Global fintech SumUp has unveiled its latest UK campaign, with a merchant-centric push that champions the businesses, entrepreneurs and SMEs that power the country, dubbed ‘Local Heroes’. 

The focus of the campaign is three SumUp merchants from West London and its aim is to use a strong sense of community to showcase small business owners as the true heroes of their local area. SumUp has launched the campaign at a time when it is particularly important to support small businesses, in line with the SumUp vision that everyone can build a thriving business. The pandemic had a massive impact on SMEs and continued issues such as inflation and rising energy costs are cause for further concern. The campaign offers an opportunity to bring merchants and consumers closer together.

Anna Druckrey, Head of Marketing Creatives at SumUp, commented: "The campaign is a result of our rebranding process that we have gone through over the last year. Our goal is to open up our brand and make it more accessible. That's why we're focusing on engaging with our customers, the SumUp merchants, to make the perception more emotional and direct.

"We are deliberately choosing this bold and very individual approach, instead of focusing on our products, we put the merchants directly at the centre of the campaign, creating an enhanced brand experience. Business owners get direct access to our marketing channels, gaining far greater reach and visibility. In this way, we turn our merchants into brand ambassadors while supporting their business."

The print and digital campaign comprises a total of 43 placements in London and was developed and implemented by the creative team led by Druckrey. With the brand campaign, the company is testing a hyper-local approach that stands out from globally constructed and implemented campaigns. 

SumUp merchant testimonials 

Backstage Originals is the Notting Hill-founded and based T-shirt and merchandising Mecca for music fans. Backstage Originals sell authentic and licensed T-shirts, hoodies, and branded wear out of their West London bricks and mortar shop and their equally well-stocked online store. 

Frequency Coffee is a multi-concept shop with locations across London (including Paddington), which focuses on specialty coffee, delicious food, and flexible co-working spaces. The Paddington location is an espresso bar, located on North Wharf Road. Founder Justo Tripier fulfilled his childhood dream when he opened the first shop seven years ago and when looking at technology partners when the business expanded, he chose SumUp’s POS system for its great backend solution and analytics.    

All produce from husband and wife West London ice cream makers Udderlicious is handmade in-store, with commitment to using the very best ingredients. By adopting SumUp’s sleek card reader and POS solution over three years ago, they have been able to streamline their payment processes and simplify their business operations. They decided to stop taking cash in 2020 and SumUp has been a key partner in this transition. 

Artistic realisation

Even though all aspects of the brand campaign were penned by in-house creative talent, SumUp additionally integrated external minds. The campaign's photo motifs were created by Tom Ziora. The renowned photographer has had numerous actors and artists in front of his lens and has shot campaigns for a variety of brands. He has worked for SumUp before. SumUp was also able to win Anna Rivera as stylist.