ClubDIA.
Digitising loyalty in the retail sector.
With a century-long history and an annual turnover of more than 30 billion dollars, American Express Global Business Travel is the world leader in corporate travel and the organization of conferences and events. In Spain, the company has almost 1,000 employees and serves more than 500 clients.
Understanding the problem.
After interviewing people from different departments of AMEX GBT Spain, analysing their online presence, their products, their communication, and the market in which they compete, we came to two conclusions:
- The brand- international and with great tradition- was perceived by its users as serious, formal, cold and traditional, before the refreshing work carried out by Pentagram in 2019.
- The company, however, stands out for its modernity, its strong commitment to innovation and a young and dynamic team that offers its customers a friendly and casual treatment.
The objective of the work was clear: to reduce the gap between our client’s reality and the market’s perception. In other words, to create an honest and coherent communication and take it to the different online and offline channels. The challenge was to do all this while being respectful of a historical brand and with very clear usage guidelines.
An Innovative Website.
We began the task with the design and development of a new corporate website that, without abandoning the general design lines of the brand, evolved the brand’s graphic codes to offer a fresh and modern look, and an innovative interaction on any device. The use of large format photographs and videos as well as a dynamic navigation system created an immersive experience that conveys the intrinsic values of the firm. A complete and orderly information architecture and a simple and intuitive navigation system improved both the number of visits and retention, as well as the number and quality of leads collected through the various means of contact.
The website won awards in various competitions, and several of its solutions were adopted by the parent company and implemented on various international websites.
A Memorable Event.
The presentation of the new communication line took place at a Christmas event organised by AMEX GBT Spain for its main clients. Coinciding with the arrival of the 80’s revival trend, we decided to use this theme to choose the music and decoration for the event.
We also designed, built and programmed eight arcade machines with low-fi aesthetics based on Pac-man and Invaders that, spread throughout the space, offered a playful experience and encouraged circulation and interaction among attendees. Each machine showed animations related to the client’s business while idle. When a user pressed a button, the machine randomly awarded a prize or gave a hint to get a prize at another machine (“Try a green Martian” or “Try the machine opposite”). The messages were written in an humorous and even irreverent tone.
The event was a success and had an impact on media coverage. The objective of linking the brand with concepts such as technology, proximity and modernity was achieved.
An Honest Sales Pitch.
The next natural step in the process was to redesign the way the sales team offered the company’s services and products to its customers. After analysing the entire catalogue of solutions and understanding in depth the differential advantages over the competition, we developed a new narrative in which people and technology were the common thread, and which highlighted the contrast between a century-old brand and an innovative attitude. To reinforce this message, we carried out a photo shoot in which we showed the corporate sales team as they really are: professional, modern, approachable and relaxed.
With these pieces we created a new corporate dossier and a modular template for customer presentations, and we held a training session – attended by sales executives from all over the country – in which we reinforced the use of narrative and went deeper into the differential characteristics of each solution offered by the company.
A Better Customer Experience.
My Travel Solution, the digital solution that American Express GBT offers its customers to manage their business travel, —probably the most complete and efficient in the industry—, needed an update to its interface.
We rethought the navigation flows and the processes performed by each of the four user profiles. We redesigned the visual layer to adapt it to the company’s new graphic line, and improved usability by relying on micro-interactions that enhance the overall user experience.
Analysing and understanding the problem, identifying opportunities, establishing a strategy and following it at every step of the work, both in the physical and digital environment: that’s the key to carrying out a multi-channel project like this and for the result to be a success.
