American Express Co. has launched a card-marketing campaign in several major U.S. cities and in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. The company’s goal is to shift the perception that it is a traditional T&E card provider to one whose cards also are accepted at everyday merchants, such as fast-food and drug stores.
“This is part of our strategy to diversify the spend of our base and remind cardholders how good our coverage is,” Luke Gebb, AmEx vice president of global network marketing, tells PaymentsSource.
The breadth of the campaign seeks to reach consumers both at the point of sale with signage and through radio ads, says Gebb. “We felt it was critical to be as close to the transaction as possible, starting at the cash register or gas pump then moving out concentrically in a circle,” he explains. “Point of sale is the most critical, and we have some [outside] and mall placements where we get pretty close to the consumer. And we’ve got radio where consumers can hear the ads while they are driving to the mall or to go shopping.”
In the U.S., the campaign focuses on several cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Atlanta and Minneapolis. “They are good, big markets that are relatively strong with AmEx, but we wanted to make them stronger,” Gebb says.
Focusing on existing strengths is key in the market today, one analyst says. “Lenders are really focusing on making the most of what they have,” says Megan Bramlette, managing associate at Auriemma Consulting Group.“ AmEx is getting back to that core message of letting cardholders know what their card can do for them.”
