Quick Summary
- American Express built trust with small business owners by focusing on their daily challenges instead of pushing products.
- OPEN Forum became one of the first large-scale examples of a brand acting as a publisher in financial services.
- The campaign drove more than one million monthly visitors within two years, boosting loyalty and new sign-ups.
American Express OPEN Forum showed that sometimes the smartest marketing looks less like marketing and more like a helpful neighbor handing over the right tool at exactly the right moment.
By giving small business owners a place to share advice and find solutions, Amex turned content into a subtle but powerful loyalty engine—and proved that people stick around when you solve problems instead of creating them.
A Company Card, a Community Need
American Express made its name by catering to those who like their plastic cards with a side of prestige. For decades, it traded on privilege, perks, and power. But by the early 2000s, it needed fresh ground to break.
The small business segment looked promising: hard-working, growth-minded, and mostly overlooked by big financial brands that liked the big corporate accounts more.
Amex saw that many small business owners faced the same headaches: unpredictable cash flow, the troubles of tax season, and the endless puzzle of how to land more customers without losing sleep or money.
The company realized it could do more than just offer a card with a line of credit. It could offer something harder to find—credible advice and a sense of community.
Thus, the seed of OPEN Forum was planted: a place where owners could get answers, share war stories, and, eventually, feel a little more loyal to the logo on their card.
A Content Hub With Purpose
To bring this idea to life, Amex turned to Digitas, an agency not afraid to tell a brand that its future might involve more helpful articles and fewer flashy slogans.
Together, they designed OPEN Forum as a digital content hub that didn’t hide behind a paywall or spam visitors with thinly veiled product pushes.
The content tackled issues real business owners actually cared about: managing invoices, hiring smartly, marketing on a shoestring budget.
High-profile names like Guy Kawasaki lent their voices to early pieces, giving the hub instant credibility. Rather than copy churned out by ghostwriters with a quota, Amex published content that was practical, direct, and sprinkled with insights from people who had been in the trenches.
Distribution leaned on smart targeting. Amex already had the email inboxes of countless small business cardholders. It used that direct line wisely, inviting them to check out OPEN Forum through newsletters and statement inserts.
Paid search and display ads expanded the reach. The launch in 2007 put Amex ahead of the content curve—back when “content marketing” sounded suspiciously like a trendy way to say “we blog now.”
For the next few years, the Forum grew into an always-on resource: fresh posts, user discussions, and a steady reminder that Amex could be more than the company that mailed your statement every month.
Key Success Factors
OPEN Forum’s impact didn’t hinge on a big stunt or viral moment. It worked because it stuck to a few simple principles—the same ones that make people keep showing up at the same diner every morning.
Solving real business headaches
Nothing sends busy owners running faster than hollow advice. OPEN Forum stayed grounded in the day-to-day realities of its audience. Rather than rely on vague pep talks about “thinking big,” Amex was offering how-to’s on setting a budget, marketing on Facebook without lighting cash on fire, or dealing with late-paying clients.
Each piece respected the fact that readers had too much to do and too little time.
Using real experts and trusted voices
OPEN Forum featured people readers actually recognized or respected: entrepreneurs who’d built things, consultants who’d fixed problems, authors with track records.
Readers saw names they knew or insights that felt earned, not recycled. This borrowed trust reflected back on the brand.
Building interaction, not isolation
OPEN Forum didn’t shut readers out once they finished an article. It invited them to comment, ask questions, and swap ideas. The discussion areas turned visitors into contributors—not just passive readers nodding along while skimming between meetings.
This community piece added a human layer that kept the Forum alive long after launch.
Keeping the branding subtle
OPEN Forum’s pages carried the American Express name, but not in a neon sign way. The brand stayed present without shouting. No product offers jumped out mid-article. No pushy sign-ups popped up every five seconds. The helpfulness came first, and the brand halo came naturally.
Committing for the long haul
OPEN Forum grew steadily by publishing consistently and listening to what readers actually wanted to know. That patience paid off: Repeat visitors stuck around because they trusted the content would keep helping and not vanish after a quarter.
Impact and Results
OPEN Forum’s numbers tell a clear story.
- Strong early reach. Within two years of launch, OPEN Forum attracted over one million unique monthly visitors—impressive at a time when many brands still debated if blogging was worth the effort.
- Deeper engagement impact. Internal data connected Forum usage to higher Amex spending and longer customer retention.
- Positive account behavior. Small business owners who read and interacted on the site were more likely to open extra accounts and refer other owners.
- Industry praise. Marketing press cited OPEN Forum as proof that brands could succeed as publishers if they shared real value and stayed consistent.
- B2B content legacy. The idea of a financial services brand running a useful community hub felt bold in 2007. Now, it’s expected.
Many of today’s branded resource centers owe a quiet debt to the strategy Amex and Digitas mapped out.
Marketer Takeaways
OPEN Forum still holds practical lessons for anyone trying to win trust before asking for business.
- Solve real problems. Audiences come back when the content makes life easier, not just when it repeats slogans.
- Choose credible voices. Bring in experts your audience respects, not just in-house teams writing under fake bylines.
- Build space for interaction. Give your audience ways to talk back, connect, and share—they’ll stick around longer.
- Keep the pitch soft. Earn trust first. Visitors know when they’re being sold to.
- Play the long game. Content marketing rewards brands that show up consistently and measure what’s working.
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