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.

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.