A voice with mass appeal, designed for discerning individuals

American Express is a global brand targeting people who are going places. As an audience, they share drive, ambition and a certain desired standard of living—as well as a potent sense of their own unique hopes, goals, and dreams. Amex needed to find a way to unite their vast global network of communicators and appeal to millions of fierce individuals at the same time.

Achieving consistency through specificity

Working with their global marketing team, we designed a brand voice for American Express that tapped into each customer’s uniqueness, while giving their writers clear principles to hit consistently. Painting vivid and specific pictures of possibilities, it puts the customer at the center, and gives writers repeatable techniques for showing support, and infusing copy with the energy ambitious people appreciate.

Training to make it work all over the world

With the brand voice in place, we helped American Express make it stick for their teams across the globe. Starting with guidelines and lots of before-and-after writing examples, we then trained hundreds of American Express communicators to use the voice—from advertising agency writers, to people working in compliance, marketing, and servicing, around the world.

Curious for more? Dive into more American Express success stories here.