SITUATION

Throughout 2023, Millennials and Gen Z were Amex’s fastest-growing customer cohort, while Platinum account acquisitions reached record levels [Amex Earnings data].

With no product news for American Express Platinum in 2023, the brand wanted to create an ownable moment that could drive headlines, connect with Card Members in an unexpected way, and tap into a cultural moment that’d help them drive relevance with a growth target, Millennials and Gen Z.

PR BRIEF

Use experiential storytelling to create a Card Member moment at Miami Art Week that drives national consumer lifestyle coverage and connects American Express Platinum to Millennial and Gen Z culture.

OBJECTIVES

Drive strong SOV, earned media coverage and conversation that positions Platinum as the premium lifestyle Card.

Showcase the value of American Express Platinum Card Membership, including benefits, access, and experiences

Reach & resonate with the next generation of Platinum Card Members (Millennials & Gen Z).

At Miami Art Week, the art evolves yearly, but the experience remains the same: walking through galleries and staring at art through glass.

This year, American Express reimagined the experience for a Gen Z and Millennial audience by doing the unthinkable: letting them touch and even play with the art.

In partnership with renowned creative studio, PlayLab, Inc., American Express Platinum created a giant toy house filled with massive playable art pieces, like a vibrant robot seesaw and an enormous race car ball pit, which made attendees feel like kids again. To create the visionary toy art collection, we collaborated with today’s hottest artists: Eny Lee Parker, Surin Kim, Serban Ionescu, and Kumkum Fernando. We also launched limited-edition toys by Mattel Creations with two of today’s biggest artists, Daniel Arsham and Shantell Martin.

In the end, Platinum reimagined what it means to play on one of art’s biggest stages.

INSIGHT

American Express Platinum Card Members are collectors of art ($60B) and toys ($115B). The cultural conversation around nostalgia was an opportunity to create a compelling PR narrative and connect to Card Members’ passion for what’s new and next.

KEY MESSAGE

American Express Platinum connects Card Members to what they love through unparalleled access to one-of-a-kind experiences.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Millennial and Gen Z Card Members and Prospects

CREATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF ASSETS

We commissioned today’s most interesting artists to reimagine iconic toys as collectible works of art and unveiled the collection at PLAY by American Express Platinum, an interactive gallery where Platinum Card Members and their guests could explore and play. Mattel Creations provided exclusive programming.

We partnered with the artists and PlayLab, Inc. to create visually appealing assets for press and social media, engaged the artists as media spokespeople, and worked with lifestyle influencers to share the one-of-a-kind experience.

To break through with national consumer lifestyle media before, during, and after Miami Art Week, we took a multi-phased approach that helped us secure depth and breadth of coverage across culture, fashion, travel, and design outlets. Through research, we identified target outlets and influencers that over indexed with Gen Z/Millennial audiences to help us tell the story of PLAY.

PHASE 1:

We hosted an intimate NYC press preview at Principe, a gallery-turned-restaurant. Media explored the making of the collection and interviewed the artists and Amex executives to develop stories ahead of Miami Art Week.

Artists shared behind-the-scenes content on social to drive excitement.

PHASE 2:

We hosted top-tier media and influencers at Miami Art Week to share the best of Amex Platinum travel, dining, and experience benefits.

PHASE 3:

We drove social conversation and secured post-event coverage by hosting an invite-only “House Party” attended by celebrities and influencers.

TARGET AUDIENCE OUTCOMES

- 2,750 Card Member and Card Member guest attendees

- 48% category Share of Voice at Miami Art Week among Gen Z and Millennial outlets

- 90% of potential influencer reach with Gen Z and Millennials

- Artist partners drove coverage with outlets that reach Gen Z and Millennials, including Hypebae, The Cut, and PAPER Magazine

MEDIA OUTPUTS

- 84 Earned Stories across key Gen Z and Millennial-reaching fashion, art, travel, and culture target outlets across the globe, including the US, Canada, South America, Europe, and Australia.

- Cool Hunting, WWD, The Cut, Hypebae, Distractify, Wallpaper, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and AFAR

- 100% Positive to Neutral Sentiment

- 443% above influencer engagement rate industry benchmark

- 1.5M potential influencer reach

- 20.8M potential social impressions for the House Party

BUSINESS OUTCOMES

- 40%+ category Share of Voice at Miami Art Week, 63% more than our closest competitor (JP Morgan/Chase)

- Platinum reimagined what appreciating and collecting art looks and feels like on one of art’s biggest stages.