Telstra has announced an $8.5 million investment for small Australian businesses and will hand its major, $1 million advertising space at each AFL and NRL stadium to small businesses.

As part of the ‘Telstra Business Go Digital Consult’ campaign, eligible small businesses can enter an online competition to take over Telstra’s premium NRL and AFL ad spaces at each stadium hosting games during Telstra Small Business Week (May 3-May 6).

The campaign hopes to give small businesses the opportunity to boost their digital presence, with the consultants placed to help small businesses make the shift to digital in an effort to boost Australia’s digital economy further off the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The campaign comes as the NRL and Telstra celebrate 20 years of Telstra holding the naming rights to the competition, ranking as one of the longest naming rights partnerships in Australian sport.

NRL CEO, Andrew Abdo, said the longevity of the partnership is credit to the support and commitment from Telstra.

“The partnership between the NRL and Telstra is one of the greatest partnerships in Australian sport,” Abdo said.

“20 years on, our partnership continues to grow and evolve.

“Last season, Telstra expanded their commitment to rugby league, acquiring naming rights of the NRLW as well as the NRL Telstra Premiership.

“It’s a partnership that spans from grassroots to the top tier and it keeps evolving.

“there’s also been so many technological advances over the last two decades.

“Working with Telstra we’ve been able to give our fans access to rugby league content on more devices than ever before.

“Telstra has been at the forefront of the technological innovations that keep our fans connected and enhances their experiences,” he said.

Telstra chief marketing officer, Jeremy Nicholas, said: “The enduring and rewarding partnership between the NRL and Telstra is one of the most established naming rights partnerships in world sport, and during this time has seen both our company, and rugby league go through periods of immense change and improvement.”

“When our association began, the ability to stream sport on mobile devices was still over a decade away.

“Together with the NRL, we used technology and innovation to help make this vision a reality and bring fans even closer to the game they love, in more places on our network.

“We are continually striving to improve this experience and recently announced an exclusive offer for eligible Telstra customers who’ve previously used NRL Live Pass to receive $20/month off Kayo’s basic subscription for 12 months, meaning they can enjoy the footy, and about 50 other sports, from their mobile device and almost any screen in their home for just $5/month,” Nicholas said.