Online small business lender OnDeck has hired Casacom to support its Canadian communications initiatives, which will be geared toward educating small business owners on its lending options.
Casacom’s Toronto office team is working with OnDeck to roll out a series of communications programs including strategic media relations campaigns, speaking engagements, events and local business outreach, designed to empower and educate owners of the estimated 1.1 million small businesses in Canada.
Casacom won the account in a competitive pitch against two other agencies, says Suzanne Rappaport, vice-president, strategy at Casacom Toronto.
As it’s a small business, Casacom can relate to OnDeck’s target audience and disseminate the brand’s story in a meaningful way, Rappaport says.
Gary Fearnall, country manager of OnDeck Canada, says less than half of small businesses receive the borrowed capital they need to help them fuel growth and fund working capital. “The traditional loan approval process may be too slow to meet the needs of a business trying to respond to an opportunity quickly. Our goal is to empower small businesses and arm them with both the information and the tools they need to recognize, react and grow.”
Founded in 2007, OnDeck launched in Canada in 2014 and has delivered more than $50 million in financing to Canadian small businesses.
The company offers a simplified application process and term loans from $5,000 to $250,000 for eligible Canadian small businesses with repayment terms of six to 24 months.
In the U.S., OnDeck is featuring Shark Tank judge and real estate entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran in TV and radio spots and customer communications.
