American Express wanted to leverage their powerful backing to lift both small businesses navigating the economic downturn and consumers looking to restore the livelihoods that the pandemic upended. What both of these audiences shared was a common struggle - the bumpy road to post-pandemic recovery.

Small eateries suffered when the patrons they relied on changed their pre-Covid era dining behaviors by starting to cook at home or turn to takeout. Over 110,000 restaurants were permanently shuttered. Restaurants that survived were forced to adapt in an instant - moving tables outdoors and offering takeout and delivery services, which accounted for 90% of all restaurant meals sold in 2020.

The desire to “get back to normal” was universal. At the core of American Express’ idea was that getting back to normal meant getting back to the everyday things we loved before the pandemic. After staying home and going without small-but-fulfilling experiences like dining out for so long, Americans could use a nudge.

Together with their dining platform Resy, American Express set out to remind diners starved for connection that small restaurants provided meaningful experiences - any day, not just on special occasions. And every one of them counts.

Every Resy Counts was a reservation drive that would help independent eateries and their patrons satisfy their shared hunger for getting back to normal.

The effort was rooted in a critical insight - independent eateries delivered better experiences than larger chains while simultaneously providing opportunities to connect with their communities.

Interestingly, the pandemic inspired feelings of isolation and “we’re all in this together” simultaneously. While Americans gave up much of what pre-pandemic life looked like, they gained awareness of the impact their individual actions can have on a community. Small actions for positive change were central to cultural conversation, and Americans were increasingly hungry to make a contribution.

While Americans wanted to “get back to normal,” they knew that would never be possible if the establishments in their communities didn’t come back too. These locally-focused conversations were happening on the national level. And with so many Americans still at home, social media provided the place where they could come together for dialogue.

Every Resy Counts was a month-long reservation drive, but getting diners to book a table was just one ingredient. Throughout March 2022, the first one million reservations made on Resy unlocked a $500,000 donation to Southern Smoke, an organization supporting the food and beverage industry. Amex and Resy celebrated each subsequent million reservations by surprising participating diners and covering the costs of their meals.

The campaign began with paid social on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Next Door. With community being key, creative and media took a hyper-local approach. Posts like Macaroni Monday, Tartare Thursday and Sweet Tooth Saturday served as daily reminders of everyday special occasions dining small offers while driving to book at restaurants in their neighborhoods.

Amex leveraged their organic social channels to build hype and drive participation. @americanexpress and @shopsmall handles spotlighted independent restaurants, made milestone announcements, shared user-generated content and drove bookings.

While March 17th marked the most bookings made on one day in Resy’s history*, the campaign generated results that exceeded goals throughout the month:

8,674,763 million reservations made in the month of March (nearly 3x goal and a 16% increase from February 2021)

24.8 million diners enjoyed a meal at over 8,092 restaurants across the country

Highly effective creative drove Brand Consideration after 1 exposure

Media attention and coverage of the initiative across a range of business, food and dining, lifestyle and industry publications - Bloomberg, Business Insider, Tasting Table, Marie Claire and Adweek

Ultimately, when empty tables threatened small eateries and diners were starved for connection, Every Resy Counts filled them up with an important reminder - every day is an opportunity to dine out and support their communities.

*As of April 1, 2022