American Express 2003 Annual Report Download - page 17

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WE’VE INCREASED INVESTMENTS TO GENERATE GROWTH. We invested a
significant portion of our gains from reengineering rather than allowing the full
benefit to flow to the bottom line. We did this to strengthen our competitive posi-
tion at a time when others were retrenching so that we could accelerate our growth
as the economy improved.
We increased investment spending on marketing, promotion, rewards and card-
member services by 25 percent. This came on top of significant increases the year
before. We used these dollars to launch new products across our global payments
and financial services businesses. We also focused on attracting more customers
and delivering premium value through our products, services and rewards programs.
We also acquired two leading businesses that are bolstering our capabilities in
both asset management and corporate travel — Threadneedle Asset Management
and Rosenbluth International.
Pictured below:
(i) The acquisition of Threadneedle Asset Management boosted AEFA assets
owned, managed or administered by $85 billion.
(ii) New products that provide savings to midsize companies include the American
Express Business ExtrAA Corporate Card.
(iii) A multimillion-dollar advertising campaign launched the Blue Cash credit card
in the U.S., extending the popular Blue brand with cash-back rewards.
(ii) (iii)
(i)