The Prague Voucher can be used by creative professionals
The grant programme is called the Prague Voucher. It distributes European grants to small and medium-sized enterprises operating within the capital city. What is the aim? To support Prague-based entrepreneurs and to promote the development and competitiveness of their businesses.
In other words, the aim is to enable even small firms to access high-quality services from creative professionals in fields such as online marketing, design, branding, advertising and PR. These firms often cannot afford such services. The grant can be used by ambitious start-ups or young firms that want to make an impact in the digital environment.
Which companies are eligible for the grant:
- small and medium-sized enterprises up to 3 years old
- an economically active branch in Prague (the registered office may be located anywhere, but the project must be implemented and have an impact within the territory of the City of Prague)
- legal entity status (Ltd, plc, limited partnership, cooperative, etc.)
The grant is intended for companies only. Individuals and non-profit organisations are not eligible to apply. Small and medium-sized enterprises are defined as companies with up to 250 employees, whose annual turnover does not exceed EUR 50 million or whose balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 43 million.
How much can be obtained
- funding of up to 85% of the project value
- for creative and related consultancy services
- the project cost must not exceed CZK 500,000; up to CZK 425,000 can be obtained
- The project must be completed within 6 months
The City Council pays out the funds in the form of a retrospective grant. Once the project is completed (and based on the voucher agreement), you must submit a claim for reimbursement of the voucher to the City Council. The City Council is obliged to reimburse the voucher within 42 days at the latest. The claim for reimbursement must be submitted electronically no later than the day the project is completed. Further information can be found on the website prazskyvoucher.cz.
How can you obtain a grant?
Choose a supplier from the Whitelist; you will, of course, find our agency, AITOM Digital, among them. Agree on the scope of the collaboration. The supplier will draw up a quotation, which you will attach to your application for the voucher. If the application is approved, the Prague City Council will conclude a Voucher Agreement with you.
You must submit your application by 18 April 2019, when the call for applications closes. Alternatively, you can submit your application online.
How to make the most effective use of the grant
First and foremost, consider how creative support could help your business. If you have established products, a stronger PR campaign might help. However, you cannot use the entire grant for this. Our agency used the services of a PR agency, which cost us between 20,000 and 30,000 per month.
We would recommend using the grant for more expensive and demanding support. If you are considering a rebrand, definitely make use of the grant. The grant can be applied to virtually all digital services and online marketing – from web design, through graphics and copywriting, to website coding. The call for applications explicitly mentions multimedia presentations, including websites, mobile apps and online marketing (SEO, PPC, etc.).
What if you’re not sure what to do?
Get in touch. We’ll help you prepare your project and you can apply for the necessary grant.
When to consider a website redesign
Practically any time. First and foremost, however, it must be said that a redesign isn’t always necessary when building a new website from scratch. Often, it’s enough to tweak just a few graphic elements or design better conversion paths, or perhaps implement responsive web design.
You must view your website through the critical eyes of your customers. You should constantly be thinking about how to make the content clearer or how to improve profitability. Large web portals often suffer from an overload of information. We frequently recommend that such companies try a microsite – for key services or products.
A microsite is a single-topic website that focuses on just one type of product or service.
For example, Atlas Copco uses a microsite to promote a specific product, whilst Orion uses one to run competitions for chocolate lovers. In practice, the use of these sites is limited only by your imagination. You can find details and case studies on microsites at brandmicrosite.cz.