The ShopSmall App is proposed to turn American Express' one-day Small Business Saturday event into a year-round program. The app would allow consumers to search for and find local small businesses, track their spending at small businesses, and share their achievements on social media. It would also introduce a competitive element by allowing users to challenge friends. This would aim to make supporting small businesses a promoted achievement. If successful, the app could drive increased credit card spending, acquisition, usage and acceptance at small businesses while promoting American Express' support of small businesses. Additional proposed features included building virtual communities in the app and potential interactive promotional elements.

1. The ShopSmall App
Turning a one-day event into a 365-day program
Jarrod Corbett + Dave Bourla

2. The History: Small Business Saturday
Just after Thanksgiving 2010, American Express launched Small Business
Saturday, a one-day event designed to drive shopping at small businesses.
With a strong marketing campaign and considerable news coverage, this
consumer holiday proved incredibly successful:
For Businesses!
- 27% of small businesses accepting American Express increased sales
-100,000 SBOs downloaded promo material from AmEx’s Facebook page
For Consumers!
- 100,000 Cardmembers who registered their Card and used it to shop that
day received a $25 statement credit
Social Media Usage!
- 30,000 Tweets sent to alert consumers of participating stores
- 1.4 million people have "liked" SBS on Facebook
Community Action!
- 41 elected officials participated
- 130 small business advocate groups & organizations joined in
Beyond the numbers, the news and social media coverage reinforced how
having a small business open on the street corner, rather than another bank
or fast-food franchise, makes an entire community feel successful.

3. The Opportunity:
Creating a Program
Having achieved this success, American Express was left
with a new opportunity: to infuse the rest of the year with the
ShopSmall spirit, making a 1-day event into a 365-day
program — without relying on gimmicks that would devalue
the American Express brand.

4. The Insight:
Promoting an Achievement
Over the past few years, several apps have put competitive fire
behind a daily activity like running or photography and achieved
remarkable results.
We need do the same thing for small business shopping. Give it a
competitive — yet overwhelmingly positive — spirit. Help the public
see it as a good deed that’s worth sharing, worth publicizing, and
worth being the best at.
We need to make shopping small a huge achievement.

5. The Practical Side:
Capitalizing on the Insight
Any plan to make small business shopping a promotable achievement will require us to:
• Help people find local small businesses.
• Reward consumers and remind them how their spending helps their communities.
• Give people a forum in which to share their successes and challenge their friends.
If we find a solution that delivers on all these fronts, we can promote engagement
throughout the year.

6. Enter the solution:
The ShopSmall App

7. Okay, an app – why?!
Well, many people amongst our target audience use smartphones…
It is expected that half of the US population will use a Smartphone by
the end of 2011. (Asymco.com, 2010)
…to shop.
Over half of consumers are using their smartphones to enhance their shopping
experience, especially those under 35 (67%). (Source: Chadwick, Martin, Bailey and
iModerate Research Technologies)
All right – so can one app help consumers feel they’re achieving something that’s worth
sharing, small business owners get people in their doors, and American Express drive
acquisition, spend, and positive branding?
Yes.
While still being simple, functional, and inspirational?
Hell yes.

8. Let us show you how.
Don’t worry, we’ll make this quick.

9. The Consumer Experience!
with ShopSmall!

10. Consumer Experience: ShopSmall
Activate Set-Up Search Shop Share Compete
We offer a variety of ways to
begin engaging with the app,
driving downloads via:"
• Facebook & Twitter
• P.O.S. In-Store - QR Codes
• OOH - QR Codes
• AmEx Homepage
• Sites within OPEN Network
• OLA

11. Consumer Experience: ShopSmall
Activate Set-Up Search Shop Share Compete
Upon download, users are invited to
link the app with various accounts: "
• AmEx Card
• Facebook
• Twitter
There will also be a tab for non-
Cardmembers to apply for a card
and get approved in 60 seconds.
The past financial quarter was the best performing in the 40-year history of
[[Starbucks], according to [CEO Howard} Schultz. Starbucks cards now
account for 22% of all transactions, he says. (Starbucks Card Mobile is a
Hit, USA Today, March 23, 2011)

12. Consumer Experience: ShopSmall
Activate Set-Up Search Shop Share Compete
The search function links to the device’s GPS, so
users can find participating small businesses
nearby. Users can also search for nearby stores by
type or by name.
62% of consumers use their smartphones to
search for a store location or directions (2010
IDC Survey)

13. Consumer Experience: ShopSmall
Activate Set-Up Search Shop Share Compete
Cardmembers and Non-Cardmembers have slightly different usage experiences when shopping. This
lets everyone use the app, while incentivizing Card usage.
Cardmember
Non-Cardmember

14. Consumer Experience: ShopSmall
Activate Set-Up Search Shop Share Compete
When a user enters a
purchase into the app, a links to the device’s GPS, so
The search function
users can find participating small businesses
ShopSmall publicity
message isUsers can also search for nearby stores by
nearby. automatically
sent out toby name.
type or social networks.
From the app, user can view
total points compared to
other participants, within an
expanding radius based on
user's location.
Total and local results are
also displayed via an
adjustable dashboard on a
tab within OPEN’s Facebook
page.
62% of consumers use their smartphones to
search for a store location or directions (2010
IDC Survey)

15. Consumer Experience: ShopSmall
Activate Set-Up Search Shop Share Compete
To add the competitive fire, users
have opportunities to challenge their
friends to shop small throughout the
app experience.
Challenges can be between
individuals or extended to larger
groups — couples challenging
couples, co-workers challenging
co-workers, entire cities can
challenge each other. It’s all about
seeing who supports their local
small business community the
most.

16. How everyone wins!
Consumers! SBOs! AmEx!
Find stores where they can More people shopping at Drive spending
feel good about shopping.
their stores
Drive frequency
Earn rewards
Publicize their businesses
through search and social Drive acquisition
Feel a sense of achievement media messages
when they shop small
More SBOs accepting the
Associate themselves with American Express Card
Are able to share the the amount they add to
achievement with others
communities
An opportunity to use the app
to promote events, initiatives,
Feel good that they’re products, and advertisements.
engaging in competition that
has public benefit
Establish a unique position
amongst credit and charge
cards as the principal driver of
small businesses

17. How we measure success:!
Increased Consumer Card acquisition
Increased Consumer spend
Increased Consumer Card usage
Increased Card acceptance
Facebook / Twitter Likes and Fans
App downloads
Free Media coverage
App usage!

18. Care to add some layers?!
Interactive Layer
We could also add a more interactive, design-oriented feature, in which users build their
own virtual communities. As a person uses the app more frequently, they add stores to
their virtual community. These virtual businesses are based on actual OPEN clients
( “You’ve earned 136 commUnity points -- you can open a new store! Would you like a
Zane’s Cycles or 16 Handles?). Over time, the user builds their city, learns more about
small businesses -- and, sure, why not, has a little fun.
Out of Home Interactive Experience / Out of Home Promotion
For every app downloaded in the week before and including Small Business Saturday,
American Express donates $1.00 to a seed fund. Aspiring small business owners from the
general public will then be invited to submit entrepreneurial ideas to American Express.
After a selection process that includes the public at large, one future business owner will
be chosen to receive the seed fund and use it to start a small business. The winner will
also receive access to the OPEN Forum, Business Center, and other American Express
OPEN offerings, as well as other incentives from participating partners.
Remember these are layers. Only layers.

19. So, it can be done — simply, elegantly, and
inspirationally. The ShopSmall App can
leverage technology to put a lofty idea into
people’s hands; a sense of achievement
behind people’s spending.
Search. Shop. Share. Support.
Fun for one and all!

20. “
It’s just a very good idea to keep a reminder
”
there that we need to support each other.
Fred Meltzer - Owner, Hoffman’s Chocolates
November 23, 2010

21. Thank you :)