Current funding opportunities
If you'd like help with promoting your company, learning new skills or just doing things more effectively, check out the opportunities below.
Please note that applications for assistance with Corporate Identities / Re-branding, Video show reels / presentations and Website development are now closed.
Please sign up to our mailing list to ensure you're kept informed of any future funding opportunities.
- Getting Up To Standard - FREE web accessibility workshop
- From the Midlands with Love – Promotional postcard book
- The Marketing & PR Toolkit – FREE marketing training
- Eligibility
- How to apply
Getting Up To Standard - FREE web accessibility workshop and mentoring
We will be running the popular two day Getting Up To Standard web accessibility course for web designers and developers again in April '08, dates to be confirmed, with our partner User-lab.
Trainer Matt Machel delivers a practical workshop which shows that making websites accessible and achieving W3C standards is neither complicated nor expensive; you just need be shown how. You will also receive ongoing mentoring support after the course.
The training, which is normally worth £450+VAT, is FREE to companies or sole traders located in a core objective two area of the West Midlands. For more information on the course and the eligibility contact Mandy Brookes or call 0121 204 9883.
James Coleman from Supercool Design attended the course
"I just wanted to say thanks for everything with the accessibility course - I know it's going to be really beneficial for us having done it. Do pass on my thanks again to Matt, he was a really great teacher, and I learnt a lot more than I was expecting….it covered all and more on the subjects I had hoped. Having met the people who will be managing our mentoring, it seems everybody just wants us to learn and be part of a bigger community."
From the Midlands with Love – Promotional postcard book featuring your work
After the success of last years From the Midlands with Love promotional postcard project it's returning for a second time.
We know how difficult it can be to promote a creative business based outside London. That's why Media Content Lab is offering eligible businesses the opportunity to contribute visually inspiring computer art for a series of promotional postcards.
The postcard book will be a chance for your work to be presented amongst the best the Midlands has to offer, which we will then distribute to key industry players nationwide, including the top design, marketing, advertising and communications agencies. What's more we will also present you with 250 copies of your postcard for your own use as a promotional tool.
If your work falls under any of the following banners; graphic design, 2D animation, character design, illustration, digital imaging and you fulfil the eligibility requirements outlined below then put yourself forward today for inclusion in this exciting project.
Please download the application form, complete and return via email to info@mediacontentlab.co.uk attaching up to three pieces of inspirational visual design that you think would be suitable for a postcard, and that best represent your style.
If you would like any further information please contact us on 0121 204 9886 or info@mediacontentlab.co.uk.
Charlee Sully - The Usual Studio, www.theusualstudio.co.uk.
"We see the promotional postcard book as an original tool to help us promote our work and establish the company. As an outcome of this increased awareness, we hope to receive publicity, increased enquiries about our work and hopefully more commissions."
The Marketing & PR Toolkit - FREE marketing training
The Marketing and PR toolkit - a practical and FREE guide to promoting your business on a limited budget, will return in April '08 with its tried and tested combination of one-to-one consultation, workshops and a handy practical guide written by our experts in small business marketing.
The Marketing and PR toolkit is FREE to companies or sole traders that attend two of the three workshops and are located in a core objective two area of the West Midlands.
Workshops:
- Planning your marketing Strategy
- Tuesday 3rd June '08
- Kerry Endsor, Smarty Pants Marketing
- Making the most of Media Opportunities
- Wednesday 4th June '08
- Bob Calver, Birmingham City University
- Introduction to E-marketing
- Thursday 5th June '08
- John Chacksfield, Sharpmonkeys
In order to register your business for the upcoming workshops, to find out if you're eligible or more about the programme, please contact Mandy Brookes on 0121 204 9883.
Karen Millington from Silver Pure Silver attended the course
"Bob was extremely knowledgeable and very helpful and friendly. He pitched at just the right level. Kerry was a fantastic presenter, personable and informative, a very worthwhile day."
Eligibility
To be eligible for free assistance from Media Content Lab or Notion Studio your business must be:
- Registered as a: Sole Trader, Freelancer, Partnership, Limited Liability Partnership or Limited Company, and
- A start-up that is fully registered with a detailed business plan, offering a focused product or service, OR an established business that has been operating for 18 months or more, and
- West Midlands based, located in a Core Objective 2 area (check your business' postcode at http://www.objectivetwo.co.uk to find out), and
- Have an annual turnover of less than £5m
How to Apply
To apply for free assistance you will need to complete the online application form. During the application you will be asked to provide information about the project you require help with and your business. You should have the following information to hand:
- Date business registered (Companies House or Inland Revenue as applicable)
- Business / Marketing plan
The online form will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Application Response
All applications are processed on order of receipt. Notion Studio's estimated response time is 10 – 14 days after submission. Completion of the application does not guarantee an offer of assistance. Eligible applicants will be invited for interview prior to a decision being made regarding the acceptance of the project.