Channel 4 Awards £600k in Airtime to B Corp Winners

Channel 4 Sales has announced the winners of its second B Corp competition.

The competition, which was conducted in partnership with B Lab UK, offers five B Corp businesses a share of TV advertising airtime worth £600,000 (US$805,872), including a primetime linear ad-break takeover spotlighting each business – alongside educational messaging around the B Corp movement to a national UK audiences. 

Winners will also receive bespoke advertising placements across Channel 4’s streaming service to increase their reach and help accelerate the growth of purpose-driven businesses. 

“We were blown away by this year’s shortlist – the creativity, the ambition, the sheer quality of ideas on show,” says Tom Patterson, Sustainability Lead at Channel 4 Sales. “Each business brought the B Corp spirit to life in a way that felt fresh and genuinely exciting. 

“What stood out most wasn’t just the ideas, but how clearly they got the power of TV – to reach new audiences, fuel growth and help make more sustainable choices feel like the easy ones. We can’t wait to see these ideas brought to life on screen later this year.”

The first iteration of this competition helped improve general audience understandings of what it means to be a B Corp. Research from Sonder found that 88% of viewers reported an improved opinion of B Corps, and 85% said they would be more likely to consider buying from a B Corp organisation. 

Encouraging consumer change through advertising

According to Channel 4, this initiative has been launched to “leverage the power of advertising” in order to support positive behavioural changes from consumers and encourage audiences to take on more sustainable practices when buying products.

Its five winners were chosen from a shortlist of ten finalists, who had to pitch what their creative vision was, highlight what being a B Corp means to them and demonstrate how TV advertising could help them scale further. 

These winners were SURI, creators of an electric toothbrush “designed for life,” Holy Moly Dips, a natural food brand focused on responsible sourcing, Klyk, which looks to end waste in business IT, Faith in Nature, the eco-friendly personal care brand and TOTM, a period care brand producing organic cotton pads, tampons and cups. 

“Watching the finalists pitch was an incredible reminder of the raw energy and original thinking driving the B Corp community today,” says Rosalind Holley, Director of Marketing and Communications at B Lab UK. “Every single business showed up with a unique story to tell, collectively redefining what responsible business looks like in the UK. 

“A massive congratulations to this year’s winners. We're excited to see how the final ads will captivate audiences and spark meaningful conversation.”

Business for Good

This initiative falls as part of the company’s wider Business for Good initiatives, which include Black in Business and the Diversity in Advertising Award.

Black in Business, developed in partnership with Lloyds, offers Black entrepreneurs £200,000 (US$268,666) in free advertising, the creation of a professionally produced TV advert and access to mentorship from senior leaders at Channel 4 and Lloyds in order to address barriers faced by Black entrepreneurs. 

Its diversity in advertising award, meanwhile, offers £1m (US$1.3m) in commercial airtime to the brand or agency that best pitches a campaign addressing the year’s creative brief, in order to better embed inclusive practices into TV advertising. 

For its most recent brief – Inclusive by Design – five brands have been nominated: Morrisons, Malteasers, Tesco and Bodyform. 

“With so many strong entries for this year’s Diversity in Advertising Award, it is inspiring to see so many companies wanting to develop work that is Inclusive by Design into the whole process,” Amy Jenkins, Sales Leader at Channel 4, notes. “The final stage pitches are set to be a fantastic day with so much creativity, expertise and passion in the room. 

“This year’s brief is built on the core belief that having adverts which are Inclusive by Design doesn’t just make things better for some; it enhances the experience for everyone. Accessibility is a matter of importance for Channel 4, and I can’t wait to partner with the winning brand as we work together to drive change.”