• by Karl Greenberg , December 15, 2008

If one were to define American Express' brand promise in a word, it would make sense to write "experience" rather than, say, "card." The company goes out of its way to cultivate that identity--not just with advertising that suggests members are part of a club, but with partnerships that create a members-only schedule of performances, sports and events.

The company's recent sponsorship arrangement with the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles gives members access to a range of events and performances. It is also part of a deeper association with Anschutz Co.'s promotional and venue-development unit, AEG Worldwide.

The museum is part of AEG's "L.A. Live," a $2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, residential and entertainment district near its Staples Center and Los Angeles Convention Center properties.

American Express also recently became "official card of choice" at Universal Studios Theme Parks Resorts via a partnership with GE Money. In addition to a co-branded card, the deal, like the one with the Grammy Museum, it offers cardholders discounts at the park and event access. Amex also gets first denial on category product placement and co-promotion on Universal and Focus Features' films.

And Amex has a relationship with Madison Square Garden that is similar to that with AEG on the West Coast. The MSG deal gives Amex access for members to events at Radio City Music Hall. American Express is also a major sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Marketing Daily spoke with Courtney Kelso, vice president of sponsorship marketing at the New York-based financial services company.

Q: Is the Grammy Museum sponsorship separate from the AEG relationship?
A: We have a very large and long-standing relationship with AEG and L.A. Live, and through that we have Staples Center and other premium venues in L.A. The museum for us was really an extension of that relationship.

Q: What determines Amex sponsorships?
A: We think about partnerships in terms of what overlaps with cardmembers' passions. Our cardmembers are voracious consumers of entertainment, and music is a big area of interest. First and foremost, it's about cardmembers and providing value for them.

Q: Then how are these deals used to build awareness of the brand?
A: With many of our partnerships we are able to reach beyond our cardmember base. Our relationships in golf, for instance, and the U.S. Tennis Association let us connect with fans and spectators at the U.S. Open and PGA events.

Q: How about at the Grammy Museum? What is American Express' brand presence there?
A: Slight. It's minimal. For us, this was not about logo-slapping, or about getting our brand in front as many people as possible. It's about supporting the community of artists and the Grammys, and also about access and benefits for cardmembers.

Q: Is American Express focused on building more bricks-and-mortar sponsorships with theaters, arenas and the like?
A: We do several venue relationships, but we also work with non-venue-specific partnerships. We have a new relationship with Front Line Management (which handles acts like Aerosmith, Christina Aguilera, and Guns N' Roses, and is now part of Ticketmaster) that allows us to provide cardmembers access to touring musicians.

Q: What about sponsoring a specific tour or music act?
A: That's a tactic a lot of companies use, but what we choose to do, rather than associate with one or two tours, is to associate with many acts that provide access to a lot of artists and genres through, for instance, Madison Square Garden, Frontline Management and AEG Live.

Q: So American Express doesn't want to use these partnerships as a bullhorn for branding?
A: I would say that, for us, it's not as much about brand presence, or "American Express presents," it's about the deeper relationship we can form [with these organizations].