Recognizing that the recession was taking a toll on small businesses and the communities they serve, American Express OPEN wanted a way to amplify its support for small business owners. With the holiday shopping season approaching — a time that can make or break a business — OPEN needed something big to stand out against the mega-stores and mega-sales of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The objective behind Small Business Saturday was to inspire and encourage consumer support of independently owned businesses.

Through an overnight push, OPEN empowered Cardmembers, consumers, and business owners to spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. Social networking tools gave consumers simple ways to rally friends, gush about their favourite business and take advantage of special "Shop Small" credits. At the same time, small business owners received access to sophisticated digital marketing tools, including free geo-targeted Facebook advertising.

These tactics lit the fuse, sparking a national response that was bigger than we could have ever anticipated.

41 officials from 27 states publically declared November 27th a national holiday. In its third week, Small Business Saturday was the fastest-growing page on Facebook with over 1.2 million "likes." Over 30,000 Tweets were sent using the hashtags @SmallBusinessSaturday and @SmallBizSaturday.

The goal of Small Business Saturday was to increase awareness of the "Shop Small" concept. The independent business owners impacted during the down economy needed a boost, especially around the holidays.

During one the biggest retail weekend of the year, when consumers are bombarded with shopping messages, 'Small Business Saturday' aimed to give business owners a compelling story and consumers an inspired new reason to shop this year.

By first seeding our message with a small group of Cardmembers and Amex merchants using innovative social media, we built a core base of passionate small business advocates and armed them with sharing tools to spread the word. We gradually broadened our audience through Facebook advertising, PR, print, TV, and more, scaling the message to the masses. We had high hopes, but the campaign quickly exceeded our expectations. Due to popularity, we extended the Girls Inc. donation cap from $500,000 to $1,000,000 and quickly reached that. The Cardmember "$25 Shop Small" credits also was extended from 100K to 250K mid campaign due to overwhelming demand. As government officials and notables, like Mayor Bloomberg, formally endorsed Small Business Saturday, we continued to refine our pitch and reach out to more influencers from media outlets, other public servants to major corporations to jump on board including Hertz, Verizon and more.

• Over 1.2 million: People who joined the movement by "Liking" Small Business Saturday on Facebook.

• Over 30,000: Tweets sent using the official hashtags @SmallBusinessSaturday and @SmallBizSaturday.

• Over 10,000: Businesses that received free Facebook advertising to promote their products and services before Small Business Saturday.

• Over 100,000: Small-business owners who downloaded point-of-purchase and promotional materials from the event’s Facebook page.

• $500,000: Facebook contribution to add on to the 1MM Facebook Ad Giveaway• 41: Elected officials who declared Nov. 27 as Small Business Saturday.

• 27: Percentage of small retailers that accept American Express cards and saw an increase in sales this year compared with the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2009.

To create a grassroots movement overnight, Amex launched a multi-touch campaign giving users simple achievable actions that, when added together, created a huge impact. Users could rally friends, gush about their favourite businesses and spend "Shop Small" credits on Facebook. Small business owners received sophisticated marketing tools, advice, and, for the first-time ever, free geo-targeted Facebook advertising.

OPEN continued to empower Cardmembers and consumers to spread the word through Twitter using @SmallBusinessSaturday hashtags.

OPEN also reached target consumers through online advertising, on Facebook and Twitter, charity partnership outreach, and merchant emails.

American Express OPEN created Small Business Saturday, the first-ever holiday to support independently-owned businesses hit hardest by the recession. Celebrated on November 27th, right between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday offered a powerful alterative to malls and mega-stores. If Black Friday is about deals at big box merchants, and Cyber Monday is about finding deals online, Small Business Saturday is a day to show support for local economies, stores and the people who work there. Small Business Saturday isn’t just about finding deals; it’s about preserving the character of their local neighbourhoods and the people in them.