Visa aims to clarify global breadth of its role in refresh

Founded more than 60 years ago, global payments technology company Visa is refreshing its brand identity and reminding us of the diverse capabilities of its network.

Backed by a film created by Wieden & Kennedy and a modernised look, a localised version of the "Meet Visa" global refresh of the digital commerce platform launches in the UK today.

Suzy Brown, head of marketing for UK and Ireland, told Campaign: “The challenge for us is that around the world Visa is a trusted and really well-known brand, but actually when you ask people what we do, they give you all kinds of different answers. That we’re a credit card, a debit card, maybe even a bank in in certain situations.

“This is really our opportunity to maybe open people's eyes a little bit more in terms of the diverse nature of what Visa does, which is opening up commerce around the world. Like in the ad, Visa allows the guy who’s making jeans on the side of a mountain to actually sell them to people anywhere on Earth, so the world really does become his oyster.

“It’s also around the gig economy worker, so he can access what he's earned whenever it suits him. And if you think about the number of people who want to send money around the world to family and friends, it's that kind of diversity that we really wanted to promote, so that people had a better understanding of Visa being a global payments technology company.”

Globally, the Visa network connects 3.6 billion credentials (cards), more than 70 million merchant locations, tens of thousands of partners, and powers more than $11tn (£8tn) in transactions annually.

"Meet Visa", created by Wieden & Kennedy and directed by Malik Hassan Sayeed, made its debut in Japan, North America and Latin America during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics in July. Now it launches in the UK and Ireland and, over the course of 2021, it will appear in all 200-plus countries and territories in which the brand operates.

Brown added: “Our purpose is to enable more people to partake in the economy. More businesses, more individuals, more governments to move money around easily and safely. That’s really at the heart of what we do and what drives us.

“We’ve set ourselves the challenge of helping to digitise 50 million small and micro businesses around the world, of which eight million of those are in Europe. I feel incredibly proud of that, especially since the pandemic and some of the lockdowns that we've all been through. If small businesses can't be part of the digital economy, then they're obviously going to be in quite a difficult situation.”

The brand refresh will also roll out across TikTok and Twitch via Publicis, in an effort to engage with younger audiences.

As well as TV spots and video-on-demand, an out-of-home campaign will feature across major cities in the UK, including platform signage across Waterloo Station, buses and black cabs.

Lynne Biggar, executive vice-president and global chief marketing officer, said: “We are on a mission to ensure that Visa is seen as more than a credit card company and understood as a trusted network that drives commerce forward.

“With the world reopening and with money increasingly moving in new ways, there’s no better time to showcase the work we do and the impact a purpose-driven brand with Visa’s scale can have to enable individuals, businesses and economies to thrive.”