MasterCard, Visa slug it out in brand awareness fight.

As if their market share struggles and squabbles were not enough. Master Card and Visa are also fighting it out on the battlfield of "brand identity."

Recent studies of brand awareness indicate that both bank card brands are among the strongest of all corporate names. Still, the card associations continue to engage in one-upmanship, each countering the other's claim of superiority.

Victory on this qualitative battleground is especially important to MasterCard, which by most quantitative measures is indisputably No. 2.

Value of Marketing Tool

"The bank card business has two powerful tools to work with," said James Desrosier, vice president of advertising for MasterCard International. "Within the banking business, MasterCard's challenge is not to beat Visa, but to present the case that we are as good as marketing tool as Visa."

MasterCard has been claiming brand superiority since a 1990 Landor Associates Image-Power survey showed it was the strongest brand in the U.S. financial services industry. The card ranked 65th among al names, 13 places ahead of Visa.

The debate flared again at the national bank card conference in Washington.

Peter S.P. Dimsey president of MasterCard U.S. claimed MasterCard's three product names -- MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus, each in a logo of interlocking circles -- send clearer, more consistent messages than Visa's family that includes Visa, Visa Check, Interlink, and Plus.

"The MasterCard brand is strong and getting stronger," Mr. Dimsey said in his conference speech on Sept. 22.

He cited a survey by Auriemma Consulting Group showing that 66% of cardholders find MasterCard "most valuable," compared with 64% for Visa. The survey found MasterCard led in percentages, but more consumers carry Visa cards.

Mr. Dimsey added that Mail Monitor, which tracks direct-mail credit card solicitations, said MasterCard mailings had a 3.8% response rate in the second quarter, above Visa's 2%.

MasterCard's second-quarter tracking study shows that cardholders have a strong brand loyalty to MasterCard compared with rival brands.

In response, Visa U.S.A. president Carl Pascarella said Visa's own tracking studies show that 58% of consumers rate Visa the "best overall card," up from 40% in 1985. Mr. Pascarella also cited a March 1993 Brand Week magazine survey that rated Visa the stronger bank card brand. ranking 31st among all names. MasterCard ranked 63d.

The verbal volley likely will continue early next year when Landor, the San Francisco corporate identity consultancy, releases its biennial survey.

MasterCard Wins One

In the interim, another brand recognition survey from the Schechter Group of New York shows MasterCard, Visa, and American Express neck and neck. MasterCard scored 60% in name recognition, compared with 55% for Visa and 56% for American Express.

"In the eyes of the general consuming public, MasterCard has higher name recognition, a better image potential than Amex and Visa," said David Martin, managing director of the corporate identity business for Schechter.

"Our name embodies what we are, a card," Mr. Desrosier said.

The study proves how strong the Visa logo is, said Jan Soderstrom,senior vice president of advertising for Visa. " It reinforces my decision to use it so strongly in advertising."

An Everyday Item

The corporate and brand identity consultants have surveyed consumers since 1991, and found they responded more favorably to credit and charge card logos than to other categories, such as airline companies or car manufacturers.

"Credit cards are more ubiquitous than other brands," said Ms. Soderstrom. "You touch and feel them everyday."

The Schechter Group measures image contribution by how the design of the logo enhances or detracts from consumer perceptions of a company or brand name. Ten of the 24 logos tested in the third annual Logo Value Survey downgraded brand image in some way.

The survey revealed that American Express' "blue box" logo was one of the worst performers. Consumers identified more closely with the American Express name then they did with its blue box, which was found to decrease brand image by 13%.

But the image of the centurion that appears on American Express cards has a positive impact, the survey showed.

"When you logo at logos, there's a clear uptick in imagery for both Visa and American Express," Mr. Martin said.

Past surveys found the centurion enhanced the brand by 11%, raising American Express' score to 62%. "With the centurion you think of strength and stability," Mr. Martin said.

Visa's blue, white, and gold striped logo scored 61%, and MasterCard's interlocking circles 58%. American Express' blue box fared the worst at 49%.

A difference of five points is significant in the logo survey, which puts the three issuers on a par -- excluding the score for the blue box.

Perception Research measured attitudes toward 24 logos for the Schechter Group. The firm interviewed 600 consumers in shopping malls, questioning only those who were aware of the specific company or brand.

One group of 150 consumers rated the company's name shown to them in black and white by four criteria: "trustworthy and reputable," "offering quality products and services." "having products and services for the 1990s." and "offering a product or service I would us."

Logo Contribution Measured

A second group of consumers were shown the full logo in color and were asked to rank it on the same four criteria. The difference in scores, expressed in a percentage, is the "image contribution" of the logo design.

The Schechter Group is a subsidiary of Omnicom Group, which also owns Visa's ad agency, BBDO Worldwide of New York. Schechter has consulted with Visa on its Visa Check card.

American Express declined to comment on the study, citing the Visa-Schechter ties.

Jeffrey Kutler contributed to this report.

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