American Express Global Corporate Payments (AMEX GCP) has been re-positioning itself as a “Customer First” company and a trusted advisor rather than a product supplier. The first activation of this new mission and new brand was launched with the help of GPJ at the Association of Financial Professionals Annual Conference, a priority event and would provide a good test environment for the rebrand in the marketplace.
GPJ rose to the challenge to position Amex GCP as thought leaders by creating a meaningful, content-rich, branded experience within the parameters of the EXPO floor space. Our strategy included connecting prospects and customers with valuable content and speakers that moved their business forward. This was not about selling, not about soapbox and product demos. It was about demonstrating the value that Amex brings with their vast network and resources.
In order to demonstrate the new AMEX GCP mission with content-driven, high-touch engagement, we created the Connection Room, a content lounge which allowed them to provide value to guests in two ways:
- Networking Lounge: A comfortable and premium lounge for guests to recharge and reconnect, both with each other and their ongoing business needs back at the office.
- Expert Talks: Short talks about big ideas by industry experts – not just American Express – to stay connected to a theme of doing more with less.
The space was elegant, inviting, relaxing, and allowed guests to refresh, recharge, and take in content that helped forward their business without a sales pitch. It also allowed them to envision new ways to engage with AMEX GCP and a broader view of the company offerings.
The Connection Room was also used to drive traffic to the AMEX GCP booth on the EXPO floor, through an incentive program that rewarded visiting both. Prizes were offered for checking into the Connection Room, the AMEX booth, or both.
A significant increase in traffic to the GCP content hub, together with social media impressions, quantitative feedback and quality leads gathered all show without a doubt that AMEX was able to:
- Drive awareness through distinctive presence
- Build positive brand association through lounge amenities
- Create a captive audience for campaign messaging
- Drive consideration with thought-leadership content
- and host top accounts as well develop new relationships
The Connection Room is a scalable engagement model that will continue to pop up and deliver value at specific industry events, and prepare new audiences for productive discussions with AMEX GCP.
