After Apple launched its Apple Watch, it unveiled a TV ad that aimed to show just how cool it is. The ad, which hit airwaves in March 2015, flashed through the different features of the new product: email functionality, weather reports, notifications, etc. When it came to Passbook, the card-maintenance feature, it featured one card by one company: an American Express card.
If Amex is cool enough for Apple, it is certainly among the Coolest Brands in Banking.
Indeed, American Express is the 26th-most-valuable brand in the world, with a total brand value estimated at $20.7 billion, according to Forbes. That makes American Express the most valuable financial services brand in world, and just two spots below such a brand powerhouse as Budweiser. Of course, Amex spent $3 billion on advertising during the year ended last November to get its brand value where it is.
There has been talk since last month about whether Amex has lost a step. The card company notably lost its exclusive relationship with Costco, which accounted for 8% of all of Amex’s worldwide business and 10% of its cards outstanding, and Facebook just left Amex off its new Messenger peer-to-peer payments services. That even as it masterminds the recent launch of Plenti, a cooperative rewards platform.
But consider this: it is Amex that owns one of the world’s most potent brands. Costco? It doesn’t rank in the Top 100. Now, answer this: Which brand is cooler?