How does a brand-funded reality show get two Emmy nominations?

As debit/credit cards and virtual payment systems overtook the functionality of checks, Deluxe knew it either had to turn the spotlight to its other products and services or risk obsolescence. But the company had no idea how to even begin to retool its deep-rooted legacy.

Deluxe had for years also offered a suite of services aimed at small businesses—everything from payroll services and trademarking to logo design and web hosting. But less than 1 percent of its targeted audience knew that five years ago, Brinkman says.

“Deluxe wasn’t telling their own story very well at the time,” says Nancy Lyons, CEO of Minneapolis digital agency Clockwork, which was recently selected as Deluxe’s new partner in digital strategy. “So I think when people made up the story, it was really limited to checks.”

Brinkman says that she was up-front from the start with then-Deluxe CEO Lee Schram. “[In the interview], I told him, ‘I want to do something really bold. Do you want to do something really bold?’ ”

He was all for it, she says.

“I love taking these disparate brands that either people haven’t heard of or have different perceptions of, and proving what the craft of marketing can do,” says Brinkman, 40. Plus, she adds with a laugh, “I’m an optimist, so I like to say that everywhere from there [for Deluxe] was up.”

Her idea initially began as a yearlong series of photo and video essays telling the stories of 100 small businesses across the country, in celebration of a century of enterprise. That quickly snowballed into the current TV series in which Deluxe (and voting viewers) choose one small town and five or six of its small businesses each year to win a “makeover” from Deluxe valued at $500,000. Deluxe then aids them with any business needs. In turn, Deluxe takes some of the credit.

Since the start of SBR, Deluxe has earned more than 5.7 billion total earned media impressions from more than 3,600 news stories.