American Express had recently aligned on a new Purpose.  That lead to a visual and voice rebrand plus an new award-winning advertising campaign: “Powerful Backing.”

Now it was time for internal activation.  It was time to engage all American Express Colleagues across the globe – every one of its 68,000, in understanding the power of the brand and its importance in driving business success.  And because AmEx knew that what was needed was more than a one-time training session, they reached out to small-but-mighty GBW.

What what exactly does it mean to “Live the Brand?”  We first established some basic guiding principles for success.

And then, we set out to listen.

Listening First

To lay the groundwork, GBW interviewed over 56 key leaders across disciplines and across geographies throughout the organization.  Tailored questions were added to the company’s internal Pulse survey.  GBW then used these insights to develop fun, interactive, bespoke and compelling workshops that uncovered deeper insights into employee perceptions. What we found is not  uncommon across many organizations:

  1. No consistent definition or understanding of brand
  2. Brand is not top of mind in day-to-day tasks
  3. Brand engagement goes beyond employees to include partners
  4. People really do care

Some direct quotes:

And we made sure we asked about tactical things too: what does and does not work within the American Express Culture? Some direct quotes:

  • “Make it human and emotional.”
  • “Share real life stories—even the tough ones.”
  • “We don’t live in a world of perfection, so keep it real.”
  • “Simplicity is key.”

Year-Round Initiative: “Living the Brand”

With those truths in hand, we developed a strategic framework called “Living the Brand,” meant to guide a full year of ongoing engagement. Because authentic brand engagement isn’t a box to check once—it’s a journey.  Following is a high-level framework:

At the heart of this initiative is an internal learning module, self-directed and accessible via American Express’s LMS system, called Navigator, for colleagues anywhere in the world. The module’s goal is to show employees:

  • Why brand is more than just a logo or tagline
  • How every single colleague plays a part in protecting and elevating the brand
  • Why the brand, with a compelling purpose and essence, drives business success

Here is a screen capture from the internal learning module storyboard:

Making It Happen

We focused on delivering a solution that is concise, clear, entertaining, on-brand, and engaging. Success hinged on a truly collaborative approach, respecting the complexities of a large, matrixed global team and working smoothly with other partner agencies. We stayed responsive, listened to concerns, and refined our work with intelligence and empathy.

Key Takeaway

When you create a strategic, year-round internal activation plan—one that’s rooted in listening and real employee experiences—you empower people to live the brand in everything they do.

That’s the kind of engagement that moves the needle not just for employees, but for customers too.

“We brought in GBW because they are an experts in this niche space.  They work fast and brilliantly based on experience – delivering highly creative work way more efficiently than some of our big agency partners.” – Susan Stashower, VP, Global Brand Management, American Express