Originally published on September 10, 2009.
A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: A remember this program very clearly. I spent more time than I should have filling out the application, writing a newsletter, posting about it on Facebook. But as I was doing it, I had this nagging feeling that it was a waste of time. A brilliant program that gave AMEX access to all sorts of small business data, sure, but from the perspective of the small business, generally a waste of time. I can’t prove it, and I haven’t done the research to prove it, but my sense at the time was that the winner had already been selected, or at least a decent pool of potential winners had already been identified before the program already kicked off. And that there was b-roll already in developemnt, photos and headshots and videos and all sorts of marketing materials in the can for these potential winners. I couldn’t shake the sense that my time would have been better spent pitching myself and by business directly to the marketing teams in the AMEX building that was only a few blocks away.
I love a good integrated program. Reminds me of my corporate days when we would develop national event programs that tied into a national print advertising campaign with local radio and out-of-home executions. There would be in-store thematic displays and contests, smaller on-premise events, charity tie-ins. These days, there would also be a social media component with a blog, Facebook pages and frequent tweets on twitter.
American Express is in the midst of a major integrated program aimed at small businesses and I am eating it right up. First, there’s the TV commercial that sings the praises of small businesses and their ability to pull the economy forward. The music swells and the pacing of the images increases as the voiceover goes on about “a light beginning to shine again” and the ‘beginning of the reinvention of business.” It’s quite dramatic and ends with Mr. Amex Voiceover Man stating “we want to help.”
And help is on offer, especially in the form of the “Shine A Light” portion of the program which promises $100K in grant money and marketing support to a small business owner. There’s a nomination and endorsement process, celebrity judges selecting finalists, a voting period, more TV commercials with celebrities shining their own lights on their favorites business….and of course tweets…must have tweets.
As I mentioned above, I am eating the program right up. I managed to get nominated (without writing the nomination myself!) Of course I did this with just under 5 days left to generate nominations, so now I’m a mad rush to get as many endorsements as possible. It’s sort of like the high school election process but with Facebook pages and email blasts instead of paper signs and pep rallies.
50 endorsements are required to get to the judging phase. I managed that the same day the nomination was posted and then nearly 50 more yesterday. Finalists aren’t selected based on who has the most votes, but more is always better than less.
So feel free to give Frankly Wines yet another endorsement. The more the merrier – and if I do win $100K, I will be able to afford some sort of festive thank you!
How to endorse Frankly Wines:
- Click on any of the banners above to go to my profile.
- Register. (Yes, you have to register. They say they won’t try to sell you anything.) Click here to go directly to the registration page.
- Search the nominees for “Frankly Wines”
- Click on the “Shine a Light” icon to register your endorsement. It’s the small rectangular icon at the upper left – not the big, fancy one further down.
- Cross your fingers and hope I make the finals.