Mailing with a Novel, Written by American Express

Background

The brief was to write to existing American Express Gold Card owners and convince them they should upgrade to Platinum. The main benefit of the new card was the fantastic Lifestyle Service Amex provide these customers.

Idea

The creative execution was to do the opposite of most financial services mailings, which are usually about facts and figures, and to engage emotionally.

By keeping the mailing incredibly simple, American Express used deliberate understatement to underline its status as one of the world’s great brands.

The idea was to tell a story in a letter, an incredible but true story.

In a hotel, far away from home, a business-woman was reading a novel. As the story reached its climax, disaster! The woman discovered the last page had been torn out of the book.

How did it end?

There was only one way to find out. She called the American Express Lifestyle Service and within a few hours she took delivery of the missing page.

That was the story of the service. And of the mailing, which included the final page.

Results

A happy ending: a 13% response rate.

Similar mailshots in the past had, at best, response rates of just 5%

This was a response increase of more than 100%. Incredible. But true.

Our Thoughts

I usually say you get what you pay for. So if you’re a

cheapskate and you don’t put anything in an envelope

except a letter, then reap as ye shall sow. But along

comes this example of a brand doing just that. So the

mailing would have been pleasantly inexpensive as well

as pleasantly rewarding. What it had going for it was

an idea. Thank heavens there are still some creatives

out there who still want to do the factory visit, who still

want to hear the stories because every now and then

it’s those moments of truth that lead to dramatically

effective work.