Lauren Baron
BRANT NEWS

Brantford small businesses, it’s time to make some noise of your own.

The 2013 Brooks Signs Business Makeover Contest is giving away more than $20,000 worth of marketing and advertising services, including a new sign by Brooks Signs, a new logo design by Octopus Red, advertising in Brant News and on Jewel 92.1 and a promotional video by Digital Duck.

“It’s about putting your best foot forward and making your business look like a million bucks,” said Lucas Duguid of Octopus Red. “In this day and age, many businesses don’t have the money for advertising, a print logo and a sign.”

The competition is open to all businesses registered in Ontario. Business owners must write a 100-word entry about why their business is deserving of a makeover and submit it to www.brooks-signs.com by March 1. A panel of judges will decide the winner on March 4.

“Small business owners know the importance of marketing and advertising but, unfortunately, when funds are tight, the first thing they cut is their advertising budget,” said Angela Henrique of Brooks Signs. “But that’s the worst thing they can do, so this is a good opportunity for them to get a real boost.”

The Brantford Station Gallery was the winner of the inaugural Business Makeover Contest in 2012, rebranding itself with a new logo, a new sign and an updated name.

For gallery owner Mike Tutt, the win couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Because it was a small business starting out from scratch, I didn’t have the funds to come up with a logo,” he said. “It wouldn’t have been in my budget to go out and source out a sign.

“Now, I get all kinds of compliments from people about it.”