"Going Once" from AMEX

American Express™ has launched an interesting travel promo wherein they sell a set of “dream trips” a day for a week. The thing that makes it interesting is that the price goes down every twenty minutes until the trips are gone. These are all high end trips that fit right in with the AMEX brand experience, and the general experience on the site is right in line with the idea that AMEX can provide members with access to experiences that they wouldn’t otherwise have. I’m still intrigued by the aspect of the decreasing price, and trying to figure out what that does besides drive traffic and interest. Would I have been as interested in the site without it? I highly doubt it. Does it play into the AMEX brand properly? I’m starting to think that it does, given that it rewards “risk within reason”. By this I mean that it since customers that are willing to risk waiting and having all trips purchased increase their savings, the entrepreneurial spirit is rewarded… to a point. AMEX doesn’t want to encourage or associate with wanton risk, but measured risk. At least, that’s the way I see it. Or it could just be a marketing gimmick.

Check it out yourself: http://goingonce.amexnetwork.com/