreneurs they might help the number grow.

Idea

‘Fund female’ was a microsite that included a map of female-owned businesses close to the agency offices in London’s Mornington Crescent. For the week following International Women’s Day, staff were encouraged to shop exclusively at the listed, women-only businesses.

The maps open API also meant that anyone who came across a female-owned business, not just in the Camden area but across the country, could submit details to the site. Equally any female business owners that wanted to be showcased could submit their details too.

In the longer term, Wunderman Thompson UK wanted to drive momentum and grow its database of female businesses so that more and more people across the UK would start to think consciously about the types of businesses they spend with and how they might fund a more equal economy. The idea was launched with an in-house event at which female entrepreneurs spoke about the issues they faced when starting out.

Results

Since launch, 187 female-owned businesses have been proud to list themselves on the Fund Female directory.

“It's great to be included among so many businesses we love! It's such a great idea.” My Freda.

“We absolutely love what you guys are doing - thank you so much for highlighting female founded businesses.” Rubies in the Rubble.

There have been over 2,000 unique visitors to the site and just under 200 of them signed up to the Fund Female Challenge; trying to spend money only at female- owned businesses for a whole week.

Our Thoughts

What we like about this idea is the fact it’s a business idea rather than a clever or crafted execution. That’s the new direction of travel for agencies, taking on the consultancies at their own game and, often, doing it with a greater sense of purpose.

Like all business ideas, it’s going to need investment and continuous development. No-one is doing anything quite like this, so I do hope Wunderman Thompson UK don’t lose interest in it. Perhaps they should get a brand (or brands?) involved just as VMLY&R got Gazeta.pl, Mastercard and BNP Paribas to invest in gender equality. See pages 74-75.

This is such a practical way to bring about change, neither hectoring nor strident flag-waving but helping women grow their businesses and become role models for others.

The site is growing organically already, identifying female-run businesses way beyond Camden, London, and as far as West Wales and long may it continue to do so.