American Express has a longstanding commitment to supporting the vibrancy of local communities, with its 2018-2020 Music Backers initiative delivering $2 million in value to the music industry.

Through their annual Shop Small initiative, they have backed local businesses by encouraging their card members to support small businesses.

But COVID hit both the music industry and locally run businesses hard.

In 2021 alone, 32,000 gigs were cancelled in Australia, equating to $94 million in lost income.

And in August 2021, spending in small business establishments was down 70%.

As the country opened up again, American Express wanted to play a central part in the reclamation of city culture, reaffirming its commitment to music and local businesses through a concept that would show not tell people about their ‘Powerful Backing’ brand proposition, deliver full brand ownership, and generate mass earned media, all while making a tangible difference to the night-time economy.

Taking to the streets of Sydney, Back the Night was a deconstructed gig experience, partnering with local businesses to create unexpected stages for great Australian musicians.

Timed to coincide with the lifting of social distancing rules in Sydney, we brought a diverse ensemble of 18 artists to 6 unexpected venues, several of which had never hosted live music before.

The concept put music fans in control of who they saw, curating their own musical journey.

Ticket holders converged on the headline gig to see Aussie rock sensations, Gang of Youths, in a venue that had special meaning to them, in their first performance on home soil for over three years.

With only 500 tickets available, Back the Night was destined to become the hottest music ticket in town, and the largest brand-owned music festival to ever hit Sydney’s streets, with all proceeds going to music industry charity, Support Act.

Consumer behaviours emerging during COVID led to some key strategic inputs.

1. Venue ‘check-ins’ led to a huge decline in ‘crawl’ behaviour. These rules being lifted presented an opportunity for American Express.

2. Sydney was no longer seen as a ‘night city’, with a night-time economy comprised of 4,600 businesses relying on just 14% of overall spend between the hours of 7:00pm to 4:00am to keep them afloat.

3. Fans often skip support acts when attending a gig. If music fans aren’t experiencing the future of Australian music live, Australian’s music future was in jeopardy.

The strategy needed to focus on creating a branded experience that encouraged people to enjoy the great things Sydney has to offer after dark, while putting American Express at the heart of rebuilding the cultural backbone of the city.

The solution was the strategic platform, ‘Move for the music, to move the city forward’.

Back the Night brought well-known artists to unique spaces around Sydney, painting the town ‘American Express blue’.

One ticket allowed fans to access the entire program, getting them up close with their favourite musicians.

We worked alongside local businesses to transform them into intimate gig venues and drive customers to them. ‘Mrs Palmers Sandwich’, became ‘Mrs. Palmers Soundwich’, featuring a specially curated menu and an unannounced performance from Aussie legends, Boy & Bear.

Alongside the music, American Express added to the experience with an NFT ‘ticket’ in partnership with Boy & Bear, enabling fans to obtain enhanced experiences, alongside specially designed digital artwork.

Post-event, digital content included three webisodes which told unique stories from the night, designed to be social-first to appeal to the artists’ fans and American Express’s social followers.

And a media partnership with Timeout provided pre and post event support, including exclusive interviews and amplification.

Back the Night was an instant hit with fans, selling out in less than five minutes to become American Express’s fastest selling music ticket ever!

The festival generated in excess of 8.7 million+ total reach, while the social campaign delivered 2.23 million impressions at a CPM of $5.21 - 42% lower than the KPI.

Influencer attendance was responsible for 51 pieces of content with a total reach of 29k+, generating 3.2k+ engagements, while the PR campaign saw the mainstream media carry the event far beyond traditional music outlets.

Crucially, the platform delivered on its promise to give back to the music industry, generating $26k+ for charity.

Customer spend on the night went directly to the small business owners at a time they needed it most. Overall postcode expenditure rose YoY (21 vs 22) by 25.72%, with a 26% uplift in expenditure throughout participating Shop Small venues during the festival.