Small Business Campaigns: Examples to Learn From

What is a Small Business?

According to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), a small business is defined as an entity with a combined turnover under $10 million. Fair Work Australia classifies a small business as having fewer than 15 employees, while the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) sets the threshold at fewer than 20 employees.

For simplicity, let’s define a small business as one with less than $10 million in turnover and fewer than 15 employees.

What is a campaign?

A campaign is "a connected series of actions leading to a desired outcome." It’s more than just running Facebook ads or posting on Instagram—those are examples of paid social media advertising campaigns.

This article focuses on integrated campaigns that leverage a mix of paid, owned, and earned media. Drawing from 22 years of campaign marketing experience, integrated campaigns deliver the biggest returns for big and small brands.

By this definition, a campaign doesn’t need to be expensive, flashy, or splashy; it needs to be strategic.

Why don’t more small businesses run campaigns?

Not enough small businesses run campaigns, and this is something I’m working hard to address through Campaign Del Mar. But why aren’t more small businesses using campaigns?

Lack of knowledge: Many don’t know how to run a campaign effectively.
Over-reliance on borrowed channels: They pour time and resources into platforms like social media without building their own marketing channels.

The good news? Small brands that run campaigns often grow beyond the “small” label. Think Dollar Shave Club or RXBAR.

RXBAR Image via It's Nice That

Small Business Campaign Examples

Here are some inspiring examples of small business campaigns that demonstrate creativity, strategy, and payoff:

1. Hidden Figures – Hacking Happy

Image via Hacking Happy

Objective: Brand awareness and lead generation
About the campaign: Penny Locaso, founder of Hacking Happy, released a groundbreaking white paper based on her research into how women perceive the term “expert.” This free resource, Hidden Figures, explored gender biases and offered actionable insights to close the gap.

Results:

• 385 new email leads
• Featured in 5 major media publications
• Secured seven podcast guest spots
• Ran two community masterclasses
• Generated six corporate leads
• Achieved significant LinkedIn growth: 163% more impressions, 91% more engagement, and 4.7% more followers

“The impact of this campaign will carry well into the future,” says Penny, highlighting potential collaborations with universities and TEDx.

2. Book a Trip – The Wild Detectives

Image via One Club

Objective: Boost online sales during COVID-19 closures.

About the Campaign: When COVID-19 forced bookstore and café, The Wild Detectives to close, they reimagined themselves as a “travel agency” for books. Their campaign featured a “Book a Trip” website that paired destinations with related books. Social media videos promoting “escapes” to places like Havana directed users to the online store.

Results:

• Online sales increased by 200%
• Attracted 30,000 unique visitors
• Earned global media coverage

3. Beyond Rainbows – Young Folks

Image via Young Folks

Objective: Promote genuine inclusivity during Pride Month.
About the campaign: Marketing agency Young Folks partnered with Queer Town to create a survey exploring perceptions of LGBTQIA+ representation in advertising. Using the findings, they developed a practical guide for brands to improve inclusivity in marketing.

Results:

• Released a guide with actionable tips to destigmatise LGBTQIA+ experiences
• Elevated awareness about the importance of authenticity in representation
• Earned media exposure in major business and advertising media: Beyond Rainbows

4. The Penny Campaign – Penn & Lytics

Objective: Brand awareness
About the campaign: To build brand awareness (and address confusion around her brand name), Penn & Lytics founder Brooke Huckerby created a humorous campaign starring her dog, Penny, as the faithful “sidekick” of small business owners.

Why it works? Marketing analytics is not the most exciting topic. Still, the personality-driven video captured the audience's attention, built affinity with founder Brooke, and changed how small business owners think about marketing analytics.

The hilarious 90-second brand film featured many memorable moments with adorable puns and snappy one-liners. Including this one:

"Once the penny drops, you’ll never forget our name!"

Check out The Penny Campaign.

5. Lifting the Curtain – Peach Business

Image via Peach Business

Objective: Spark conversations about money and female entrepreneurs.
About the campaign: Fi Johnston, a business strategist and money coach, created a documentary interviewing five female entrepreneurs about their struggles with money. The raw, unscripted interviews offered insights into the emotional side of money management.
 

Results:

• Positioned Fi as a champion for female small business owners
• Sparked widespread engagement and changed the narrative around women and money.

6. The Gurus We Deserve – Campaign Del Mar

Read about the campaign here

Objective: Build brand awareness
About the campaign: This pivotal campaign highlighted shady marketing practices and established Campaign Del Mar as a no-nonsense alternative. Supported by paid ads, PR, email marketing, and social media, the campaign continues to deliver leads years later.

Results:

• Cost $20K but delivered exponential ROI, e.g. sold out all 24 spots to our $3000 online course within 3 weeks, and then we did it again the next intake.
• Positioned Campaign Del Mar as a trusted authority in the online business space
• Continues to build awareness for Campaign Del Mar three years later

7. Lucent Globe

Objective: Get customers to switch to zero-waste cleaning products.
About the campaign: Lucent is one of Australia’s fastest-growing small businesses that has achieved the seemingly impossible: getting customers to care enough about cleaning products they order online instead of just grabbing them off supermarket shelves.

They have built their brand with low-fi, founder-led organic and paid video campaigns to explain the product’s benefits through simple “side-by-side” comparisons. By reusing footage and integrating campaigns across channels, they achieved the following:

Results:

• 2.4 million Instagram views on just one video
• 5900% growth
• Rapidly growing customer base: 4000 orders per week
• Lucent Globe is on its way to becoming a household name

These examples showcase the power of creative, integrated campaigns for small businesses. Whether driving awareness, generating leads, or building your brand, a strategic campaign can elevate your business and deliver lasting results.

Ready to create a campaign that drives real results? Join Marketing Circle, where I guide small business owners like you to build strategic, creative campaigns that grow your brand. Let’s make it happen—together!

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