A SCOTS broadband firm has backed the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card initiative as it looks to inject thousands into the Scottish economy.
BrawBand – a Scottish internet service provider – is using the gift cards as rewards to those who refer friends to their services.
This is part of a move that it hopes will drive thousands of pounds into the regions the company operates in.
BrawBand’s mascot – the Scots Spaceman – highlighted the promotion as it visited The Chihuahua Cafe in Edinburgh, one of the businesses where people can spend the Edinburgh Gift Card.
BrawBand currently operates in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, and across Renfrewshire.
David Munro is the Director of Product at BrawBand and said the switch from Amazon was an easy one to make: “BrawBand is a celebration of all things Scottish.
“Our customer service team is in Scotland too, manned by Scottish people giving honest, friendly advice.
“We had been using £50 Amazon vouchers as a thank you to customers for referring a friend.
“Gift cards or vouchers are popular with customers, but it doesn’t make sense for us, as a localised internet service provider, to use Amazon vouchers as a customer incentive.
“We wanted to do something more local, where the benefit would be felt by local businesses and were pleased to hear about the Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards for regions right across Scotland.”
Each BrawBand customer referring a friend, and the person referred, will receive a coupon code to redeem, with the gift card posted out to them at their home address.
“It’s common for organisations to use Amazon gift vouchers for their campaigns because they want choice for their customers,” added David.
“However, we’ve now got a viable, local alternative for Scotland.
“The choice available with the Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards is strong; multiple national and local businesses across retail, hospitality, leisure, attractions and services.
“We’d much rather be supporting the Scottish economy with our customer incentives, and the choice on where to spend the Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards makes it a win-win for us and our customers.
“As a proud Scottish company, the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card aligns with our values and we’re happy to support the initiative.”
Owner of the Chihuahua café in Edinburgh, Tanya Salitura, said: “The Chihuahua Café has been open for 4.5 years now and is an interactive animal experience.
“We’re part of the Edinburgh Gift Card because support for local is so important. It has been difficult for small businesses over recent years, and many businesses have completely shut down.
“Even now, overheads are so much higher and people choosing to support that tiny coffee shop or small store on a daily basis is what will keep that business open.
“We love getting involved with fellow small businesses and the more businesses start to focus on helping each other, the more the customer’s journey becomes easier and they feel like they are truly part of the community also.
“BrawBand taking a step like switching their rewards to Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards versus large corporation gift cards can start to cement these changes we all need.”
The Scottish Government backed the introduction of the regional Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards as part of a landmark move to give every region in Scotland the opportunity to introduce its own local gift card.
The initiative is delivered by Scotland’s Town Partnership (STP) and Perth-based fintech Miconex.
STP Chief Officer Phil Prentice said: “For Scottish organisations like BrawBand to make the switch from online or single retailer gift cards, we have to give them a viable alternative, and that’s exactly what the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card represents.
“It’s a local option where the benefit stays here is Scotland, and that offers excellent choice and ease of use for the customer and organisation.
“We hope to see many more Scottish organisations making the switch to Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards.”
Colin Munro is the Managing Director of Miconex and commented: “There are over 350,000 private sector businesses operating in Scotland, and the majority use rewards or incentives for their staff and customers.
“The value of gift cards given by organisations as incentives or rewards is valued at £2.3bn in the UK, and 20.7% of people have received a gift card as an incentive from a business.
“Organisations choosing Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards for their staff and customers will have a significant impact on the Scottish economy.”
