Adelaide-based start-up Comms Hub is working with regional businesses to ‘digitally’ catch them up to their city counterparts.

Launched in September last year, the online agency is prioritising working with small businesses and startups in regional areas who historically haven’t been able to afford PR and marketing.

“The genesis of the idea came from a conversation with a regional business,” co-founder Amy Chandler said. “The group had received a quote from a city-based PR firm for over $30,000. It was too expensive and would definitely have eroded their entire budget.

“We felt there needed to be an alternative and for too long the traditional PR industry had been too expensive for small businesses, particularly those based in the country. Growing up in the country, we strongly believe all businesses should benefit from expert support and not just the small number of companies that have the budget to afford traditional agencies.

“We’re working with businesses from Broken Hill to country South Australia.

“We become an extension of their small team; it’s about being really clear up front about what the business needs and then being as lean as possible in the execution.

“Most of the businesses sign up for five hours work a month.

“It’s an exciting time; the internet has helped regional businesses overcome the tyranny of distance and now it’s about getting them digitally ready to compete on a level playing field with city-based competitors.

“We’re getting a real buzz out of upskilling regional businesses with digital skills – growing their social media, building e-commerce websites, developing eDM campaigns so that they can compete and hopefully outpace their city counterparts.”