Demand for video content is soaring during the pandemic and a Suffolk design agency can now take advantage after being awarded a grant for a new computer.
Cheddar Creative in Ipswich applied for almost £3,000 under the Government’s Wider Economy Grant Scheme, introduced to help businesses respond to the challenges posed by Covid-19 and adapt their services to meet fast-changing needs.
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership supported Cheddar Creative through the process and helped it secure the grant, which is financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
The company was producing video content for its clients, but the rendering process was slow and even a two-minute clip took 48 hours to complete on a laptop. Now, the Mac purchased with the funding can do the same job in an hour and the business has already been able to take on two new video projects.
“It’s really good news,” said Rich Wood, who runs Cheddar with co-founder and creative director Cassie Bendall. “We had applied for the discretionary grant because we were not on the business rates register and we didn’t get any other grant support. We were thinking that maybe we were going to slip through the net.
“The grant came through really quickly. We sent an application, and we were contacted within a few days saying we met the criteria and given a form to complete. Within two weeks of that it had been approved. We received the machine a week ago and already we have undertaken two new video projects.”
As part of the response to Covid-19, grants of between £1,000 and £3,000 were made available to support businesses operating in the visitor economy sector/supply chain or the wider economy.
Rich said the arrival of the new Mac had “increased efficiency and productivity” and enabled Cheddar to respond to the rise in the popularity of video since the arrival of Covid.
“Everyone has been living their lives online and has got more comfortable with video messaging and Zoom,” he said. “So, there is more of an appetite for video among our clients and new potential clients than there was before Covid.”
If you need business support, including advice about grants, you can contact New Anglia Growth Hub on 0300 333 6536 or email [email protected]
