I think there's a lot of hope in continuing the innovation and continuing to educate and inform guests on how to use different channels to engage with brands. I really do think that the brands that have been flexible, that have easy e-commerce options, those that are safe and trusted, those are going to win. And if we continue to implement processes like that and educate our guests on those processes as a marketer that is how you’re going to succeed in 2021.
Our motto is ‘fast, messy, awesome,’ which takes the word ‘pivot’ and really embraces it. It’s a muscle we built prior to the pandemic, and we were so grateful to have that mindset going into this year. Change is constant, but at the same time, there are things you can plan for. As a marketing team, we’re trying to balance both agility and planning. How do you optimize, and change course, and operate fast, messy, and awesome? We’re focused on planning long term, but having that agility for when things don’t go our way.
Different cultural moments are taking precedent now and a lot of that has to do with how people consume media and the shift there. People aren’t all watching a television premiere at the same time; people are streaming and binging on their own terms. It’s now about creating new moments and jumping on impromptu cultural moments. You have to have the flexibility to jump on a moment that you didn’t plan for earlier in the year.
With loyalty programs, it is just building that experience with your customer and honestly keeping them in your universe as much as you can by being as relevant as you possibly can to them. There were the loyalty programs of the past that were all about points and discounts and felt very transactional. I think all of that is really going to change and it is going to become much more about experiences and delighting, engaging your customer across platforms whether that be in digital or in store.
A big part of our business is in bars and restaurants. I like to say that’s where our soul is - it’s where our consumers’ memories are made, birthdays are celebrated, girls nights are happening. When the pandemic hit, people started to get quite crafty making food at home, so we wanted to give consumers something interesting to do while also helping and giving immediate support to bars and restaurants in need. We encouraged consumers to go buy gift cards for their local bars and restaurants. It was all about getting cash in hand and right to the bars and restaurants as fast as possible to keep them open.
There’s so much opportunity to have a brand-led type of event like this. These types of events are typically led by vendors, partners or leagues that are trying to showcase all of the things they’re doing with their partners. The opportunity arose to flip the script. Brand Innovators Sports Marketing Upfronts is about what we want to see as brands, and what is it that we want our partners to know. With the unique circumstances we’re in today, these conversations are so important to really communicate with our partners what we’re looking for, and what we need in this new terrain.
Our content strategy went from activation in live events and stadiums, to really becoming digital. We started pivoting to a much more personal and creative approach. We leveraged the relationships we have with the leagues and players to showcase to fans what the players were like and to get more personal. A big example in the NFL season was partnering with the Players’ Tribune. We started going inside their homes and showcasing how they engage with a brand like Tostitos. We were cooking with the players, making nachos, having fun, and really bringing them to life.
When it comes to our approach to sports, we really try to focus our efforts. If we’re investing in specific sports, athletes, talent, we want to synergize, not go the other way. Let them own it - we want to be smart, and make sure we’re investing in the sports that are strategic for us and strategic for our consumers and the broader sports fan base.
We had a lot of hard conversations upfront rather than on the back end. We realized everything was up in the air and had to build the clauses, provisions and protections so we wouldn’t have to scramble at the last minute. Whether it was plans for fans not in the stands or a game is missed, we thought through how we would address each of these changing conditions. And now that things are all being affected, it’s been easier for us to adjust with our contracts.
This year was all about empathy, communication, and agility. AMEX has a huge focus on fan access and engagement, so the decisions around postponing or canceling an event, to have fans or not - those were critical pieces to how we would show up. We had to make sure our policies were clear and our customer service, social channels and call centers were prepared for the massive influx of questions from our customers. We had to set the groundwork in terms of customer service, which our brand is synonymous with, before we did anything from a marketing standpoint.
It’s so easy to just cast multicultural faces in your advertising. That has to be just the beginning. When you’re impacting communities and lives through your advertising, that’s when you make a difference. When you start to employ people behind the camera that reflect that diversity on screen, that’s when brands really make a short-term and a long-term difference and that’s what we’re working to do at Cadillac.
When it comes to the NBA, not everyone is an all-consuming, avid sports fan, but there are still so many people that love the game, and love what the NBA brings from a cultural standpoint.. You have people that love the competition, the celebrities, the showmanship. The NBA is a perfect example of a platform that lives well beyond the sports - it’s the music, the talent, the fan experience and so much more.