There are many great small businesses out there, yet most find it difficult to describe their mission in a concise way. As investors say, a truly great idea should only need 60 seconds to express its potential.

That’s why we created the Priceless Elevator Pitch, challenging small business owners to pitch their ideas –inside an actual elevator. The ask was simple: step into our elevator and, in 60 seconds, tell us why your business matters. We even had a proper bellboy to assist participants in the process.

In order to maximize participation among the right audience, we installed our Priceless Elevator Pitch at SXSW and the Northside Festival, two festivals known for attracting entrepreneurs and owners looking to expand their business.

To further invite participants, we replied to anyone tweeting about attending the events and geo-targeted Foursquare display media, asking attendees to stop by our elevator and share their idea with the world.

All submissions were posted and promoted online on MasterCard’s Twitter account for exposure. A panel of professional judges then decided which ideas were the best and MasterCard awarded the winners with funding.

Two grand winners received a $15K check towards their business; two runner ups received $75K in Spredfast credits, a platform that helps companies maximize exposure online, and online advertising units; and 9 finalists received $250 prepaid gift cards.

After 2 installations, over 330 entrepreneurs stepped in and pitched their businesses. Guest appearances included Left Shark, Sir Mix a Lot, and Hulk Hogan.

The Priceless Elevator Pitch was featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur and Yahoo, earning us over 3,000 mentions, 40,000 engagements and 4,000,000 impressions. MasterCard was also recognized for being the first major brand to trend on Meerkat.

With major success, we outperformed our objectives. According to a Nielsen & Twitter study:

• Ratings of MasterCard as a brand that’s relevant for small businesses increased by 17% (+9% Above Benchmark)

• Ratings of likelihood to use a MasterCard by small business owners or apply for one if not owned increased by 6% (+3% Above Benchmark)

The Priceless Elevator Pitch is an event-based activation, created to deepen the relationship between MasterCard and entrepreneurs at relevant occasions, such as SXSW and Northside.

While other credit card brands are focused on local businesses that have been around for years, we found that over 400,000 small businesses get started annually in the United States.

Yet, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 50% of them go out of business by their 4th year. Some of the leading causes of failure: lack of funding and proper exposure.

With that in mind, we set out to create an engaging platform that could provide new, small businesses with both exposure and funding, helping them fulfill their passions.

The small business category is important to the credit card industry because it drives transactions from both business expenses and consumer transactions.

The industry has been growing, but MasterCard was offering no reason for small businesses to prefer its service. Perception of the brand as one that “truly understands the needs of small business owners” dropped to 7% from 7.9% YOY in early 2015.

Our goal was to create a platform that would increase brand affinity and usage intent of MasterCard by small business owners.

Our objectives were to achieve the following over 3 months:

• Brand Building - Increase perception of MasterCard as a brand that is relevant for small businesses by 8%

• Card Usage - Increase likelihood of usage or card applications by small business owners by 3%