The Drew Blog

AmEx Serves Up Fashion

09/16/09

Ran into a neighbor this morning who asked me about my blog. I had to admit that for a variety of reasons I’d been neglecting it. Perhaps the biggest reason is that I simply haven’t seen any interesting example of Marketing as Service, that is until today!

American Express, one of the true believers in this approach, is at it again, this time providing exclusive experiences during New York’s Fashion Week, including a fashion show by Phillip Lim. This is a text book case on how to do Marketing as Service as reported by MediaPost:

The exclusive cardmember-only consumer show by Lim will be hosted by André Leon Talley, editor at large for Vogue magazine, and Linda Fargo, senior vice president, fashion office and store presentation for Bergdorf Goodman.

The event will provide cardmembers with access to the coveted floor seats. Along with Lim, the evening’s hosts will open the event by offering expert insights from their respective designer, editorial and retail perspectives on a selection of 3.1 phillip lim looks currently available at retail

In addition to this one-time event, AmEx is extending exclusive access to fashion experts:

…including Project Runway’s Tim Gunn — to speak directly with cardmembers. Throughout this week, Platinum Card and Gold Card members will be given an up-close view of the runway shows from the Jonathan Adler-designed American Express Skybox under the Tents at Bryant Park, where they will meet with designers and industry experts who will help translate the looks they are seeing on the runway into their personal style.

By Invitation Only experiences provide an even deeper look into the world of fashion via coordinated meet-and-greets with elite insiders, a behind-the-scenes tour of the Tents at Bryant Park and hair and makeup touch-ups done by industry professionals who work backstage with the designers and models throughout the week.

Wisely, AmEx is also showing its commitment to the fashion industry:

American Express will donate proceeds from the sale of event invitations as part of its $250,000 donation to the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund, a program (of the council) to help emerging American designers succeed in the business of fashion by providing ongoing support.

Reinforcing their commitment to personalized VIP service, cardmembers can also avail themselves to American Express concierge who will be in the lobby throughout Fashion Week:

The concierge can provide cardmembers with access to highly coveted reservations at a selection of New York’s restaurants across all five boroughs, as well as transportation and additional hospitality needs.

And for customers who simply can’t make it to NYC, AmEx is posting videos of the show online exclusively for cardmembers. This will also significantly extend the life of this service.

Frankly my dear readers, it would be hard to design an example of Marketing as Service any better than this.

AmEx Open for Service

02/5/09

American Express has been committed to the notion of Marketing as Service for a long long time and their programs have been featured in this blog (many, many times). This commitment continues even in the current economy as reported by fellow Renegade, Trip Hunter:

Yesterday at the B-B breakfast I saw Marcella Shinder, the VP of Brand Strategy for Open from American Express speak about their marketing efforts during these troubled times. Aside from the fact that she was the only optimist of the group, what appealed to me most was how Open is using Marketing as Service to deepen their relationship with their customers. Marci explained that their mission is to provide tangible ways to help small business manage and grow that are appropriate to the times.

Sounds like a bunch of marketing speak until you visit openforum.com, a social networking/resource site designed to facilitate information sharing among small business owners. Besides the wealth of information that many small business sites have, Open Forum seems to go a step farther by creating a robust social network where members can engage with the best small business bloggers, or join forums concentrated around their topic of choice.

Seems like a good time to me to be charged about Marketing as Service. Assuming small businesses continue to use this service and find ways to survive now, surely they will be that much more loyal to American Express when its time to thrive.

Don’t Leave Home without a Service

04/18/08

American Express has been a leader in “marketing as service” for years through a host of programs that enhance card holder privileges. At the US Open last year, I enjoyed a free rickshaw ride across the elevated promenade AND a free radio which allowed me to hear John McEnroe’s expert commentary while I watched the action live on center court. More recently, I got first crack at tickets to Clapton & Winwood, a concert that sold out in a few hours. These are just a few of the ways AmEx delivers marketing as service. (Their small business program, OPEN, is worth a separate case history or ten.)

So it should be no surprise, that the current CMO of AmEx, Claire Bennett, does not see a future in marketing as message and instead is embracing marketing that empowers customers and prospects alike. This week at the ANA Brand Innovation Conference, Ms. Bennett spoke of the need to move from overwhelming “consumers with meaningless information” to programs that invite participation. Her some of the highlights of her speech as reported by MediaPost:

American Express CMO: ‘Go From Disrupting To Empowering’
Paraphrasing Einstein, she said any marketing fool can overwhelm consumers with meaningless information, but it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.Her message, delivered through a rundown on her own company’s efforts, was that the opposite direction means moving from intrusion to invitation. “Are you making something better for your customer or intruding on an experience they are having?” she asked, rhetorically.

“We want to be invited in by the consumer: from transaction to relationship; from disrupting to empowering.”She said the proliferation of new media not withstanding, Amex’s media spend remains evenly spread between traditional and non-traditional outlets. “None of the old media has gone away,” she said, adding that Amex’s marketing activity is shaped by its service-company vision: to become the world’s most respected service brand.”A lot of our programs tend to be in New York,” she said. In terms of new media, she said the company is expanding efforts in mobile media, “and, from a travel standpoint, the online member community is new as well. We are always looking to make sure sponsorship of events is participatory. So we are looking for any media that will let us make that experience better.”

Bennett said the point of the campaign, which launched during the Academy Awards broadcast, was to use traditional and non-traditional media and the event itself to reinforce the service vision by offering card-members an entrée to fashion. The company also created an online video media channel that ran live web casts of the show.She said that this year the company delved into social media with “Members Know,” a travel-centric microsite populated by content from Amex-owned “Travel and Leisure” and that lets card members give advice, chat, and generally share content and give advice.

The company has also increased its sponsorship commitment to the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York, with a program that includes a number of free-to-member events, programs, and amenities.