Corporate Brand and PR

A companies brand image is one of the most important factors in being successful and having a strong following. Consumers want to work with or buy products from a company that has a strong brand name and can be trusted. If your company is not known for great work, honesty, and ethics you will not be very successful. American Express has been able to great such a strong brand name that they are often sought out by other corporations to partner together for particular events or products. AmEx is known for being an elite banking institution that thrives to be the worlds most respected brand service.

To create such a strong brand name and ensure a large following the company has involved the public relations team. The AmEx PR team has created a number of campaigns to keep customers coming back while bringing in new ones. The company has decided to use celebrity endorsements to show how powerful and respected the corporation is. The company explains to the public (mostly though advertising) which celebrities are American Express card members thus showing the public who trusts them to handle their finances. Over the years there have been numerous advertisements involving: Ellen Degeneres, Jerry Senifeld, and Tiger Woods. The company has chosen to work with these people because they reach out to their target audience. Once the public is aware of which celebrities use AmEx the PR team is able to get creative and further utilize the sponsorships.

American Express will host events and have particular celebrities at the events to promote the brand name. It is the public relations teams job to make sure the media and the public understand these people are their supporting their corporation and believe in the company. The PR team makes sure the celebrities understand the company and their mission this way the relationship is mutually beneficial for both parties.

American Express wants the public and the media to understand they are always there for their customers thus they are a reliable brand. The public relations team often issue press releases informing the media and public about new products, new services, and special deals exclusively for card members. The PR also keeps the public up to date on relevant information by using social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook. When the public knows what is going on within the company and the good things that are being done for card members the brand image is strengthened. It is the PR teams job to keep that brand image strong and the American Express team does a great job of keeping the public up to date.

As I stated before American Express makes sure they look into every relationship they develop to ensure it is appropriate for their image and their customers. When AmEx decided to work with bank insinuations to issue cards they wanted to ensure they kept their strong brand name in tact. Once they made the decision to work with certain banks the public relations team created a Frequently Asked Questions page on their web site to help the public understand this new relationship. In this section the PR team explains that these relationships will "strengthen our brand image" and the company will only work with respectable institutions. AmEx wanted the public to understand they were doing this to make their company stronger and further benefit their customers.
Once a company has created a strong brand name it is important to keep that image in tact and takes a lot of work. The public relations team should be kept up to date on all relevant information within the company so they can insure the companies strong image remains. The PR team needs to know if a merger is going to happen or if there is a crisis within the company so they can do their best to make sure the company's image does not suffer. A company with a strong brand name is often able to overcome many issues or crisis with the help of a good public relations team so it is important to build a strong brand.

Corporate Crisis

Crisis can occur at any given moment and can have major impacts on a corporation or a brand but can also become an opportunity to grow and develop. Companies need to be prepared to deal with crisis before they occur and should be aware of all potential crisis within their own organization. This way when something does go wrong they are to prepared to act and can do so quickly. However there are of course some instances when crisis can occur which can not be avoided due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather or employee misdeeds. Fortunately for American Express, it appears they have done a great job being prepared for any and all crisis that may happen within their company. I did some research and could not come up with any real crisis that AmEx was forced to face. This does not mean that a crisis did not occur but the company could have done a great job of revolving that issue quickly with limited media exposure.

American Express has such a strong brand name that I am sure they do everything possible to protect that name. This means they must have a team in place to deal with all potential crisis that could occur within the company. The probably have plans in place in case something does go wrong so they can act quickly to fix the issue. However, in recent years with the economy not doing so well, companies like American Express have been forced to deal with major issues. This is not particularly a crisis that affects the company directly but does have major impacts on the corporation. As a card member I know the company is doing a lot to keep their clients informed about current information from the government regarding credit cards. They have created a consumer resources page on their web site to keep customers up to date on relevant information. This is a place people can go to figure out how the credit card reform affects them directly. The company has also been sending out direct mail pieces in the recent months to again keep customers informed. I am sure the public relations teams at AmEx have been involved in the planning of these initiatives. American Express is doing a great job of avoiding panic and a potential crisis by keeping their customers informed.

Seeing as American Express has done such a great job avoiding major crisis and keeping their customers informed I am going to spend some time looking further into AmEx's Twitter. I briefly discussed the companies social media campaign a few months ago but have recenlty been very impressed with the way they use Twitter to interact with customers. The company has created two different Twitter accounts with two different functions.
One Twitter account is used as a general way to get information out to the public as well as a way to give updates on current promotions and products. AmericanExpress Twitter is very informative for those interested in what is going on within the company and how things can affect them as customers or a member of the public. AmEx keeps the public informed quickly and efficiently by constantly updating their account. People rely on social media to get information to them at all times and this is put to good use by AmEx.

The other Twitter account, Ask AmEx, is used by a team of five American Express employees (four pictured to the right) exclusively to resolve customers concerns. Here, customers can Tweet any issues they are having with their cards, statements, or any other problems relating to customer service. This is a great use of social media because customers are able to directly interact with a major corporation on a personal level quickly. This way they do not need to waste time on the phone calling customer service to have a simple issue resolved. This use of Twitter also shows the general public how quickly American Express is able to resolve issues and how they can satisfy customers quickly and efficiently. Using social media like this is so important because it shows people how your company deals with customers concerns and issues with service.

American Express does a great job handling crisis and social media which further proves what a strong company it is. The company has created such a strong brand name and they do everything possible to keep that name in tact. They want their customers to know they are there for them at all times and do their best to keep them informed regarding relevant information. Being prepared and planning for all possibilities is crucial for any corporation and AmEx does a great job of doing this.

Investor Relations

An important part of an corporations business plan is their investor relations and these relationships should be taken very seriously. Companies want to keep the media, public, clients, and customers up to date on current financial information within the company. American Express does a great job of keeping all these publics in the know and try to make the process as simple as possible. They issue an annual report which can be easily accessed on their web site. American Express starts off by explaining basic facts and figures such as total revenues, losses from operations, net income, and total assets. These is general information for people to know to quickly see how well the company has been doing. The report then briefly becomes a marketing piece as it explains how the corporation is changing with the times.

American Express wants people to understand that they realize times are changing so they need to change as well. They explain how they are offering new products and services to better adapt to current events. This is a great way for the company to attract new business and tell how they can help the public. They are given an opportunity to tell their story and AmEx takes full advantage of that. The company also makes their 10-k filling and proxy statement available on their web site for the public to view.

Letter's to shareholders from CEO's are extremely important because it is one of the few times shareholders hear directly from the person in charge. Companies should take full advantage of this opportunity and AmEx is a great example of doing just that. The letter starts off with a big thank you to shareholders for their continued business and trust. The note also explains what the company has been doing for the last year and how they plan to move forward in the future. This is important because it keeps people in the know and makes them feel like they know exactly what is going on. After reading the letter I think investors will feel like they better understand the company, its mission, and its management. The tone of the letter really is down to earth and lets people connect with the CEO. Overall you feel a sense of gratitude from the company and understand they are working hard for their customers. This letter is really a great example of how major corporations can connect with the general public.

American Express publishes all of their earning reports on the company web site for anyone to view. The offer viewers press releases, financial tables, earning supplements, and earning slides. Looking at the press releases the information is written so the general public can understand the material and the language is not too technical. Readers are able to see how the company is making money and how stable they are throughout the different quarters. The quotes offered by the CEO and other executives are well-written and believable. They are written so the public can hear from high level executives and the executives do a good job of summarizing the quarter and earnings. The company does not have to offer to much bad news but when they do they talk about how they are handling and how they plan to move forward in the future. They talk more about progress and development rather than focusing on the negative. Overall, AmEx wants the public to understand their company and have faith for the future.
American Express uses their annual reports, letters to shareholders, and news releases to keep the public informed about the company and their financial standing. This is important because it shows the public that they are not trying to hid things and want to keep their relationships moving forward into the future. Investor relations appear to be very important to American Express and the company does a great job of managing these relationships by keeping the public informed.

Community Relations

Community relations are extremely important for major corporations such as American Express. By being actively involved in the community a corporation shows the public they care about people and realize as a major organization it is there duty to give back to others. The public appreciates when corporations do their part to give back but giving back goes a lot further than writing a check. For example Disney has recently started a campaign that gives everyone the opportunity to help others and in return Disney will admit them to one of their parks at no cost. Check out this great example of a corporation doing something more than simply writing a check here.

When it comes to American Express they take their role in the community very seriously and do a great job of getting involved. Specifically they focus on preserving and enriching diverse cultural heritage, developing new leaders for tomorrow, and encouraging community service where their employees and customers live and work. By focusing on three specif areas they are able to participate in special events and help different communities in different ways. Because American Express is such a large corporation they invite others to help them help others. They ask for organizations (that fit into the criteria of their focus) to contact them and tell them why American express should help them out. For example, AmEx is a supporter of JA Worldwide which is an organization dedicated to educating students about entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. This is a great organization for AmEx to be involved with because they are a financial institution and one of the organizations goals is to help students better understand how to deal with finances.

American Express strives to serve its customers with the best customer service, best products, and accesses to the best events. Their mission to be the best goes along with their goal of helping others in the community. They realize in order to be the best they must help as many people as possible even if they are not card members. By sponsoring programs and events in the community they are showing the public that they want to give back and make the world a better place. This is in turn great PR for the company. It lets the public know they are doing their part to help others which makes us think highly as the corporation. They are showing the world that they are focused on more than making money.

One of AmEx's larger community relations campaigns involves Feeding America. Feeding America is an organzation that is committed to helping the hungry. They are constantly in need of support through financial donations and volunteers and American Express was willing to help them. American Express is focusing on the organization's Store Donation Program which recoveres perishable products that do not meet retailers standards but can still be consumed safely. AmEx is helping to fund the building of new stores so the organization can reach its goal of adding 2,00 new stores to the list of national partner sorts. With the help of AmEx Feeding America hopes to collect 148 million additional pounds of food each year. This is a great campaign for American Express to be associated with because it helps people all around the country just as AmEx serves customers all over America.

Overall I think American Express is doing a great job of fulfilling their community relations duties. They do not help every organization but rather focus on organizations they can relate to and believe in. This is important because they are able to focus their efforts on one area to make a large impact rather than helping random organizations all over the place. The only other thing I feel AmEx could do would be to start a foundation. The foundation could have one specific goal and that way employees at the company and the public would know exactly what the company was doing to help the community.

Media Relations

American Express recently sponsored an event in New York City to benefit the relief fund for Haiti. Naomi Campbell's Fashion For Relief was held on February 12th was a runway event benefiting the victims of the recent disaster in Haiti. Musicians, actors and celebrities walked down the runway in clothes designed by some of fashions tops designers. The event was meant to be a fun night to support a great cause.

To promote the event AmEx relied on their public relations team to get the information out to the public and media quickly. To start the company issued a press release to major media outlets and posted it on their website. The release stated covered all the facts regarind the event quoted American Express's Director of Global Sponsorship Marketing and Naomi Campbell. The AmEx employee explained that the company was proud to work with Naomi to support such a great cause while Naomi stated her objectives were to help those in need. In addition to issuing a press release AmEx also used the company's Twitter page to promote the event. In days leading up to the event they Tweeted important information about the fashion show in hopes of getting people excited. They also Tweeted pictures and updates as the event was taking place. This way those who were unable to attend the show could see what was going on.

American Express used the media to effectivily publicized the event. Leading up to the event they provided different media outlets with information regarding the events and those who would be in attendance. The PR department was able to create enough buzz about the event to have many reports show up at the event. There were tons of photographers taking pictures of the celebrities as then entered the event as well as those that were given press credentials inside. AmEx wanted people to understand the event was very exclusive although it was ultimately for a good cause. Tickets were available exclusively to American Express card owners before the general public and those card holders were alerted via email about the event.


American Express did receive a lot of publicity for the event and it was covered by many different media outlets. Doing a quick Google search you could see the event was covered by high end magazines, well-liked news websites, videos appeared on YouTube and newspapers. By the amount of coverage I was able to find regarding the event I would say it was a major success for the company. AmEx was able to partner itself with a great cause and be associated with a number of well liked celebrities and other well known figures in society.

I think American Express did a great job choosing an appropriate event to sponsor and was able to receive great media coverage for the event. It is important for companies to think about the type of event they want to sponsor because that can help change the way the public sees them as a corporation and may even alter their brand identity. By working with celebrities for a great cause to help people who have recently been hurt by a major disaster was a smart move. It reminds people that AmEx is knowledgeable about current events, wants to help those less fortunate and realizes as a corporation they are morally responsible to worry about more than just making money. By using the media and social media effectively they were able to create a lot of buzz about the event which in turn caused it to be very well received. There were a ton of media hits on line and the public relations department is to thank for this.

As a soon to be public relations practitioner, I would have encouraged the company to create a live broadcast of the event so those who were unable to attend the exclusive event could watch from home. The footage from the show could have then been packaged and sent to television stations in hopes of they airing some of the footage during news broadcasts. There would also have been a way for those at home to use their American Express cards to donate to the cause as the event was going on. This way more money could have been raised and the event would have received even more coverage because it would have been viewed by more than those in New York City.

On the lighter side, there was one incident that did occur at the event and received a lot of media coverage as well. Model, Agyness Deyn fell not once but twice while walking down the runway at the fashion show. However she was a good sport about the incident and the crowd encouraged her to get back up and keep walking. When something like this does happen it can actually help promote an event because different media outlets may broadcast the coverage. In this case it was picked up by many blogs and celebrity gossip website. Overall American Express did a great job of sponosring and event and securing the media coverage it deserved.

New Media and Social Media

As we all known social media has recently become a major way for corporations to connect with potential clients and customers in a new way. Social media has many forms including Twitter, Blogging, Facebook and LinkedIn which all can be used to effectively launch a social media campaign. These platforms can be used for companies to relate to clients and customers in a new way as there is a closer more personal connection. An article on Inc. gives companies advice on how to use social media most effectivily. Some important things to remember when using a social media site is that things can be more personable and do not always need to be as formal as users typically want quick and easy solutions to their problems. Companies should not only promote themselves at all times but be a source of information for their audience which will gain trust and hopefully return visits. Most importantly companies should have a specific team that manages their social media efforts so customers can put a face to the person behind the companies Tweets or stats updates on Facebook. By having one person manage a companies Twitter page they are able to effectively assist customers or clients with the problems.

Now with a better understanding of social media and new media we can examine American Express's social media efforts. At first glance American Express has a pretty impressive social media plan. They have a Facebook Fan page which has just under 16,500 fans and has a lot of activity. After reviewing the fan page it appears as though AmEx uses their Facebook page as a way to communicate with customers and keep them informed of events, activities and other company initiative. The update their status with current promotions and exclusive only available to card members which gets people excited as they constantly have people commenting on their status updates. AmEx also uses Facebook as a way to actually show people the events they sponsor or produce by posting photos on their page. This is a great way to show people who were unable to attend previous events what they missed and hopefully will encourage people to attend future events and promotions. Going beyond photos they also have posted some videos of events and interesting commercials. Overall I think American Express has a great Facebook page as it allows for interaction between customers and the company. It is a way for customers to stay informed on new events, promotions and other activities within the company.

Twitter is a fairly new phenomenon which companies can use for quick and cheep interactions with customers and clients. Corporations can use Twitter to almost instantly keep tabs on issues that customers are having with their services and products. Experts feel Twitter can be used to quickly solve problems before they become major issues quickly and at a low cost. American Express has two main Twitter accounts that it uses to connect with other Twitter users. Their AskAmex account is monitored by five employees during normal business hours so customers can ask questions and get answers quickly. I think this is a great way to use Twitter because customers feel they are talking to a few individuals within a large corporation so they feel a connection while they receive answers to their questions in a timely manor. Some of the questions asked are by clients wondering about new promotions and rewards that are available. Again I feel AmEx is making the best of social media because they are using a new platform to reach their customers quickly and easily.

American Express has a second Twitter account (American Express) which is monitored by one company employee which is more of a genral account. Here followers can learn about new events and promotions that the company is offering. Many followers Tweet about a good experience they had with the company or something they used their cards to buy. However if someone does happen to ask a question on this account they will be refereed to the AskAmex account. American Express is doing a great job of using two Twitter accounts for different purposes; one for questions and one to promote their products.

One thing I did notice is when people do man complaints on the companies Facebook or Twitter page the company does not delete them but tries to solve them. I recently read an article about how companies can use negativity to regain customer trust and I think this is a great message. Companies should embrace negativity so they can improve their brand and products. This is a way to solve problems quickly and easily without having things get blown out of proportion. Some companies appear to have flawless Facebook or Twitter accounts with no negativity which makes me question their authenticity.

Overall I think American Express is doing a great job using social media to connect with clients and customers. My only advice would be to use their main Twitter account as something more than just a place to promote their products. They could Tweet about current events and other hot topics as a way to have people follower their Tweets more often. Social media is a major player in the public relations game and one that companies should be using to the best of there abilities.

Blog Introduction

American Express PR is a blog that will focus on the relationship American Express has with its clients, customers and the media. I plan to analyze public relations initiatives the company makes as well as social media plans they create. American Express is very active in the social media scene and I hope to learn a lot from their activities. I already follow them on Twitter because I am an American Express customer and am impressed with their use of the social media web site. I hope to further investigate other public relations activity surrounding American Express.

America Express is a credit card company that prides itself on being the best. They offer their customers many benefits ranging from reward points to access to special events. American Express also provides customers with travelers checks in addition to a verity of credit card options. The company is a well known brand that accounts for 24% of credit card charges in the United States.

American Express does have a reputation of being an exclusive credit card company. They offer a verity of cards with many different options for customers. However not all stores or institutions accept the credit card because American Express charges more for stores to use their services. Currently with the economy there is a lot of concern surrounding credit card companies. Some people feel that it is not right for these credit card companies to charge huge interest rates and hide fees in monthly statements. America Express needs to prove to customers that they are doing their best to work with the government and abide by all regulations. They also need to regulate interest rates and never charge secret fees on their customers statements.

American Express does its best to let the public understand what it does and how they provide exceptional service. They want customers to know they are dedicated to providing exceptional service and will go above and beyond competitors. They have created a strong brand name for themselves and work hard to keep that name in tact. They are constantly sending customers updates on new offers, credit card options and unique deals. American Express also works hard to understand customers wants and needs and do their best to provide these wants and needs.

Today, American Express must work harder than ever to prove they are devoted to their customers. With the way the economy is people are more cautious than ever about spending and charging purchases. Many Americans are trying to only use cash to purchase things and are doing their best to avoid having credit card payments. Some people go as far as to blame the credit card providers for the poor economy because people were able to charge things they really could not afford. American Express now must work hard to prove they offer smart credit cards and will not scam their customers. The America Express PR department should be making sure the public, the media and their customers understand all new activity within the company and how they are working to help keep their customers safe and debt free.

I am excited to spend some time really understanding American Express and their public relations plans. I have always been impressed by their strong brand and loyal customers. I hope to use this opportunity to better understand how AmEx is able to keep customers so satisfied and how they keep the public informed on their new products and services.