JPMorgan Chase & Co. has launched an Ink small-business card ad campaign that features a small-business owner and Ink card customer from New York. The ad highlights Marlo Scott, the owner of cupcake, wine and beer bar Sweet Revenge, touting the Ink card as being accepted at twice the number of locations as American Express Co. business cards.
“With the ads, there are several things we are trying to communicate,” says Mike Nagle, Chase general manager of Ink. “We’re clearly demonstrating our commitment to small business … .”
Scott embodies the passion and energy of a small-business owner, and she illustrates how small businesses think and do things differently, Nagle says.
“The ad was a great opportunity to feature one of our real customers and to have the Ink message come directly from her, especially that Ink is better than American Express in terms of acceptance,” he says. The ad also highlights the Ink card’s no-fee feature.
Visa paid Scott the standard Screen Actors’ Guild rate for doing the ad, Chase says. AmEx declined to comment on the Ink ad campaign.
Ink appears to cater to a different audience than AmEx business cards, one analyst says. AmEx is more suited to larger, travel and entertainment-focused companies, while Ink is tailored to small businesses, as shown in its new ad, says Megan Bramlette, managing associate at Auriemma Consulting Group.
“I have to believe that for small and medium-sized enterprises that aren’t doing a tremendous amount of T&E, the Ink card is going to be compelling,” she says.
The Ink card program is growing, Nagle says, though Chase declined to provide card data to back up the claim.
So far, cardholders have increased spending by 20%, Nagle says. “We’re really happy with how things are going, and the reception we’ve had in the market has been really positive,” he says.
Chase developed Ink to help it better support the small-business market, and the issuer has increased its small-business lending by 30%, which includes offering credit cards, Nagle says.
The new Ink ads began appearing online, on television and radio, and in print during the week of July 5. TV stations carrying the ad include Bloomberg, Discovery, ESPN and Fox News. Print ads are featured in Inc., The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur.
New York-based advertising agency Mcgarrybowen created the television and print campaign, while Zenith Media is overseeing the media plan, Chase said in a statement.
Chase launched the Ink card program last fall (
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