• by Staff Writers , September 5, 2008

Finalist - Business Media

OMD: Laura Schuler, digital director, OMD West; Cathy Romanok, group director of strategy, digital; Scott Marsden, group director of strategy, digital; Jennifer Meitzner, strategist, digital. AKQA: Julia Mitchell, account supervisor; Matt Greenberg, senior account executive; Mark Longust, senior project manager. Visa: Alex Craddock, head of small business marketing; Rich Yang, senior business leader, small business marketing support.

To help visa reach small business owners, OMD came up with a plan using social media, based on the psychographics of the target audience. In partnership with Facebook, Visa created a "Visa Business Network," a dedicated microsite that helps small business owners expand their customer base and connect with peers and advisors. Some 13,000 Facebook users added the application, a conversion rate of 18 percent; 60 percent of them returned to the site the following month. Users have invited nearly 3,000 associates to join their business profiles within the network