American Express creates a national movement to help small businesses
After the campaign, 40 percent of the general public was aware of Small Business Saturday.
Good things come in small packages. But when the recent recession hit, small businesses were boxed out big time. In fact, their failure rate jumped a whopping 40 percent from 2007 to 2010. Mindful of the outsized challenges to this key U.S. economic segment, American Express decided to help.
In 2010, the global services company created the Small Business Saturday movement to encourage people to shop at their local businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. To quickly reach as many people as possible, the brand made Facebook the hub of its marketing efforts for the initiative.
Facebook Premium Ads drove people to the Small Business Saturday Page, where visitors got the scoop: Shoppers who used their American Express cards on the designated day received a $25 credit when they spent $25 at a participating merchant. American Express also provided 10,000 small businesses with free advertising on Facebook to promote the day.
The program resonated strongly with Americans: American Express’ Small Business Saturday Page quickly became Facebook’s fastest growing, and today the movement continues to give a big boost to small businesses.