TBWA to Be Visa's Primary Ad Agency

Visa Inc. said it has completed a review and consolidation of its advertising relationships by selecting TBWA Worldwide, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. of New York, as its primary partner agency.

TBWA will become Visa's "global lead strategic and creative agency" on Jan. 1, the San Francisco company said Monday.

Visa conducted the review and consolidation as part of the restructuring related to its initial public offering in March. It currently has relationships with four advertising agencies: TBWA, Omnicom's BBDO Worldwide, WPP Group PLC's Grey Worldwide, and Publicis Group's Leo Burnett Worldwide. Antonio Lucio, Visa's chief marketing officer, said in July that the consolidation would help his company meet shareholder demands as a public company.

Visa said Monday that using TBWA as the primary agency would "deliver … operating and cost efficiencies."

Mr. Lucio said in a press release that TBWA would "provide a unified approach to our marketing initiatives."

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER