Small business owners and charity leaders are increasingly struggling to market themselves, prompting a Northamptonshire based PR and marketing company to launch Power Up – a competition to give two UK organisations a free, strategic communications boost.

The Power Up competition, launched this week by Pilkington Communications, is open to UK-based charities, social enterprises and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) that are doing valuable work in their communities but lack the resources, expertise or confidence to raise their profile, tell their story and attract new supporters, customers or funders.

Jessica Pilkington, Director of Pilkington Communications, said: “We work with brilliant charities, social enterprises and businesses that make a real difference but often struggle to get noticed because they don’t have the time, budget or expertise to market themselves effectively.

“National research confirms what we’ve been seeing for years. Power Up is our way of changing that. We want to help organisations tell their story with confidence, reach more people and unlock new opportunities.”

Recent research underlines the scale of the challenge. HSBC UK’s 2025 Small Business Report found that just 19% of SME leaders feel their business is promoted enough, while the CAF UK Charity Insights Report 2025 found that two-thirds of charity leaders cite financial pressures as their biggest challenge.

The research also highlights a growing visibility gap for smaller organisations. More than half of SMEs still rely primarily on word of mouth and repeat custom to grow, while many businesses say reaching customers online has become increasingly difficult in a crowded digital marketplace.

At the same time, smaller charities often lack the capacity to invest in strategic marketing and communications.

Jessica said: “Together, these findings point to a common challenge: many of the organisations making the biggest difference locally are often the least visible.”

Through Power Up, Pilkington Communications will award two tailored communications support packages, each worth more than £1,500.

Rather than receiving a fixed prize, two winning UK organisations will be able to choose the package of support they feel will make the biggest difference. This could include PR, media relations, storytelling, content creation, social media support, campaign planning, award submissions, copywriting, digital marketing, communications training or other communications services.

The flexible approach ensures each winner receives support that meets their specific goals and challenges, helping them move from doing great work in silence to being seen, heard and recognised by the audiences that matter most

Jessica added: “No two organisations face exactly the same communications challenges, so we didn’t want to offer a one-size-fits-all prize. Some need help finding their voice, others need support launching a campaign or strengthening their digital presence. Giving winners a choice means the support is tailored to where they’ll see the greatest impact, creating a stronger foundation for future growth.”

The competition is open to UK-based charities, social enterprises and SMEs that are delivering clear social, community or local economic impact, have limited in-house marketing and communications capacity, and can demonstrate how improved visibility and storytelling would help them grow their reach, income or support.

Applications are now open and close on 31^st July.

Full details, eligibility criteria and the application form are available at https://pilkington-comms.co.uk/power-up/.