Women entrepreneurs play a vital role in driving economic growth, yet they continue to face challenges in accessing capital and resources they need for success. In the United States, women own approximately 4 out of every 10 businesses but only 1 in 23 loan dollars reaches women-owned businesses (source 1, source 2).
Bank of America believes that when women thrive, whole families, whole communities and whole economies thrive. That’s why the bank supports women entrepreneurs by providing access to training, mentorship, capital, markets and philanthropic support, helping to empower women in communities around the globe.
As part of this commitment, in partnership with Seneca Women, Bank of America created a new online marketplace for women entrepreneurs in March 2023, providing them access to new markets and opportunities for consumers to shop and support their small businesses.
The Bank of America Marketplace by Seneca Women features a wide range of women-owned businesses, searchable by category and geography. It currently spotlights approximately 213 women from around the world including the U.S., Germany, India and Mexico, with various sectors represented such as apparel, items, home goods, fitness and beauty products.
Timed with the holiday season, Bank of America sought to showcase these extraordinary female business owners and help bring awareness to their unique goods and creations.
The challenge: break through the overcrowded online conversation during the busy holiday season, while helping these small business owners tell their authentic, unfiltered stories.
Women business owners do it all – from creating products to operations and marketing – they are the heart, sweat, arms and brain of their businesses. Who better to tell their stories than the women entrepreneurs themselves? And where better to do so than in their physical stores and workshops?
Bank of America, together with Seneca Women, identified women entrepreneurs with a compelling story who were interested in reaching newer audiences and promoting their work. The catch? They were in four different states with one month until the holiday season gained real momentum.
Production began immediately with teams connecting with the women and flying across the country to start filming the campaign. Being in their own environment, the women shared personal narratives, inspiring messages for others to follow their dreams, and shared the impact they are having on communities across the world.
For example, Beth Bell shared how Charlotte-based BraveWorks was created to uplift women from around the world as they overcome trauma and injustice through the power of personal enterprise and handicrafts – ultimately creating a ripple effect for future generations.
Maribel Lieberman, founder of MarieBelle New York, started crafting and selling candies at the age of 8 in Honduras. Since then, she’s grown her business into an international company, bringing her artisan chocolates to people around the world.
Small business owner and artist LaDara McKinnon creates vibrant abstract paintings that celebrate stories of resilience and triumph, adding color to spaces that crave it.
With that in mind, we created a social-first video campaign that celebrated these stories. By using Bank of America’s LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook platforms, and tagging the businesses’ profiles, we promoted these stories to existing Bank of America followers and helped these women founders reach a wider audience.
The campaign surpassed its goals of driving awareness and engagement.
Across 9 posts on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook, the three different stories garnered 224,873 impressions and 65,484 engagements – which includes video views.
We received enthusiastic feedback and responses from the women business owners. They felt empowered and supported to continue pursuing their dreams and running successful businesses.
