AXA launches 2022 edition of AXA Startup Angel competition

The AXA Startup Angel judging panel

Insurance company, AXA UK, has launched the next edition of AXA Startup Angel, a nationwide competition run in partnership with the Evening Standard that offers budding entrepreneurs the chance to turn their ideas into exciting new businesses. The campaign has been brokered by media agency, Starcom.

The competition sees a panel of judges – the AXA Startup Angels – pick the most inspiring ideas from a selection of entries which includes the submission of an elevator pitch-style video. Three successful entrepreneurs – Ian Theasby and Henry Firth, co-founders of BOSH!, and Raphael Sofoluke, found and CEO of UK Black Business Show – return to their AXA Startup Angels judging and mentorship roles from last year’s inaugural competition. They are joined this year by Sharmadean Reid MBE, founder and CEO of The Stack World.

The competition runs for nine weeks, closing on 17 July. There are six chances to win; two competition winners will each receive the gold prize, which consists of £25,000 to fund the business idea; business mentoring from the AXA Startup Angels; and 12 months of business insurance from AXA for the first year. This year, four further winning entrants will receive the silver and bronze prizes, which include a digital advertising campaign with the Evening Standard.

The partnership includes numerous touchpoints across print, digital, social, audio, OOH and experiential. Distributed across Standard.co.uk and on social will be a promotional video featuring the four AXA Startup Angels, encouraging entries and with details of how to enter.

The Evening Standard has also partnered with JCDecaux to amplify the AXA Startup Angel campaign, which will feature a Brand Stories creative execution (an Evening Standard digital format that allows users to engage with a tappable series of storytelling scenes). A re-purposed version of this format will be displayed across digital OOH screens nationwide, delivered programmatically to target postcodes that have a higher propensity of startup businesses. The DOOH element will also implement dynamic features, such as a countdown to when the competition closes and location-specific copy.

Audio ads in the Evening Standard’s own podcast, ‘How to be a CEO’ will help drive further entries by directing listeners to a competition page on Standard.co.uk where they can enter.

This year, AXA UK will also be hosting a branded stand at the Evening Standard’s annual business-focused event; SME XPO, which takes place from 25-26 May at London Olympia, as part of the experiential element of the campaign in order to drive in person sign ups to the competition.