American Express Canada is putting the spotlight on its digital and mobile services in a new campaign.
Launched last month, the campaign aims to show how American Express makes cardholders lives simpler, every day. Animated TV spots, for example, talk about using points to pay for everyday purchases (a new feature on the Amex app), and how getting to the front of the line for movies, concerts and restaurants “can turn a good night great.” (Amex’s Front of the Line program gives cardholders exclusive access to pre-sales and entertainment events via email alerts). The message is that American Express “helps your world run smoothly.”
The campaign is the latest phase of American Express’s global “Realize the Potential” platform, which was introduced in 2009. The ongoing campaign has focused on the various benefits and services available to card members, including entertainment and rewards. At its launch, “Realize the Potential” was a big shift stylistically, with ads using colourful animations and illustrations instead of celebrities, which the brand had become known for.
With the new campaign, American Express is “updating the messaging for an audience that has evolved over the last seven years,” said David Barnes, VP of advertising & communications at American Express Canada.
“Consumer attitudes have changed and a lot of that has been driven by the technology revolution… American Express’s services have evolved during this technology revolution [and] much of what we do is mobile, e-driven and digitally driven services that flow through the mobile device in the palm of your hand,” said Barnes. “And that speaks to the current generations and generations coming through. They’re looking for brands that can serve them in the way they want to be served.”
However, that’s not to say the brand is chasing millennials. “We have a fairly broad audience from a demographic point of view—mid-20s to mid-50s,” said Barnes. “The sweet spot, though, is more in the 30s… But, we are not diving straight down into trying to talk to millennials in some kind of faux millennial voice. It’s really more about the lifestyle and the attitudes of the audience rather than strictly how old are they.”
Another shift for the campaign is the media buy. The early iteration of Realize the Potential focused on out-of-home, print magazine and newspaper advertising. “That’s pretty much all gone,” said Barnes. “What we’ve retained from a traditional media point of view would be TV, but scaled down… About 30% of the campaign’s budget is directed toward TV, whereas in the beginning it would have been more like 50-60%.”
The focus this year is digital, including social media and a video series featuring various influencers talking about their experience of being card members. “They embody the lifestyle that we’re focusing in on,” said Barnes. “We’re letting them tell their own story of how our services work for them, whether that’s lifestyle services like travel or practical things like the opportunity to pay with points.”
The core campaign was developed by OgilvyOne Worldwide and adapted for Canada by Ogilvy Toronto. Mindshare handled the media planning and buying, and Notch Video and High Road developed the video series.
