ALL PUN INTENDED: SIMPLY BUSINESS ON THE HUNT TO FIND BRITAIN’S PUNNIEST BUSINESS NAME

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  Posted by: electime      19th March 2024

  • Leading small business insurer, Simply Business, is launching its annual ‘Britain’s Best Small Business Name’ competition to find the UK’s funniest small business name
  • SME owners have the opportunity to win the coveted title and a £2,500 prize, to be chosen by public vote
  • Previous winners have included the likes of ‘Perky Blenders’ an independent, specialty coffee roaster in East London
  • Research revealed that half (51 per cent) of consumers are more likely to shop at a small business with a funny or witty business name
  • New for this year, award winning comedian, writer and renowned ‘punslinger’, Darren Walsh, will be a judge to determine the shortlist

Simply Business, one of the UK’s largest providers of small business insurance, has launched its annual Britain’s Best Small Business Name competition, which sees one punny small business awarded the coveted title, plus a £2,500 cash prize. Small businesses can enter the competition now, entries close on 25 April 2024.

Now in its third year, the competition celebrates the wit, creativity, and humour of the nation’s small business owners.
Research by Simply Business revealed that a witty or funny business name can play a huge part in helping small businesses succeed – with half (51 per cent) of consumers saying they’re likely (35 per cent) or very likely (16 per cent) to shop at a small business with a funny or witty business name. Almost two thirds (65 per cent) of consumers say a funny or witty business name tells them a business is imaginative and original. Moreover four in five (81 per cent) consumers prefer to shop with a small or local business over a large, well-known, international business.

The competition has been relaunched alongside the company’s “You name it. We insure it” campaign, which features some of the punniest names in UK small business including:

  • Pane in the Glass – window and door repairs firm in Norfolk
  • Get Stuffed – takeaway restaurant in Shadwell, London
  • Curl Up and Dye – hairdressing salon in Kingston, South London
  • Rough Around The Hedges – mobile gardener in Elmbridge, Surrey

Previous winners have been Perky Blenders, a London-based specialty coffee roasters and Eggucation, a chick hatching business who both beat over 2,000 punny-named small businesses to be presented with the hotly contested accolade.

In honour of the clever puns that many small business owners coin for their business name, this year, the competition will be judged by renowned ‘punslinger’, Darren Walsh. Darren is a previous winner of The Edinburgh Fringe funniest joke award and he will work his way through the entries and create a shortlist of the funniest and most creative business names, before the winner is decided by public vote.

Bea Montoya, UK COO at Simply Business, said: “We’re incredibly proud to provide tailored insurance to over 900,000 creative, diverse, and innovative small businesses. But we see our role as more than an insurance broker – we’re champions for the nation’s self-employed, so it only felt right to put real customers with great business names at the heart of our TV advert.

We’re excited to begin our latest search for Britain’s Best Small Business Name, and can’t wait to see the many witty and punny entries this year. It’s our hope that these brilliantly-named companies get a boost in business as a result, as we shine a light on their creativity.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities and this competition sums up the wonderful spirit and humour that they bring to their businesses every day. We’re delighted to be give a small business owner a helping hand with the £2,500 cash prize, particularly as all SMEs are facing an incredibly challenging set of circumstances in the current economic environment.”

Entries for the Britain’s Best Small Business Name competition are open now, and will close on 25 April 2024. The shortlist will be judged by Darren Walsh and announced on 7 May. It will then be in the public’s hands to pick an overall winner, which will be announced on 23 May 2024. You can learn more about the competition and enter the here:  www.simplybusiness.co.uk/britains-best-small-business-name/