Title | GIVING VISA A CHINA FACE |
Brand | VISA |
Product / Service | CREDIT CARD |
Category | A03. Best Use of Standard Outdoor |
Entrant | OMD CHINA Shanghai, CHINA |
Entrant Company: | OMD CHINA Shanghai, CHINA |
Media Agency: | OMD CHINA Shanghai, CHINA |
Credits |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Anna Chitty | OMD | Managing Partner |
Mentor Zou | OMD | Business Director |
Freddie Wong | OMD | Outdoor Business Director |
Tony Lu | OMD | Planning Manager |
Yuki Qiu | OMD | Planning Supervisor |
Ada Pan | OMD | Outdoor Associate Director |
Lydia Shen | OMD | Outdoor Associate Manager |
Visa Brand Tracking results in Sep 2008 proved that: • Succeeding in giving Visa a China face, 30% of consumers now see Visa as being “accepted locally” versus 15% in the previous year. • 69% of consumers said Visa is most “accepted worldwide”, Master card is 2nd at 7%. • 47% believe that Visa is “the only card I need”, surpassing local government-linked player China Union Pay who is 2nd at 28%. Accolades from the local media: • “Visa lights up Beijing with Chinese Lanterns!” Jul 31 2008, Beijing Morning Post •“Visa provides tourists and locals an ideal environment to pay…” CCTV News
• Through branded innovations and proximity targeting, all communications were creatively aligned to mimic Chinese symbols – and lent a helping hand to “our visitors”. • ‘Normal’ out of home formats were ignored, but Visa messages adorned traditional Chinese lanterns to light Beijing’s famous bar street, HouHai Jie; a space which provided respite for visitors with a cool drink and night life. Reflecting Visa as an entertainment brand, not simply a lifestyle enabler. • Airports carried pedestrian level lightboxes which used Chinese caligraphy not Arial Bold to stamp Visa with a strong local personality. • Travellers could race Liu Xiang, China’s favourite son to the end of the air-bridge … it looked fantastic, it was fun, and it was a media first for Visa. • Services were provided which reflected well both on Visa and China such as the Visa buggies for Visa Customers at the airport – Visa welcomes u to Beijing Olympics.
Objectives and Challenges: • As an International financial brand, success requires acceptance & endorsement from the local community, to build both brand recognition and trust to drive business … and in China, that means Chinese credentials. • The Beijing Olympics presented an ideal springboard for Visa to demonstrate their oriental credentials. • The challenge was to avoid being seen as a remote “laowai” brand that only foreigners use … and build relevance with the Chinese community • In other words, Think Global, Act Local! Strategy: • To act local, Visa had to be integrated and assimilated into the community, right down at the consumer level. • Outdoor furniture was a core component of the approach to meet the communication challenge.