Deluxe Brings World-Class Expertise to Project REV with New Council of Small Business Experts

Visionary group of thought leaders to provide ongoing expertise to small business owners on marketing, customer acquisition and social media

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Deluxe Corporation (NYSE: DLX) today announced a new council of small business experts called “Project REV Pros” including industry luminaries -- Chris Brogan, Gene Marks and Melinda Emerson -- who will provide advice, expertise and feedback to small business owners and entrepreneurs participating in Deluxe’s Project REV 2012 program, as well as the industry at large, on http://projectrev.com/.

Project REV 2012 is a marketing makeover contest where 10 small business owners and entrepreneurs win $15,000 of Deluxe marketing products and services, as well as one year’s worth of marketing and business mentorship from Deluxe and SCORE, a non-profit organization dedicated to entrepreneur education and small business success nationwide. Project REV 2012 winners will be announced at the end of October.

“Project REV’s mission is to help U.S. small business owners find effective ways to grow -- even during one of the most difficult economic times in our country’s history,” said Laura Radewald, vice president of enterprise brand at Deluxe. “Each of our new small business experts offers a different perspective that will be valuable to our small business owners, and we welcome their expertise to the program.”

New Council of Small Business Experts
The Project REV Pros include an award-winning entrepreneur, a popular small business columnist and a renowned social media thought leader.

Chris Brogan consults and speaks regularly on the future of business communications and social software technologies. He is a New York Times bestselling co-author of Trust Agents, and a featured monthly columnist at Entrepreneur Magazine. Chris’s blog, chrisbrogan.com, is in the top five of the Advertising Age Power150. He has over 11 years experience in online community, social media and related technologies.

“Some people call me a social media guy, but I consider myself a typist,” said Chris Brogan, president of Human Business Works, an online education company focusing on various small business niches. ”I blog. I tweet. I write strategy docs and books. I know how hard being an entrepreneur is, especially right now, and I’d like to help other small businesses.”

Gene Marks is an opinionated small business management columnist, author, speaker and business owner. He writes a weekly online column for The New York Times and Forbes.com, as well as monthly and bi-weekly columns for The Huffington Post and American City Business Journals. Gene has authored several books such as In God We Trust: Everyone Else Pays Cash (2010), the #1 Amazon Small Business Best Seller, The Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists (Adams Media) and The Small Business Desk Reference (Alpha Books, 2004). His company, The Marks Group PC, has helped thousands of small and medium sized businesses improve their sales and service processes using their Customer Relationship Management technologies.

“Small business owners have told me that I’ve helped them think differently,” said Gene Marks, owner of the Marks Group PC. “I’ll share my insight and knowledge, and hopefully help some entrepreneurs in the process.”

Melinda Emerson, known as “SmallBizLady,” is a leading American small business expert with years of experience as an entrepreneur, professional speaker, social media strategist, small business coach and Start-Up columnist for Small Business Trends. Melinda hosts #Smallbizchat, a weekly talk show on Twitter that discusses everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Melinda also blogs at Succeed As Your Own Boss. She has won numerous awards including Top 50 Women in Business in Pennsylvania, Top 30 Leaders of the Future by Ebony Magazine, and the National Association of Women Owners’ Woman of Distinction Award.

“I demystify what it takes to start and run a small business,” said Melinda Emerson, a U.S. small business authority. “I offer small businesses practical ‘how to’ advice that translates into real business results. My areas of expertise include small business start-ups, recession-proof marketing and social media strategy. I’m excited to work with this year’s Project REV 2012 winners and make a difference in their businesses.”

Project REV 2012
Interested small business owners applied online at www.projectrev.com through September 30, and the winners will be announced at the end of October 2011.

The Project REV 2012 winners will receive $15,000 in marketing products and services from Deluxe, part of a year-long marketing makeover that includes 12 months of coaching from Deluxe and SCORE as well as national and regional publicity.

“One of the things that distinguishes Project REV from other small business contests is our emphasis that this is a year-long commitment,” said Radewald. “Not only do we work with the small business owners to plan and implement marketing programs, we help them measure their results over 12 months.”

Deluxe’s products and services include web site development and hosting, logo design and branding, email marketing, web-to-print services, search engine marketing (SEM), as well as traditional direct marketing and promotional products.

Last year, Deluxe selected nine small business owners – many of them start-ups – and awarded each one $5,000 in marketing products and services, as well as sessions with business and marketing mentors. After one year, these nine business owners collectively doubled their sales. For Project REV 2012, the award has been increased to enable somewhat larger, more established small businesses to gain real value from their participation.

About Deluxe Corporation
Deluxe is a growth engine for small businesses and financial institutions. Four million small business customers access Deluxe’s wide range of products and services including customized checks and forms as well as web-site development and hosting, search engine marketing, logo design and business networking. For financial institutions, Deluxe offers industry-leading programs in checks, customer acquisition, regulatory co mpliance, fraud prevention and profitability. Deluxe is also a leading printer of checks and accessories sold directly to consumers. For more information, visit us at www.deluxe.com, http://www.facebook.com/deluxecorp or https://twitter.com/deluxecorp.

H3O Communications for Deluxe
Dean Rodgers, 415-618-8809
dean@h3ocommunications.com

Source: Deluxe Corporation

Released October 18, 2011