American Express rebrands for multitasking customers
American Express has launched a new worldwide brand identity and marketing to update its image and cater to its customers’ needs.
The company, which collaborated with brand agency Pentagram for its rebrand. The advertising campaign McGarryBowen uses two new slogans, ‘Don't live life without it’ and ‘Don't do business without it’ to establish its goal to support people in the new reality where the line between business and life out of it is blurred. The company’s most recent campaign used the theme, ’My life, my card.’
Elizabeth Rutledge, CMO of American Express, says, “We are witnessing a global transformation in people’s relationships with work. How they choose to earn a living, pursue their passions and move seamlessly between life and business is changing. People are living rich, vibrant and layered lives and appreciate when someone has their back as they navigate this blended lifestyle.”
Morning Consult, a global study commissioned by American Express, conducted a series of surveys in eight markets of approximately 2,000 adults and showed that more than half of people today intertwine their lives with their jobs. The study also revealed that two in three people feel that the integration of work and life makes them more productive.
The work was created by mcgarrybowen, Pentagram, Ogilvy, Mindshare and Digitas. The advertising was directed by director Lance Accord, and the photography was shot by photographer Matthieu Young.
A series of spots have been released which show American Express supporting consumers that struggle with balancing work and everyday life tasks. "It's really our customers' collective stories—we're in this together," says Rutledge. "They're leading these vibrant, interesting, complicated and complex lives and it's important that they can count on American Express to always have their back."
Relying on its brand history of security and trust, American Express has revamped its brand image by modernising its a famous tagline, redesigning its Blue Box logo and visual identity. It has also launched a hand-drawn version of its famous card design with a picture of its customers at the centre.
American Express’s campaign also focuses on conveying a consistent message through all of the brand’s marketing mix elements and addresses both individual consumer and businesses.
Advertising will be featured in mobile, social platforms, podcasts, TV and print media, among others. Outdoor advertising will also take place in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco, where local artists will recreate their work at a large-scale. The company will also run ads on ‘geo-aware’ taxi tops, customised for every neighborhood the taxis drive through.
American Express follows a trend of banks rebranding and refreshing their visual identities to appeal to the new generation of consumers, with Santander being the most recent example.
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Rebrand for American Express
