Credit Cards Marketing

If gold decorations were awarded for marketing consistency, the credit card industry would be the Sarah Ted Hughes of the business world. Major participants Visa and MasterCard, who have got maintained their steady rates of disbursement and committedness to their placement chopine for years, will lodge to their constituted modus operandis this year. Freshening their programs will be updated originative and the occasional pushing behind new merchandises and promotions.

Discover and American Express will blend it up by introducing new taglines, but they will maintain to their traditional large advertisement passes to convey their messages to consumers.

MasterCard, which last twelvemonth spent $197 million, per CMR, will go on its successful "Priceless" political campaign through 2002. In improver to general brand-building spots, MasterCard will utilize advertisement to back up respective key promotions. One summertime spot, for example, will tout its Major League Baseball sponsorship and a programme called "Memorable Moments." The publicity inquires fans to vote for their top baseball game moments, with the victors slated for acknowledgment in the Baseball Hallway of Fame. Another advertisement highlights the "Priceless Edge" internship program, a youth-focused inaugural offering participants the opportunity to take amusement business social classes and work on MTV's Music in High Places.

MasterCard also will have its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup, particularly in reaching out to Latino audiences.

Holiday will be an of import time period for the brand. Debra Coughlin, svp-global North American brandbuilding for MasterCard, said last year's promotional-driven advertising, which focused on "priceless" gifts that could be won through using the card, worked particularly well.

Visa, not surprisingly, also bes after to pass in the 4th quarter. "That's when there is an inordinate amount of retail spending, so it's an of import clip framework for a usage message," said Liz Silver, Visa svp-advertising and trade name management. Back-to-school is another cardinal period. Visa will maintain the longtime "It's everywhere you desire to be" placement this year. With tons of dollars allocated to its 2002 Olympic Games sponsorship, much of Visa's other advertisement will concentrate on its cardinal partnerships with the National Football League, NASCAR, the Ternary Crown and Broadway.

Besides general branding and usage ads, Visa will back up the check card (a "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" topographic point currently is running) and its "Verified by Visa" product, an online hallmark service for card users making Internet purchases. Visa's advertisement pass last twelvemonth was $251 million, per CMR. American Express, which spent $154 million in 2001, recently launched an extended trade name political campaign with the new tag, "Make life rewarding." The initial form includes nine television spots, some of which highlight the overall trade name while others have specific American Stock Exchange services, such as as financial planning or travel assistance. American Stock Exchange also bowed advertisements for its new small business network, OPEN, earlier this year.

Discover Card, meanwhile, is bringing back the "It pays to discover" tag, replacing "For the slightly smarter consumer." This summer, Discover will pass on the convenience of its just-introduced 2G0 card, an oblong-shaped card housed in a plastic lawsuit that tin be attached to a cardinal chain. Discover also will go on its sponsorship of ESPN's College GameDay program, with publicities and advertisement related to college football. New this springtime is the "Discover Card Shops with Lucky" platform, a 12-city circuit done in conjunction with Lucky magazine. The program, which will have local advertisement support, includes manner shows, makeovers and hair audiences at retail locations including Guess?, Sephora and Nine West. Discover spent $82 million in 2001, per CMR.

Finally, the bombilation around bit cards, a talked-about trend last twelvemonth as Visa and American Express touted their entries in the category, have quieted. Chips cards carry engineering that tin shop consumer information and allow peculiar market sections to be targeted, giving a agency to reserve and reward customers. But merchants must utilize still-rare readers in order for the cards' benefits to activate, making their existent degree of functionality in the existent human race low.