Challenge

Member-get-member (MGM) referrals is Amex’s single most powerful acquisition tool but conversion had plateaued. The mechanic is simple; a Card member recommends Amex to a friend and if they sign up, you both get a load of Amex points. The offers were good, but members weren’t engaging.

INSIGHT

The problem wasn’t the reward, it was the relevance. Amex points are too abstract to engage with. Members couldn’t easily connect the points to something they actually wanted. We realized Amex had a lot of data available about its members, and looking though this we realized the group was far too diverse to cover with one email.

SOLUTION

We created a suite of 72 emails, allowing us to hyper-targeted our audience with messages that linked with their interest, lifestyle and spending behaviour.

We used user data, like card type and purchase behaviour to translated the Amex points into relevant and tangible rewards.

Frequent flyer? A successful referral could mean an in-flight upgrade.
Restaurant regular? That same reward became a free dinner.
More of a shopper? How about an Argos voucher?
Each message translated points into real-world perks based on what the member already loved.

The result? It worked almost too well. The email campaign increased successful referrals by 112percent and the program had to be paused because Amex couldn’t keep up with the influx of new members.