American Express is in US creative agency review

American Express has launched a creative review for its U.S. business. Incumbent Dentsu is expected to defend, while WPP is also participating, according to people familiar with the matter. “We have launched a competitive agency review process across both our Creative Content and Brand Strategy and Planning work in the U.S. We look forward to reviewing the proposals from the invited agencies,” the financial services giant told Ad Age. American Express first hired Dentsu as its lead agency for a bulk of its business in 2017 and later consolidated all of its creative work with Dentsu in 2020. Before those changes, Ogilvy was the company’s lead agency for over 50 years. American Express appointed IPG’s UM as its global media agency of record in 2018. Dentsu was invited to defend the account, American Express’s spokeswoman confirmed. This review won’t affect Dentsu’s global remit with the company. WPP is also participating in the review, according to multiple sources close to the situation. WPP wasn’t immediately available for comment. Dentsu referred request for comment to American Express. More: Tracking ad agency account reviews—the latest on brand creative, media and more American Express spent $524 million on U.S. measured media in 2024, up from $490 million in 2023, according to data by Mediaradar. It leans heavily on sports and experiential marketing, particularly surrounding experiences made possible by being an Amex cardholder. Last month, it hosted Member Week, which treated cardholders to exclusive drinks at participating restaurants and special shopping rewards. The event caters to younger consumers, which inspired the brand to host a concert with musician Gracie Abrams in Brooklyn. American Express also recently invited members to a Thailand-inspired stay at the Four Seasons Westlake as part of a season finale watch party for “The White Lotus,” which included a panel with cast members from the HBO show. View this post on Instagram A post shared by American Express (@americanexpress) American Express is one of the four major U.S. payment card networks alongside Discover, Visa and Mastercard. Among the four, it has the second lowest market share worldwide, above only Discover, according to a Feb. 14 report from Motley Fool Money that compiled data from the Federal Reserve, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, major credit and debit card issuers and the Nilson Report. There are 141 million American Express cards in circulation around the world, which comprise 4% of all credit cards in use, according to the report. Also read: How financial brands are changing their media approaches as they focus on AI American Express and Discover issue cards directly to customers, while Visa and Mastercard issue their cards through financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Citi. American Express could be shuffled to the bottom of the pack of those four, as Discover waits to be acquired by Capital One for $35 billion, which would make it the largest U.S. credit card issuer. The Department of Justice in early April decided it would not block the deal. American Express cards accounted for $1.7 trillion, or 9%, of global purchase volume in 2023, according to Nilson Report data cited by Motley Fool Money. Looking at the U.S., the brand accounted for $1.1 trillion, or 19%, of purchase volume.

American Express is in US creative agency review

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