Best Practice — American Express Members Project

Last month, American Express launched a new marketing campaign called “The Members Project”. On the Members Project website, American Express card holders can register and create or vote on projects that intend to have a positive impact on the world. Project proposals cover a wide range of areas, from arts, education, to environmental and wildlife protection. These projects will go through a few rounds of voting and selection both by the project advisory committee and the members of the website, and the winning project will be announced on August 7. American Express will contribute $1 for each card holder that registers on the website, up to $5 million, which will be used to fun the winning project.

I think this is a great campaign for a few reasons:

1. It draws on the collective power of consumers and utilizes the increasingly collaborative nature of the Internet. While American Express is not the first one to do this, most of the influential viral marketing campaigns on the Internet so far either used corky humor (e.g., CareerBuilder’s Monk-e-Mail) or had a distinctively underground feel (e.g., Burger King’s Subservient Chicken site). The goals have often been to capture the younger generation’s attention. In contrast, the Membership Project stands out as a more “mainstream” campaign that resonates with everyday Internet users.
2. The campaign is a great integration between advertising and public relations. The positive causes promoted through the campaign are likely to receive media attention, and it conveys a very positive image for American Express. By involving consumers in this process, the campaign seems more natural and less commercial-like.
3. By building the campaign as a members’ project, American Express builds affinity of its card holders as a group and makes them proud of being part of something positive. This fosters the feeling that being associated with American Express really means something.