How Amex Delivered 40 Virtual Consumer Experiences in Six Months
When COVID-19 struck, brands from A to Z began delivering virtual experiences, many for the first time. But for American Express, the scenario presented an opportunity to build on its previously established digital event chops. Having activated a hybrid model with its “Unstaged” livestream concert platform a decade ago, and with a wealth of standalone virtual experiences also under its belt, the brand was well-equipped to step into [?] the virtual realm in the wake of social distancing. The proof: Since March, Amex has produced 40 virtual cardmember events in five different countries, many of which sold out within 24 to 48 hours. Talk about expanding your reach.
Access to virtual cardmember experiences varies from paid tickets, to paid tickets with proceeds going to charity, to complimentary access, and the offerings run the gamut. With culinary serving as a common passion point among cardmembers and with a global dining collective at its disposal, for instance, Amex provides culinary discussions and demos guided by leading chefs. The experiences are supplemented by boxes sent to attendees either ahead of time to enhance the experience or as a curated thank-you gift for participating. Cardmembers can watch Massimo Bottura talk about and demo his famous upside-down tart, for example, or see Mario Carbone whip up his renowned rigatoni carbonara.
Another example involves the brand’s efforts around the US Open, including a virtual experience starring tennis legend and Amex partner Venus Williams, who recently participated in a Q&A and discussion about her rise to fame, and preparing for the Open, which ended Sept. 13. Another US Open digital experience worth noting: The American Express “Fan Cam” enabled fans anywhere to record their cheers and submit them for the chance to be featured on 9 LED screens on the grounds of the tournament. Through the experience, cardmembers also gained access to directly ask their favorite players a question, which could be incorporated into an on-court post-match interview.
“What I’ve found so interesting is that cardmembers seem to have the same passion for speaking with some of these talents online as they would meeting them in person,” says Anthony Warnke, global director-premium events & experiences at American Express. “They’re just as excited to have the opportunity to be able to type in their question or to raise their virtual hand to be called upon by Venus William to answer a question. So, seeing that energy from cardmembers that we saw in live events in the virtual experiences is really amazing.”
Naturally, pulling off dozens of virtual cardmember experiences in a relatively short period of time has provided American Express with a wealth of expertise. Here, we break down the brand’s five tips for building an effective virtual event strategy targeted to consumers.
More on virtual engagement:
- ‘Fresh and Different’: Mastercard Ambassadors Host Digital Priceless Experiences
- How Nine Brands Engaged Consumer Audiences During Social Distancing
Assess your audience’s needs.
Through its in-person events and activations, American Express caters to cardmember passion points like fashion and sports. And while those are still areas that customers care about, their needs have shifted in the wake of the pandemic. Amex has evolved along with them, designing some of its virtual cardmember offerings to adapt to a new set of expectations.
“What a cardmember ultimately needs today is something that’s important to them—like Uber Eats or shows for their kids to watch on television or to be able to play on their iPad—but it’s not necessarily what they would have been interested in pre-COVID,” says Warnke. “What’s been so refreshing for us internally is that the company has been very forthcoming and open for us to think, ideate and innovate so that we can change what membership means to customers in this time.”
Leverage existing partnerships.
As Warnke puts it, people aren’t experiencing the pandemic in a “bubble;” we’re all in it together. For Amex, that means supporting its partners, in addition to cardmembers, by transitioning partnerships on physical events to partnerships on virtual ones. And it’s been a win-win—Amex makes good on existing contracts and supports partners who may be out of work, and cardmembers receive top-notch virtual event instructors.
“If you think about chefs and the closure of restaurants, or you think about fashion and the ability for designers to be able to produce a new collection, knowing that certain things can’t cross borders, we really started there as far as supporting our customers by producing virtual experiences that pertain to them and pertain to their lifestyle, but then also supporting the partners that we had already agreed to support. And making sure that we were backing our commitments to our previous agreements with those partners, and rethinking and reimagining how the live event could be the virtual event,” Warnke says.
Elevate the virtual experience.
A virtual experience doesn’t have to be inferior to a physical one, and in some cases, it might even be better. American Express leverages this concept to deliver a level of exclusivity in some of its virtual offerings that likely wouldn’t be feasible in the flesh. As a pre-COVID sponsor of Harper’s Bazaar’s 150-year celebration and exhibition at the Louvre in Paris, for instance, Amex transitioned its in-person sponsorship into a virtual one by offering a digital tour of the showcase guided by former Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey.
“That exhibition almost closed down as soon as it had opened because of COVID, so what we’ve been able to do is put together this amazing virtual tour that I almost think is even better than going in person because you have Glenda Bailey literally voicing over and walking you through that entire exhibition,” Warnke says. “That is not something that you would get if you just walked through that space on a day-to-day basis.”
Think hybrid.
Looking ahead, Warnke sees American Express adopting a hybrid event model that leverages the best of both the physical and digital worlds (when it’s safe to do so, of course).
“There’s no replacement for being able to be front and center at a Beyoncé concert or smell the grass at Wimbledon,” Warnke says. “There’s never going to be a replacement for those type of experiences. But I do envision a world where we as American Express—because our customers will evolve and there will be a need for them to continue to have and seek out virtual content—will have a very robust platform that involves both live experiences and then virtual content that either could come out of those live experiences or live on their own.”
Let your audience guide your next steps.
For Amex, what the exact balance of physical and digital experiences will look like down the road depends on its cardmembers. If they want more of one type of experience over the other, the brand will adjust accordingly.
“At the end of the day, the customer will drive which direction we want to go—our customer is going to be our North Star,” says Warnke. “And our innovation in this state is really going to come from us assessing their needs and thinking through how we can meet those needs in a creative way. That’s really the business right now.”
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