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From Karl Malden's stern warnings about not leaving home without traveler's checks to Jerry Seinfeld's quirky plugs for credit cards, American Express Co. has always been known for shrewd marketing. So competitors are watching closely as the company's fast-growing financial planning division goes after one of the hottest market segments around-black consumers.
The company is already a major advertiser in such magazines as Black Enterprise and Emerge, and a frequent sponsor of cultural events in the black community. But Manhattan-based Amex's outreach toward the African-American community will rev up significantly now that the company has signed golf phenom Tiger Woods as its pitchman.
Mr. Woods' first television commercials for Financial Advisors will begin airing later this summer as part of an advertising campaign, reported to cost $30 million.
"If he can bring new fans to golf, he can bring new clients to American Express," says Tom Nicolosi, head of the New York division of Financial Advisors, Amex's financial planning and asset management subsidiary.
The drive into the black investment community is part of the company's 10-year plan to triple Amex's share of the financial planning market and increase assets under management to $1 trillion from $150 billion.
The success of the Financial Advisors unit is essential for Amex. Intense competition from Advanta, First USA and other low-cost...