NEW YORK—In 2010, American Express introduced Small Business Saturday to promote and support small businesses in the wake of the Great Recession. The day is now an annual event that takes place every November between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. (Mark your calendars: Small Business Saturday is Nov. 26 this year!)
So, when COVID struck the U.S. a decade later, AmEx knew it had to step in to help keep these mom-and-pop-sized enterprises afloat. Enter Business Class, a content platform to teach business owners about topics such as growth, strategy, leadership, marketing, finance, and more.
And on July 20—after more than two years of Business Class—AmEx took over New York City’s Javits Center for an IRL iteration of the platform. Dubbed Business Class LIVE, content tracks consisted of cash flow management, marketing strategies, contracting opportunities, and workplace wellness.
The 5,000-plus attendees heard key takeaways on the topics from visionaries such as Adam Grant, a five-time No. 1 New York Times bestselling author who studies motivation; actress Issa Rae, the creator of HBO's hit show Insecure who first garnered attention for her work on Awkward Black Girl, a YouTube series; and Jay Shetty, an author, former Hindu monk, and life coach.
An on-site marketplace allowed guests to walk up to AmEx's partners for demos and how-to sessions. For example, LinkedIn's booth showed attendees how to level-up their LinkedIn profile, and Meta representatives gave some pointers on improving social media marketing strategies.Photo: Courtesy of American Express
And on top of the “big-picture, aspirational” education that was provided, Clayton Ruebensaal, the executive vice president, global B2B marketing at AmEx, told BizBash that the choice of venue—”all glass, [and] wide-open spaces overlooking the [Hudson] river”—made for “a very inspirational environment.”
Beyond the stage programming, a marketplace acted as a central hub for attendees to explore AmEx products and services, to discuss business pain points with industry experts, or to simply recharge in the networking lounge. “The marketplace was very practical and hands-on,” Ruebensaal explained, where “partners like LinkedIn and Meta had booths to talk about how to improve your LinkedIn profile or how to improve your business’s social media marketing,” for example.
“And then we had all of these breakout rooms where we had something called ‘Contract Connections,’ which is pairing up—imagine speed dating—small businesses with chief procurement officers from government agencies or big companies, so they could actually walk out of there with business.”
The Contract Connections element has been a staple for AmEx since 2012, in partnership with the National 8(a) association, and has resulted in more than 35,000 one-on-one meetings and more than $1 billion in contracts awarded to small businesses since then.
As Ruebensaal emphasized, these connections are what Business Class LIVE is all about. “We see it in the data that people that go to events like this are so much more engaged than the people that don’t. It’s similar to our airport lounges—people that experience the brand in a three-dimensional setting, as long as we've done our job well, walk away from the experience with such a deeper emotional relationship with American Express.”
All the while, the Javits Center’s on-site catering team offered both grab-and-go breakfast and lunch options for attendees (the event took place from 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.), as well as sit-down meals with a menu that boasted salmon, roasted chicken, quinoa salad, and more. Cold brew coffee carts gave guests a pick-me-up at any point throughout the day, and a gelato cart delighted guests in the afternoon. And before bidding attendees adieu, a cocktail-style farewell was complete with wine, champagne, and passed hors d'oeuvres.
Speakers during the main stage programming included Adam Grant, a five-time No. 1 New York Times bestselling author who studies motivation; actress Issa Rae, creator of HBO's hit show Insecure who first garnered attention for her work on Awkward Black Girl, a YouTube series; and Jay Shetty (pictured), an author, former Hindu monk, and life coach.Photo: Courtesy of American Express
Oh, and all of this programming was free. “It was extraordinary,” Ruebensaal said of the admission price. “We kept it open because the core idea of Business Class was to democratize this education, so we couldn’t keep it to just card members,” and thus the credit card company also welcomed “non-customers—hopefully prospective customers.”
He added: “It’s always been free, and it will continue to be free, because we want as many people as possible to come and continue to benefit from Business Class LIVE. The rationale behind it is actually quite commercial—if we can help our customers grow by adding new locations, hiring new employees, and getting into new lines of business, their revenue goes up. And as their revenue goes up, so does ours.”
So in the future, small business professionals can not only look forward to what Ruebensaal referred to as a “first-class event” for free, but can also expect to be “surprised and delighted in new and interesting ways.”
Ruebensaal pointed out an “area of opportunity” for AmEx as well: “I would like to see us think through, ‘How do we foster what’s so successful in-person beyond the event in a better way?’”
Business Class LIVE took place on July 20 at the Javits Center.Photo: Courtesy of American Express
VENDORS
AV and Fabrication: Freeman
Experiential Design and Production: Momentum
Public Relations: Day One Agency
Signage, Social Media, and Marketing: Sarankco
Talent and Speakers: Starpower
