A PROJECT REPORT

ON

SOCIAL MEDIA IN FINANCIAL SERVICES

(AMERICAN EXPRESS)
SUBMITTED BY
VARSHA SINGH
M.COM
(2016-17)

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

PROF. VIJAY GAWDE

VIDYALANKAR SCHOOL OF INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY
AFFILIATED TO UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

WADALA (E)
MUMBAI 400037.

VIDYALANKAR SCHOOL OF INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that VARSHA SINGH of Vidyalankar

School of Information Technology studying in
M.Com{Banking & Finance} bearing Roll No. 15310A1007
and Examination Seat No. _____ has successfully
completed the project entitled SOCIAL MEDIA IN
FINANCIAL SERVICES (AMERICAN EXPRESS) part of
internal assignments under my supervision during the
academic year 2012 2013.

----------------------------

-----------------------------

Prof. SANDEEP KALEKAR

Dr. ROHINI

(Co-ordinator)

Principal

---------------------------------

External Examiner

----------------------------

Prof.

College Seal

DECLARATION

I MISS. VARSHA SINGH student of M.COM BANKING

AND

FINANCE(2015-16) of

Vidyalankar

School

of

Information Technology Mumbai 400037 do hereby declare

that I have completed project work titled SOCIAL MEDIA

IN FINANCIAL SERVICES (AMERICAN EXPREESS) as a
part of my academic fulfillment.

The information contained in this project work is

true and original to the best of my knowledge and belief.

--------------------------------DATE:
SIGNATURE OF STUDENT
(VARSHA
SINGH)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have a great pleasure in presenting my project on

SOCIAL MEDIA IN FINANCIAL SERVICES I sincerely
thank with deep sense of gratitude to PROF.VIJAY
GAWDE, my guide for him kind co-ordination for the
fulfillment of this project.
I would also like to thank our seniors, librarians who
sincerely helped me getting this information and, last but
not the least my college for the big reason that I am here
in front of you in presenting this project.

SIGNATURE OF
STUDENT

..
(VARSHA
SINGH)

INDEX

SR.N

PARTICULARS

PAGE
NO

1.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2.

INTRODUCTION

3.

COMPANY PROFILE

4.

OBJETIVES OF STUDY

10

5.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

11

6.

BODY OF THE PROJECT

12

7.

CONCLUSION

31

8.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

32

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Social media in financial services
The project aims at the use of social media by the financial services company
AMERICAN EXPRESS so as to attract more and more customers and to connect
with them easily to improve the stability and to expand the business.
6

American express use facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest to connect with their
customers.
By using social media the company comes to know their shortcomings and the
need for improvement.

INTRODUCTION

Like other industries, financial firms have been eager to leverage the popularity of
social media to service their business. However, to ensure that investors are
protected from false or misleading claims and representations, and firms are able to
7

effectively and appropriately supervise their associated persons participation in

social media sites, the financial industry is subject to strict communications rules
and regulations from state regulators, the SEC and FINRA.
These rules require all activity related to the business to be recorded and archived,
and requires the firm to create defined policies and procedures. There are several
software companies that have developed archival and compliance solutions for
financial institutions. We evaluate some leading providers here, as well as some
guidance on choosing a provider.
Many banks and investment management firms have already created a social media
presence with different objectives and employee roll-out plans. We can learn from
their experience and help firms create the best plan for their organization.

COMPANY PROFILE
AMERICAN EXPRESS
American Express Company, also known as AmEx, is an American
multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World
Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.
8

 Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial

Average.
The company is best known for its credit card, charge card, and traveler's
cheque businesses.
Amex cards account for approximately 24% of the total dollar volume of
credit card transactions in the US.

Vision:
Their vision is to ensure their customers receive massive rewards in life.
Not only do they move towards their goal of being a flying partner of
customers but also a life-ensuring partner.

Mission:
Offer superior value propositions to all customers.
Operate with best-in-class economics.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

BusinessWeek and Interbrand ranked American Express as the 22nd most

valuable brand in the world, estimating the brand to be worth
US$14.97 billion.

 Fortune listed Amex as one of the top 20 Most Admired Companies in the
World.
They are the worlds largest card issuer by purchase volumes.
Operate the worlds largest travel network servicing consumers and
businesses.
Recognized as the most innovative company in their industry.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
To know the peoples behavior regarding the usage of social media
sites by American express.

10

 To know how many customers where attracted by the use of social

media.
To analyse the increase or decrease in the clients of American express.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

I had collected my secondary data from websites and journals

Literature survey :
I have used newspapers, social media sites of American Express i.e.
Facebook, Instagram, twitter and Pinterest.

11

TARGET GROUPS
1. CUSTOMERS

Gold Card: To cater to the upper echelon of business & travel.

Platinum Card: Card for the elite target group.

Centurion Card: Often referred to as the "black card," which caters to an

even more affluent and elite customer segment.

American Express has several co-branded credit cards, with most falling
into one of three categories:

i. Airlines (Travel Cards)

ii. Hotels
iii. Retailers

Blue Card: Card aimed at young adults. Amex also targeted young adults
with City Reward Cards that earn INSIDE Rewards points to eat, drink, and play

at New York, Chicago and LA hot spots.

Clear Card: the first credit card with no fees of any kind.
12

One Card: a credit card with a "Savings Accelerator Plan" that contributes
1% of eligible purchases into a High-Yield Savings Account insured by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
"The Knot" and "The Nest" Credit Cards from American Express, co-branded
cards developed with the wedding planning website theknot.com.

Bluebird:
It is a prepaid debit card introduced by American Express and Walmart.
It is being touted as having lower fees than other prepaid debit cards with some
of the benefits of traditional American Express cards, such as roadside assistance
and identity theft protection.
The card can also be used as a substitute to a traditional checking account.

Customer Services:

ExpressPay: It is a contactless payment system based on wireless RFID,

where transactions are completed by holding the credit card near a receiver at
which point the debt is immediately added to the account.

V- Payment: V-Payment is unique in that it enables a tightly controlled,

single-use card number for increased control.

Global Business and Consumer Travel: It provides cost-effective travel

program management, world-class customer service, and solutions for enhanced
traveler productivity and support worldwide.

13

2. BUSINESS
1. BUSINESS CARDS
A comprehensive range of cards designed to support mid-sized and large
companies manage their travel and day-to-day operational expenses.
Examples of these products include:
a. The Corporate Meeting Card.
b. The Corporate Purchasing Card.
c. The Business Travel Account.
2.Commercial Cards differ from Business Cards as they enable company
liability (business cards are issued as extensions of credit to the company's
owner).
3. In addition, Commercial Cards offer a comprehensive suite of data and reporting
solutions that help clients gain visibility and control over employee expenditures
(Receipt Match).

Business Services:

American Express @ Work website.

Information @ Work, a reporting tool targeted at mid-size companies to give
them quick and easy access to their employees' spend data.

In this, clients have access to:

Program management capabilities.
Online statements.
Reporting and data integration products.

3.MERCHANTS

Merchant Cards:
Open Credit Card: This card was designed to enable for small scale merchants
in order to help them out with their businesses (Plum Card)
14

There are no annual fees levied, helping the merchants to make purchases
through their cards and avail special benefits.

Global Merchant Services: It signs merchants to accept American Express

Cards and processes and settles card transactions for those merchants. In
addition, it offers merchants point-of-sale servicing, fraud prevention services
and marketing, and analytical products and services.

Global Network Services: It partners with leading banks and financial

institutions worldwide to issue cards and acquire merchants on to the American
Express network.

COMMUCATION STRATEGIES

American Express uses the traditional communicating channels as well as

social media.

Their ATL strategies basically involves creating awareness about their new
cards and services and constantly improving their brand Image in terms of the
world class service provided by them.

However, in the recent years the company has shifted its focus to social
media in order to engage their customers and focus more on youth centric
activities.

15

American Express is doing a lot to shed its image as the card for the elite. In
recent years Amex has worked with Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, video game

companies and other new partners to win the favor of young adults.

American Express is also paving its way into the mobile space.

They have also been harnessing Cause Marketing lately and giving
opportunities to young talent to contribute to social causes.

Using latest innovations to create an unforgettable experience and deliver

value to customers.

Everything AMEX does is designed to engage their customers, merchants

and their partners in a long-term relationship, one that deepens over time
through the creation of value.

They make it their business to be active listeners, so as attitudes and ways

of doing business change among the Card members and merchants, they
understand how to position themselves in ways that serve and anticipate their
needs.

Hence they always look for new ways to attract, engage, and retain
customers.

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES

Their mission is to be everywhere the Card members and merchants are.

To engage with them, service them, deliver unique value that's shareable and
create seamless digital experiences that surprise and delight.

American Express joined the social media scene in 2009.

American Express first made its appearance on Twitter with the @AskAmex
handle, focused on servicing Cardmember and merchant questions and needs.

16

@AmericanExpress and the official American Express Facebook Page came

soon after.

American Express has built its social strategy on service, and it continues to
improve its implementation by taking in user feedback. They spent a great deal
of time listening to the community. The community interests and feedback
defines their strategy.

FACEBOOK:

The organisation leverages Facebook with its viral many to many social
connection to create more stories about AMEX than they could ever achieve on

their own.

To exploit power of marketing to a social network with the scale and size of
Facebook.
TWITTER:

American Express uses its Twitter account to distribute its content and also
uses it to engage with followers and answer questions through its various
handles.

Use community manager to interact in real time to questions inquiries by

Twitter followers.
17

LINKEDIN:

The LinkedIn page of AMEX caters to professionals around the world.

Promotes products and services provided by AMEX to the followers as they

can be segmented.

Lists jobs as LinkedIn is primarily a recruitment platform.

YOUTUBE:

Go beyond core mission of enhancing not only cardmembers experience

online but also creating content that appeals to merchants & the youth as well.

FOURSQUARE:

American Express is using the location based technologies of the social

media site Foursquare to provide incentives for merchants and customers to use
the American Express card to obtain savings when they visit participating

merchants and use their AMEX credit card.

It uses the foursquare mobile app to power the marketing campaign.

This strategy is also about creating crowd sourced conversations and stories
on this social network of 15 million users.

By actively participating on Foursquare AMEX has built a sizeable network

of over 65, 000 followers that leverages their brand. Size does matter and should
be a priority in your social media marketing strategy

18

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS FOR CUSTOMERS

UNSTAGGED:

Objective- Bringing both the in-concert and at-home viewing experiences to

entirely new heights and build Customer Engagement.

Launch Date-5th August 2010.

Target Group- Card members & Music Enthusiasts.

Campaign Platform- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

Description19

"Unstagged: An Original Series from American Express," features

some of the music industry's most breakthrough artists playing at landmark

venues across the world.

Tap some of the most influential filmmakers to direct the livestreams, and use digital and social media to connect the online audience to the
live shows in unexpected ways.

The Series is scheduled to also feature a variety of surprise musical

guest performances along the way.

Each of the concert performances will be live-streamed for both

Cardmembers and music enthusiasts through the artists' dedicated VEVO page
on YouTube.

StrategyThis new partnership with VEVO and YouTube celebrates the

marriage of music and social media.

The aim is to demonstrates the exceptional access that American

Express provides to Card members and music lovers across the world.

Amex SYNC:

Launch Date-19th July 2011

Target Group-Card members.
Objective- To provide couponless discounts on things they love.
Platform-Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare.
Description
20

In order to integrate all social media platforms together Link, Like,

Love in 2012 was repositioned as Sync.

Card members can sync their eligible Card with Twitter, Facebook &
Foursquare, and when they connect using special offer hashtags or location
services(foursquare) , couponless savings are loaded directly to their synced
Cards no coupons, no print-outs.

Exclusive offers from a variety of the nation's largest merchants can

be availed using smart phones.

Strategy

Turn social media content into digital coupons by connecting Cardmembers

to merchants and delivering real world value to both in return for social media
mentions.

Results

AMEX launched their genius sync campaign in March 2012.

9 days after the launch of the campaign AMEX and merchant partners
garnered more than 150,000 tweet coupons.

The coupons were worth more than $1.3mn in savings!

In total, there has been over $12.8 million spent, and at least $2.8million worth
of discounts awarded.

BLUEBIRD:

Objective: Introduction of hassle free prepaid cards in partnership with

Walmart.

Launched: October 2012.

TG- middle-class and lower-income Americans eager to avoid fees charged

by banks.

Campaign Platform-Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Digital.

Description:

Bluebird is a checking and debit alternative brought to you by American

Express and Wal-Mart.
21

The costs to manage personal finances have changed dramatically in recent

years.

Checking accounts that used to be free.

Bluebird offers an alternative and a better way to manage and control

customers money.

It has many great features like Direct Deposit, ATM access, bill pay,
Bluebird Checks, Bluebird Sub-Accounts and of course, access to membership
benefits

from

American

express.

ADVANCE TICKETS:

Target-Customers.
Platform-Facebook, Twitter
Objective-Deliver unique values to Cardmembers & at the same time
increase customer engagement on social platforms.

Description

This campaign attempts at making the consumers feel privileged by offering

them the exclusive opportunity of booking tickets before it is made available to
the entire country.

22

They Use Facebook and twitter as the platform to ensure publicity of the
campaign and increase in popularity of AMEX.

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS FOR MERCHANTS

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

Launch Date-27th November

2010

(a

counterpart

to Black

Friday and Cyber Monday).

Objective- Small Business Saturday encourages holiday shoppers to

patronize brick and mortar businesses that are small and local.
Target Group- Merchants.
Campaign Platform-Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Digital.
DescriptionLaunched to support the local businesses that create jobs and boost the
economy.

A national movement to drive shoppers to local merchants across the

U.S.

The first 10,000 eligible businesses in the U.S. will get $100 in free

advertising credits each.

Twitter offered $1 million in free ads for small businesses.

23

Strategy
Linked to the AMEX Open Card for Merchants and small businesses.
Improve the brand image of the Company & have a smooth transition
in terms of brand re-positioning.

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN

FOR

CUSTOMERS AND

BUSINESSES
PLATINUM CARDS:

Objective: To target the elite customers and provide them with exclusive

offers.
TG-Working Group, Executives, Elite Group (Merchants and Customers)
Campaign Platform- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.
Description:
The only product promoted directly.
Offers and Benefits it provides the card members.
Facebook and twitter used for promotions.

24

#Aroundtheworld

Target Group-Travel Cardmembers (customers and businesses)

Objective-To motivate Cardmembers to travel around the world and make

use of the facilities provided by American Express Travel Cards.

Platform-Facebook, Twitter.

Description- Cardmembers had to share/tweet the photos of AMEX logos

from wherever they are on vacations.

Strategy
To promote their travel cards and to connect with their customers
across the globe.

To reaffirm their universality and global presence.

25

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN IN INDIA

TALKING MANEQUIN
Launch Date: November 2012.

Objective: To promote the benefits of the foreign exchange services

providers new privilege card.

Description:

Passengers at Delhi International T3 are being informed about the

AmexJet card through a speaking mannequin, whose image is projected onto a
glass wall located in the concourse.

Strategy:

Most passengers do not pay attention to ads informing them about

new privilege cards.

That is why at Terminal 3 they did things differently.

This out of the box thinking did the trick and caught our passengers
attention.
Owing to its location at the Terminal 3 canyon area, which connects passengers
to the Security Hold Area, the installation provided the brand with maximum
exposure

FACEBOOK FOR SUPPLEMENTARY CARD

26

American

express

offering

supplementary

card

to

their

customers.

Anyone with the supplementary card can get bookmyshow movie voucher for
two worth Rs.500 upon approval.

27

CONCLUSION
A recent survey shows that 81 percent of American adults are online. More than
50 percent use multiple social networking sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn,

28

Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter. This is where many of your clients and
prospects are likely hanging out.
Social media came up in the last few years and became a new marketing tool for
brands. These days most of the famous brands use social media for their
marketing purposes and therefore there is a growing interest and importance on
the value of this form of marketing.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.americanexpress.com/in/
https://www.pinterest.com/americanexpress/
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanExpressIndia/
29

amex.co/guidelinesIG

30