The promotion had multiple phases. First, the Card was previewed to small business owners, generating word-of-mouth buzz. Next, anticipation was created for the application, with work counting down to the release date. Then, when the apps were released, the focus shifted to “Who’s getting one?” Finally, the businesses were announced, and Charter Members were spotlighted in the work. This reinforced OPEN’s commitment to small business and gave the Plum Card Members some well-deserved fame of their own. The promotion utilized a microsite, newspaper, journals, national print, news coverage in mass media, online, non-traditional 3-D OOH, and TV.

Since the launch, the Plum Card is nearly 150% above forecast. The Plum microsite has surpassed 1.1 million visits. There has been positive coverage in the trades, and major buzz on websites and blogs. The campaign also established American Express OPEN as a creator of innovative tools for small business. And the 10,000 Cards planned for the first year were gone after one month.