sponsorship has its privileges - Olympic - Visa

Discount Store News, March 6, 1995 by Teresa Andreoli

So far, Visa seems to be the only bankcard carrying a torch for Olympic marketing. Discover Card said it had nothing brewing yet, and American Express said it had plans but it was still too early to talk about them.

Mastercard will refrain from Olympic-venue activity altogether, and gear up for sponsoring World Cup Soccer 1998 (France) instead.

That leaves Visa--the Worldwide Sponsor of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the Official Card of the 1996 Olympic Games -- by itself in a position of marketing power. The credit card provider has already launched its consumer and retailer promotional campaigns.

Internationally, Visa is building a 1996 version of its "Olympics of the Imagination" contest. The 1994 children's art-oriented contest garnered 160 million print and broadcast impressions worldwide (150 million of which were in the United States, 5.5 million in Canada and 4 million in Norway).

Twenty-five young winners (ages 11 to 13) from Canada, Norway and the United States earned an Olympics-package trip to Norway for their winning designs. The childrens' futuristic drawings--themed what the Olympics will look like in 100 years--were exhibited, then printed as postcards and distributed. Visa has yet to determine what other countries will be involved in the competition for next year's event.

On a national scale, "Visa Rewards for the 1996 Olympic team" is a consumer-interactive campaign promoting the company's multi-million dollar donation to the athletic teams. From now until September 1996, every time a consumer uses a Visa card as a form of payment, Visa makes a donation to the U.S. Olympic Teams until the corporation reaches its guaranteed $2.5 million donation.

"The training program for Olympians here in the U.S. is not subsidized as in other countries," said Bruce McElhinney, vp-marketing for retail and direct marketing industries, Visa.

"[This project] makes it possible for U.S. teams to compete on an international basis. The money that this promotion generates is separate from sponsorship money," McElhinney said.

Visa's member banks handle the marketing and promotion of this particular event by including messages in statement inserts, newsletters and in-bank signage, a spokeswoman for Visa said. Visa may run additional national advertising as summer 1996 approaches, but it remains to be determined, she added.

The second major form of sponsorship promotion involves Atlanta-area retailers. The incentive program, "Visa Rewards for Gold Medal Achievement," is designed t6 motivate merchants to install Olympic-related Visa POS signage--anything from pins and decals to table tents, acrylic shelf signs and tip trays in restaurants.

"We've got a secret patrol in Atlanta that rewards any participating merchants wearing pins or using signage," said Bruce McElhinney, vp-marketing for retail and direct marketing industries.

Visa's investigators hand out $20 travelers checks to staff members and enter the participants in a free Olympic trip package sweepstakes that includes hotel, ticket and transportation accommodations.

Store managers who order the free POS signage are also eligible for an Olympics package. Visa'mailed out 5,500 pieces to Atlanta-area merchants in November to spread the word of the promotion.

The San Francisco-based corporation is also sponsoring the summer U.S. gymnastics team and the USA/Visa decathlon team. This is an area where other bankcards (and corporations) can participate, but so far Visa is the only credit company to do so.

On the most local of scales, bearing Official Card of 1996 Olympic Games status means Visa is the only payment card accepted for onsight purchases of tickets at the various Atlanta sports venues.

In addition, Visa is the Official Card of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB), which entitles the credit card company to team up with the welcome bureau in advertising and promotional programs.

Visa earns the opportunity to have a significant presence in the Welcome South Center in downtown Atlanta as well, where a directory of Visa services and special retail-related programs is posted.

Visa has a 51.3% share of the international bankcard market and a 46.4% share of the domestic market, McElhinney said.

Other programs with merchants are under development, the marketing executive said, but declined to give further details.