Visa Inc. is taking a different approach to sponsoring this year's Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, trying to show such investments pay off for banks in a tangible way.
As it has in previous Olympic-related campaigns, Visa is letting its issuers use elements of its campaign touting its sponsorship of the games in their own advertising materials — as long as the Visa name remains front and center. And for the first time, the San Francisco company is helping some issuers develop their own "add-on" campaigns and rewards.
For example, SunTrust Banks Inc. has worked with Visa to develop its own campaign featuring Dwight Phillips, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the long jump. Eventually he will appear in Visa's main campaign, but for now SunTrust is the only issuer that can use him.
Like other Visa issuers, the Atlanta company is holding a cardholder sweepstakes for tickets to the games — but only SunTrust will include a personal training session with Mr. Phillips as part of the prize.
"This is a good way to stimulate card usage," said Kerry Brashears, SunTrust's group vice president for card and loyalty products. "The sweepstakes element is tied to increasing usage of your card more often or in specific ways."
Kevin Burke, Visa's head of global brand and product marketing, said it is helping about 250 U.S. issuers and merchants "to customize programs to their marketing efforts." The customizations range from "market-ready assets," like the ability to add a bank's name to signs, direct mailings, and print ads that are part of Visa's campaign, to more tailored programs for large institutions like SunTrust, he said. Visa said 16 banks are using "at least one add-on."
Mr. Burke and Mr. Brashears said Visa's initial public offering this year had not affected its marketing strategy. But observers said the new approach reflects the demands placed on Visa and MasterCard Inc. now that they are listed companies.
"Nothing's taken for granted anymore," said Philip J. Philliou, a partner at the consulting firm Philliou Selwanes Partners LLC and a former executive at MasterCard and American Express Co. "The intensity with which both Visa and MasterCard are going after issuers and going after specific deals" has dramatically increased. "They've really upped the ante."
Large banks are not the only beneficiaries, Mr. Philliou said. His firm has been spending "a fair amount of time" lately with credit unions, which are getting more attention now from Visa and MasterCard than they did before. "I think it's a relatively new phenomenon that they're getting as much attention as they are today."
Craig Maurer, a stock analyst who covers Visa and MasterCard at Credit Agricole Group's Calyon Securities, said any promotions Visa can develop that are "unique and unusual" for specific issuers "will clearly put them in a good light," since "the more you can do to keep your issuers happy, the better."
