A recent renewal of a sports sponsorship deal may enable Visa Inc. to show to card issuers its “strength” against rival brands, but the actual benefits the deal provides Visa are “limited,” one analyst contends.
Visa on Sept. 1 announced an extension of a multi-property partnership with Soccer United Marketing, Major League Soccer’s marketing arm. With the deal extension, Visa remains the official card brand of Major League Soccer, U.S. Soccer and the Mexican National Soccer Team’s U.S. tour until 2014, according to Soccer Unlimited Marketing.
Visa has been a sponsorship partner with the three organizations since 2007. Visa also has a partnership with the San Jose Earthquakes soccer team.
The card brand will continue to have exclusive onsite promotional rights at annual Major League Soccer special events, including the AT&T MLS All-Star Game and MLS Cup, and all Mexican National Team and U.S. National Team games played in the U.S. Visa also gets targeted-marketing and promotional rights for the soccer organizations.
As part of the deal, Visa cardholders receive priority access to match tickets and specific fan experiences through exclusive presales and Visa Signature programs.
Visa also sponsors other sporting events, such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup of soccer, which it says helps the company connect with cardholder passions (
However, such sponsorships can have a limited, though sometimes powerful, marketing impact in terms of brand awareness, one some analyst says.
“To the extent that a Visa card is the only card accepted at FIFA events, there are tangible benefits. But this is probably pretty limited,” says Ron Shevlin, senior analyst at Aite Group.
The association with Major League Soccer and FIFA gives Visa exposure, but cardholders’ choose between issuers, not networks, he says. “The partnership is a ‘show of strength’ to issuers,” Shevlin says. “If Visa didn’t renew, and MasterCard signed on, it could be viewed as a sign of weakness [in] Visa’s business.”
Visa and Soccer Unlimited Marketing did not comment by press time.
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