Brand Experience and Activation > Product & Service
SMALL BUSINESS GETS AN OFFICIAL DAY
CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY, Boulder / AMERICAN EXPRESS / 2012
Awards:
Overview
Credits
Overview
ClientBriefOrObjective
In 2010, American Express created Small Business Saturday, a new shopping day right after Black Friday, to help small businesses get what they needed most: more customers.
The challenge in 2011 was to cement its place as an official shopping day in the US, and drive solid business outcomes to America’s independent, brick-and-mortar retailers.
American Express built a marketing campaign that communicated the importance of small businesses while driving home a call to action for consumers and small businesses at the local level. Consumers were asked to shop, and small businesses were provided with the tools they needed to get the word out to their customers.
Effectiveness
Small Business Saturday struck a chord with consumers, small business owners, and policy makers in a way that few could have predicted. Over 500,000 small business owners leveraged the online tools and promotional materials. Hundreds of thousands of consumers registered to receive a $25 statement credit for shopping at a small business on the day, and Cardmember transactions on the day rose by 23%.In the end, 103m Americans shopped small, including President Obama. The US Senate even declared Small Business Saturday an official day. In just its second year, it had become a permanent fixture on the holiday shopping calendar.
Implementation
In 2010, the campaign was focused on consumers, encouraging them to shop at a small business. The target in 2011 would expand to also include small businesses, rallying them to step up and own the day. American Express armed them with a toolkit, loaded with everything they’d need to get the word out, from POP—like a Shop Small badge and posters—to social marketing tools like a Facebook business-page builder and YouTube video maker. American Express also enlisted partner corporations and groups, including FedEx, Google, Facebook, ClearChannel, and more, to help spread the word and drive support for the day.
Relevancy
American Express has been offering small business credit cards and services for over 20 years. And we’re single-mindedly committed to helping small businesses succeed. It’s the American Express OPEN mission: helping businesses do more business.But to truly help small businesses be successful, we needed to address their most pressing challenge: getting customers.American Express created Small Business Saturday with the objective of driving traffic and sales to small businesses across America. Building upon the tremendous success of 2010, American Express set out in 2011 to make Small Business Saturday a permanent fixture of the holiday season.
More Entries from Financial Products & Servcies in Brand Experience and Activation
24 items
More Entries from CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY
24 items
