Celebrating Diversity Across America
Five small business owners. Five stories. Half a million orders of signage.
Project Overview
American Express launched a line of free "Everyone is welcome" signage for small businesses, designed by a diverse roster of artists. Zuzu was brought in to build the campaign that would put the signage in customers' hands and into the businesses who needed it most.
Background
The easy move would have been to center American Express. We argued the opposite. The signage meant more when the story was about the businesses displaying it, not the company making it available.
Bringing the Campaign to Life
We cast five diverse small business owners from across the country and sent crews to each location to film them in their own spaces. A Southern kitchen. A barbershop. A florist. A corner restaurant. Each story was short, personal, and specific. The signage appeared naturally in the frame, not as hero product but as part of how each owner welcomed their customers.
Execution
In partnership with our production team at PMGR, Zuzu managed the campaign end to end: casting, production, direction, editing, delivery. The deliverables were a set of five longer films and a library of shorter cutdowns for paid social and digital placement.
The Result
More than 500,000 sign orders from small businesses nationwide. A volume that exceeded the program's goals and proved the demand for what Amex was offering.
Conclusion
The campaign worked because the signage meant something to the people displaying it. The strongest brand move American Express could make was to get out of the way and let those stories carry the message.
Working withAmex
We've worked with American Express's Global Merchant & Network Services team, along with other teams across the company, on a wide range of projects. Videos, banner ads, websites, and claims writing among them.
- Email marketing
- Graphic Design
- UI / UX
- B2B Content Development
- Trade Show Materials
- Print and Digital ads
- Visualization
- Website Page Redesigns
- Support Center Strategy
- Explainer Videos, Animation &Illustration