American Express is just plain smart. Today, they launched a new initiative to cardmembers called The Members Project – capitalizing on the popularity of reality TV shows like American Idol. And the winner gets….. up to $5 million big ones!
I have a bias towards American Express. They were the only credit card company that extended real credit to me when I immigrated to the U.S. They actually checked my Amex history in Canada, unlike Citibank and others who claim their companies over the 49th parallel are unconnected. So, when I received the e-mail this morning announcing The Members Project, I was intrigued and read it thoroughly.
This is corporate philanthropy at its best. It’s the ultimate win-win situation.
“Introducing The Members Project, an exciting new initiative that brings American Express® Cardmembers together to do something good for our world.
Join Cardmembers to dream up, and ultimately unite behind, one incredible idea. American Express will bring it to life with up to $5 million.
So where does the money come from? It’s all about power in numbers. For every Cardmember that registers, American Express contributes $1 – up to $5 million for that one winning idea.*
Will you send meningitis vaccines to Africa? Rebuild a school in New Orleans? Or support small organic farmers? The possibilities are endless. The decision is yours. Join The Members Project today.”
Members can recommend projects and recipient organizations, and over time, they can vote and narrow the list down, just like on American Idol.
It’s creative. It’s innovative and can likely capture the hearts of older Millennials. It’s a great acquisition tool for Amex and another nugget to add to their corporate social responsibility bag of good deeds.
Way to go American Express. I look forward to seeing how this one plays out.
Related posts:
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- ‘American Idol’ Fundraiser Pulls Season Low
- ‘Rewind’ Hints at Another Season Success for ‘American Idol’
- ‘American Idol’ Highest Price Regular Season Ad Buy
- ‘American Idol’ Celebrates Second-Biggest Finale
Tags: American_Express, corporate_social_responsibility, Elaine_Fogel, Innovation, Marketing, The_Members_Project
I got the same email this morning, and also thought it was a great idea. I hope it eventually gets to $5 million. They really are trying to build a solid community around AMEX cardmembers. Another example is based around the Fox show “24,” where American Express presents a director’s take of the show on the web, asking at the end of each broadcast “Are you left wanting more, or are you a cardmember?” to create a feeling of exclusivity.
Personally, I’ve never really used Amex because they’re not accepted in as many places as Visa and MC, but other than that I’ve had a good experience. These community-building initiatives are effective in strengthening my relationship with them. It also helps that one of my Visa cards was recently changed to Amex due to a corporate shift.
Elaine-
I’m a fan of American Express, too. They really seem to keep their finger on the pulse of their customers and regularly develop programs that suite their interests. And they have always treated me fairly.
I am a writer at Deliver magazine and we ran a story a while back on how American Express develops customer loyalty based on seeking and respecting customer feedback.
If you’d like to take a look, I’ve included the link
http://delivermagazine.com/the-magazine/2005/09/01/loyalty-to-the-extreme/.
Thanks for the great post. A few others could learn from Amex’s example.
It’s a great campaign. And it shows that social media can drives sales – in this case of AmEx cards. It’s the next level. Well-done.
Thanks for the comments. Daniel, I’ve found that more and more retailers are accepting Amex. If you like the company, why not encourage your favorite stores to take the card?
Good article, Nancy.
B.L. you’re right – this does take it to the next level.
I wrote an article for MP a while ago on cause-related marketing. Some people at the time were skeptical about Corporate America’s motives and the article was intended to dispel the myths and focus on the win-win of these relationships.
http://www.marketingprofs.com/5/fogel2.asp
Elaine, I got the email fromAmEx and thought it was interesting. But then I got a bit skeptical, thinking why go through all of this? Just donate the $5 million someplace.
But that was before I had my morning coffee and I guess I had the morning grumps.
It’s a great idea and a good way to get Cardmembers involved in a positive way.
My only complaint is why not go for more than $5 million? Or invite Cardmembers to voluntarily add their own donation (charged to their AmEx Card, of course) to make the total donation even bigger. Some of the problems they cite as possible examples are so huge that $5 million won’t even make a dent.
But still, this is another reason why I LOVE American Express.
David, your idea to allow for additional donations is a good one, but without a chosen nonprofit organization, donors couldn’t receive any tax benefit. And I don’t know the legalities of asking people to donate to the Amex Foundation.
I know that $5 million can’t solve some of the massive problems in the world, but if we think that way, we would give up on taking any baby steps to get there. It all starts with one individual making a difference and grows from there.
I suppose they capped this project at $5 million because it’s coming from their own coffers.Maybe they want to make the number attractive enough to get people on board while testing the response to a new initiative.
Good idea. Maybe I will ask the stores I frequent to begin taking Amex. Doing so would open the door to a lot more customers.
Elaine,
I too thought it was a great idea and blogged about it. But when I went to try and register (I do have an amex card) I couldn’t and all my attempts have failed. Not very web 2.0/social media if you consider there is no blog or mecanism to stimulate a conversation – what next? Disappointing really. I tried to find out who at American Express was running the show, but guess what – nothing… Did they miss a great opportunity? I think so – if we are to assume that it’s all about the conversation!
Nuno, I spoke to their Director of Public Affairs, as I also had difficulty logging onto the site the morning the e-mail arrived. She told me they experienced large demand and the tech staff were working on the problem. I’ve since logged on easily, so try again.
As for making this site open to Web 2.0 dialog, maybe Amex wants to test the response to this new initiative first before adding layers and components to it. That way they can measure response rates if they add features to it. Just a guess on my part.