American Express Does Social Media Right

May 17, 2007 - Random Culture

American Express has launched an interesting foray into social media with the launch of the Members Project. It's an impressive idea... card members register on the site, with the ability to submit an idea for a social project, such as rebuilding a school in New Orleans. The ideas are voted on by members of the site, and for each member that joins, American Express kicks in money (up to $5 million), with the winning idea getting funded!

Kudos to American Express for doing something that's actually engaging, and paints the brand in a positive light. Unlike most advertisers, they actually are putting some real money behind the effort, in a way that makes sense, and certainly provides some incentive to participate.