AN IDEA IS NOT ENOUGH. CBIC HELPS CENTRAL BOHEMIAN CONFECTIONER MATERIALIZE HER SWEET DREAM
Zlata Otavová is a professional confectioner from Zavidov in Rakovník district, Central Bohemia. Her company, CAKEZO, helps develop confectionery recipes and provides technology services. She leveraged her extensive experience from the local and international market to develop a unique product – mirror glaze with a high content of chocolate, without preservatives. The product received an award at a food exhibition in Rimini, Italy. However, her business lacked professional marketing. The Central Bohemian Creative Voucher changed that.
“Even if you have a unique product made from high-quality ingredients, no-one will know about it if you are unable to promote it effectively. An idea is not enough,” says the successful confectioner. “We leveraged the Creative Voucher to hire a creative team to design a professional presentation of the company and the product. The creative team’s task was to design and create a website including a multimedia presentation, design the brand – including a logo, marketing collateral, and packaging for the newly developed product. All that in keeping with the latest design and communication trends.”
Happy April
Improving visibility of companies and their products and supporting viable business activities that have a potential to benefit the Central Bohemian economy – those are the objectives of the Creative Voucher. On 1 April 2019, the Central Bohemian Innovation Center (CBIC) published a call for applications for the central Bohemian Creative Voucher program aimed at promoting collaboration between small and medium-sized businesses in the region with experts from creative industries. The grant scheme was so successful that its 5 million crowns (4.1 million for creative services and 900 thousand for industrial design) was almost completely allocated within two months.
“We have CZK 300 000 left for an industrial design project. We strive for an individual approach to each project, provide consultations, help companies identify their needs and communicate those needs to creatives to get ideas across in both directions and to achieve desired results,” says Barbara Svojanovská, CBIC project manager who is responsible for the Creative Voucher program.
In total, 22 Central Bohemian companies received assistance from the Creative Voucher program. Projects aspiring for the Creative Voucher undergo a two-round evaluation process. First, the program committee considers business aspects and then checks the formal details of each application.
Due to the enormous success of the Creative Voucher program, CBIC will strive to increase the financial allocation for the current call that expires on 31 January 2020. That is why the Program continues accepting applications and stacks them in the project pipeline.
“We know that good design makes good business. If you have a great website, you will attract customers. And nicely packaged products sell better. That is why we want to enable entrepreneurs across the region to move their business forward, leveraging available financial assistance to implement innovations they may have put off due to a lack of resources. We believe that we will be able to boost their competitiveness both locally and internationally,” says Central Bohemian Governor Jaroslava Pokorná Jermanová.
For more information, please visit www.s-ic.cz
or write to Barbara Svojanovská at
