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• Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2018 (Revised January 2019)

  Membership Rewards® from American Express

  Shelle Santana, Frances X. Frei, Lauren G. Pickle, Shelle Santana, Frances X. Frei and Lauren G. Pickle

  Credit and charge card issuer American Express (Amex) had developed a strong reputation among consumers due in part to its Membership Rewards (MR) loyalty program, first established in 1991. Through MR, all Amex cardholders could accumulate and redeem “points” based on how much they spent, while customers with Amex’s Gold and Platinum Cards received additional perks. By 2016, however, the U.S. credit card market had become increasingly competitive, with many credit card companies increasing their sign-on point bonuses for new customers. Chris Cracchiolo, Amex’s vice president of U.S. loyalty, strategy, and global partnerships, had to decide how to position the MR program in the face of this competition. Should Amex begin offering more competitive sign-on bonuses and point redemption rates, or would this dilute the company’s strong brand?

  Keywords: financial services; customer loyalty; Credit Cards; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Brands and Branding; Customer Value and Value Chain; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; North America; United States;

  Citation:

  Santana, Shelle, Frances X. Frei, and Lauren G. Pickle. "Membership Rewards® from American Express." Harvard Business School Case 518-079, June 2018. (Revised January 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2018 (Revised January 2019)

  Membership Rewards® from American Express

  Shelle Santana, Frances X. Frei, Lauren G. Pickle, Shelle Santana, Frances X. Frei and Lauren G. Pickle

  Credit and charge card issuer American Express (Amex) had developed a strong reputation among consumers due in part to its Membership Rewards (MR) loyalty program, first established in 1991. Through MR, all Amex cardholders could accumulate and redeem “points” based on how much they spent, while customers with Amex’s Gold and Platinum Cards received additional perks. By 2016, however, the U.S. credit card market had become increasingly competitive, with many credit card companies increasing their sign-on point bonuses for new customers. Chris Cracchiolo, Amex’s vice president of U.S. loyalty, strategy, and global partnerships, had to decide how to position the MR program in the face of this competition. Should Amex begin offering more competitive sign-on bonuses and point redemption rates, or would this dilute the company’s strong brand?

  Keywords: financial services; customer loyalty; Credit Cards; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Brands and Branding; Customer Value and Value Chain; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; North America; United States;

  Citation:

  Santana, Shelle, Frances X. Frei, and Lauren G. Pickle. "Membership Rewards® from American Express." Harvard Business School Case 518-079, June 2018. (Revised January 2019.)  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2018

  Super Bowl Storytelling

  Shelle Santana and Jill Avery

  The one day a year when consumers not only tolerate but actually eagerly anticipate ads is during the NFL's Super Bowl. In sharp contrast to their behavior on the other 364 days of the year, consumers watch an average of 89 commercials per Super Bowl game for an average of 46 minutes. Why are consumers willing to spend 3.5x more time watching commercials on the Super Bowl than on any other day of the year? Perhaps because they have come to expect the best, most creative, most engaging storytelling of the year from advertisers. With one out of every three Americans glued to the game, advertisers know they have a captive audience and they go to great lengths to stand out in what is somewhat akin to a battle of the brands. However, at a cost of more than $5 million for a 30-second spot, is Super Bowl advertising worth it? And, which types of Super Bowl stories are more and less likely to "win" on the Super Bowl?

  Keywords: television advertising; entertainment; brand management; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Advertising; Television Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Media; Cost vs Benefits; Advertising Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Sports Industry; United States; North America;

  Citation:

  Santana, Shelle, and Jill Avery. "Super Bowl Storytelling." Harvard Business School Case 519-041, December 2018.  View Details

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