Every financial brand talks about backing small business. American Express has spent 14 years proving it. Now it's bringing that commitment together under a single organising platform: Because it Matters.

The American Express Because it Matters platform unites the company's long-standing commitment to small businesses under one strategic idea. From Shop Small to Sporting Small, it brings together multiple initiatives around a shared belief: that behind every small business is a person, a family and a future worth backing.

AMEX's latest push comes as many small businesses continue to navigate rising costs and softer consumer demand. Yet they remain the backbone of the Australian economy, employing more than five million people and playing a critical role in the vibrancy of local communities. AMEX research across 4,000 consumers reflects this, with 86% agreeing small businesses help create more connected communities and 93% recognising their contribution to local area vibrancy and distinctiveness.

An organising platform first and foremost, Because it Matters shifts the conversation from payments and products to the people, effort and resilience behind every business. Rather than starting with cards, payments or rewards, the platform starts with the business owner and what matters most to them.

That philosophy extends into media through Sporting Small. Working with Kayo and UM, American Express and Dentsu Creative transformed the familiar "back in a moment" holding screen into live-style crosses to Australian small businesses, using FOX Sports talent and QR codes to drive viewers directly to participating merchants. Rather than simply buying attention, the idea turns media investment into something of value for the businesses AMEX is backing.

"Intention has to move to action and how we are truly backing small businesses," says American Express VP Brand and Customer Marketing, Naysla Edwards. "This year we asked ourselves: How do we put businesses at the centre of what we're doing? How do we make it possible that they are the main character of this initiative? So we shifted all of our investment really into giving that back to small businesses."

The creative work was informed by conversations with 150 business owners across Australia, uncovering the small, often invisible things they do because their business matters deeply to them. Those personal truths became the foundation of the campaign.

Take Bin Master Skips owner Terry Hayward.

"On Fridays, Terry Hayward cleans his truck like he's going to sell it the next day. And you know that truck is going to get very filthy the next day. But it's that love for your business; you're so proud of your truck that gets you in and out through the day," Edwards says.

Or Hudson's Bakery founder Sandra Hudson.

"When she talks to you about how she sources the ingredients, I was like, 'Oh my goodness, Sandra, that is a lot of effort'. But that's why that bakery is so successful," says Edwards.

For AMEX, the work goes beyond marketing. Teams regularly visit small business owners to better understand their challenges, opportunities and ambitions firsthand.

"Everyone from our country manager, and all of us, go and visit small businesses and talk to them, and do it on a regular basis," says Edwards. "Don't just talk to yourself. Make sure you're actually talking to the person that has the real information that's going to drive the meaningful change for them, which is the business owner."

That long-term commitment is also delivering measurable outcomes.

But Edwards is equally focused on the commercial returns the platform creates for AMEX.

"Growth is one of the pillars of our company strategy, and backing small businesses and helping grow small businesses is part of that," she says. "But we also need to go back to linking it to commercial outcome; that's very important."

To support this, Edwards has built a full-funnel measurement model to evaluate the effectiveness of Because it Matters as it continues to evolve.

"We can actually see the improvement in brand consideration, the funnel going into evaluation, and then the conversion at the bottom of the funnel," she says. "Which ultimately, is growth for our business. And what is most important to us: It's great to do all that, but it's the loyalty. It's the retention. Those businesses stay with us for the existence of that business. Fortunately for us, our attrition levels are very low in the B2B space."

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‘Because it matters’: How American Express is redefining what it means to back small business

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‘Because it matters’: How American Express is redefining what it means to back small business