American Express OPEN 'In Good Company'

American Express OPEN is the leading payment card issuer for small businesses in the United States. In 2013, they partnered with STORY in New York to leverage its expertise in supporting the launch of American Express OPEN’s influencer program. Through dynamic and innovative event programming, they created “In Good Company.” This event fostered emotional connections with members and differentiated themselves from “the other guys” with an ownable influencer program that supports the legacy of OPEN’s card members through access, exposure, and amplification.

We came up with a simple and fun idea to invite members to the event. Instead of a traditional invite, we designed a pack of cards containing information about the event and about other members’ business. We designed an icon to represent each participating business, and a few informational lines such as website URL, slogan, and Twitter account. By doing that, we helped to strengthen the OPEN Forum community and bring the network together even before the event.