The Handy Marketing Company Shortlisted for Best Low Budget Campaign

We’re proud to share that The Handy Marketing Company (THMC) has been shortlisted for Best Low Budget Campaign at the UK Social Media Awards 2025, recognising our work with Domestic Abuse Education (DAE).

This nomination celebrates not only the creative and strategic approach we took to maximise a small budget, but also the impact this campaign has had on increasing awareness of domestic abuse and helping workplaces feel equipped to respond.

Who We Are

THMC is a Suffolk-based marketing consultancy run by me, Clair Bryant, alongside my brother, Matt Bryant, and our office morale booster, Nelly the Labrador. We work with an extensive network of freelance creatives and marketing specialists, from award-winning designers to Chartered Marketers, to deliver bespoke marketing solutions for clients across sectors.

Our strength lies in delivering strategies that punch above their weight, particularly for small businesses, charities, and purpose-driven organisations that want to make a difference without huge marketing budgets.

About Domestic Abuse Education

Our client, Domestic Abuse Education, provides training, resources, and awareness programmes that equip organisations to recognise, respond to, and support employees experiencing domestic abuse. Their sessions are delivered by experts with lived experience, making the training both impactful and deeply human.

Like many small organisations, DAE didn’t have a large advertising budget. Still, it had an urgent need: to get its message in front of the right audiences, HR professionals, business leaders, and wellbeing managers, across the UK.

The Campaign Brief

The challenge was clear:

• Raise awareness of DAE’s workplace training and support services
• Drive meaningful engagement from decision-makers
• Deliver results with a minimal budget

We needed a strategy that would maximise organic reach, tap into audience emotion, and encourage conversation. Paid advertising would be minimal, so the content had to work hard organically.

Our Approach

Our campaign combined strategic content planning, timely awareness day tie-ins, and relationship-driven engagement. Key tactics included:

• Platform focus: Prioritising LinkedIn for B2B targeting, supplemented by Facebook and Instagram for wider public reach.
• Content pillars: Story-led posts, statistics and facts, training highlights, and behind-the-scenes snapshots.
• Hashtag strategy: Leveraging relevant awareness hashtags to tap into larger conversations, such as #DomesticAbuseAwareness and #WellbeingAtWork.
• Humanised messaging: Avoiding corporate jargon, speaking directly to employers in an approachable yet authoritative voice.
• Engagement activity: Personally engaging with industry-related posts, tagging relevant individuals, and responding quickly to comments/messages.

Creative Execution

We designed content that would resonate on an emotional and professional level:

1. First-person narratives
   Sharing the lived experience of DAE’s founder and ambassadors to create trust and authenticity.
2. Statistics with context
   Not just presenting facts, but explaining why they matter for employers.
3. Event highlights
   Showcasing real training sessions and the positive feedback received.
4. Practical advice
   Offering bite-sized tips for spotting signs of abuse and supporting colleagues.

Results Over 12 Months

With a lean budget and consistent strategic effort, the results spoke for themselves:

• +102% increase in post impressions on LinkedIn year-on-year
• +89% increase in engagement rate on LinkedIn
• +76% increase in followers across LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram
• Significant inbound interest from HR and wellbeing managers
• Direct bookings for training sessions attributed to LinkedIn content
• Multiple speaking invitations and networking opportunities from online visibility

These results demonstrate how a clear, human-led content strategy can generate real-world impact without requiring a high ad spend.

Why Being Shortlisted Matters

This recognition is more than just a marketing accolade. It’s validation that a low budget does not mean low impact.

For DAE, the campaign has directly led to more workplaces becoming aware of and acting on their responsibility to support employees facing domestic abuse. Every booking generated means more employers are trained, more awareness is raised, and ultimately, more lives are positively affected.

Testimonials

From Domestic Abuse Education

“The Handy Marketing Company took our message and made it resonate with exactly the people we needed to reach. They understood the sensitivity of the topic and created content that was compassionate yet compelling. The results have been outstanding — far beyond what we imagined possible with our budget.” – Sharon Livermore MBE.

From the THMC Team:

“Campaigns like this are why we do what we do. It’s not about the size of the budget, it’s about the size of the impact.” – Clair Bryant, CEO & Founder.

Lessons Learned

This campaign reaffirmed some key principles that other small organisations can take away:

• Authenticity beats polish: When the message matters, audiences value sincerity over corporate gloss.
• Focus on fewer channels: Concentrating efforts on where the audience actually is makes a big difference.
• Human connection drives engagement: Conversations, not just broadcasts, build trust and action.

Looking Ahead

DAE’s visibility is growing, and we’re now planning:

• More targeted campaigns around key awareness dates
• A series of case study videos from businesses that have completed training
• Expanding into partnerships with larger membership organisations to widen reach

Final Thoughts

Being shortlisted for Best Low Budget Campaign at the UK Social Media Awards isn’t just a pat on the back; it’s proof that strategic thinking, consistency, and human connection can outperform even the most significant budgets.

We’ll be in London on 8 October for the awards ceremony. Whatever the outcome, we’re proud of what this campaign has achieved.

If you’re a small business or charity thinking, “We can’t make much impact with our budget”, this campaign is proof you can.

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