Insight
VISA cardholders love to travel, and when they do, they enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a VISA card. Today that means being a partner every step of the way; from choosing unique destinations and adventures, to making great memories, to having the right support system in unexpected situations. The brand became that partner for Visa cardholders throughout their entire journey: from planning and booking, to enjoying their travel experiences, it gave them real peace of mind.
Strategy
Visa client had a big goal: Make VISA the preferred paying method for travelling in Latin America. OMD's strategy empowered consumers to demonstrate Visa is the best partner while travelling. Through social media channels, Facebook & Twitter, it allowed participants to choose their favourite Latin American destinations. Each week a social media contest allowed the community to select a city to visit. It partnered with Discovery Networks and launched in primetime an exclusive branded TV show: Check-In VISA.
Execution
Check-In VISA is a travel show featuring destinations chosen by the social media community each week. The content of each episode comes from social media requests & suggestions. Each episode showcased one of a kind attractions, restaurants, unique ‘what to do’s’ and, of course, the benefits of paying with Visa. After the show aired, offers became available to cardholders on the biggest travel website in Latin America, Despegar.com.
A dedicated branded section of the website Check-In VISA provided the best promotions on airline tickets, hotels and touristic packages to the seven destinations chosen by consumers. With every transaction confirmation, Despegar.com sent a Post e-Ticket with further information on the destination and the perks of paying with VISA. Lastly, a newsletter provided a constant stream of informative destination content.
The show was supported online and on cable with promos with a recognised travel blogger, Sonia Gil, endorsing Check-In Visa and reinforcing the benefits of traveling with Visa. These capsules were rotated on TLC, Discovery Channel and Discovery Home & Health. In addition to the capsules, Sonia Gil created special videos for her blog and YouTube channel “Sonia’s travel” where she showcased how travellers could benefit from using Visa Premium and its benefits.
Results
The great thing about this programme is that everyone benefited from the engagement. The strategic alliance with Despegar.com was hugely successful. Purchases from all the countries to the specific destinations increased on an average of 57%. On the Check-in microsite Visa had transactions of over $3m dollars surpassing all initial objectives. In Colombia, transactions were of $1.46m, in Chile $873,012 and in Peru $766,725.
Visa became the preferred payment method on the site with a 54.6% share of all transactions - a growth of 14% in four months, six points over the initial target. Despegar.com reported that the sales of airline tickets and hotel reservations hit new heights, with more volume during the campaign than at any other time of the year.
In terms of awareness, people exposed to the show presented higher levels of brand awareness and platinum card benefit understanding: International Medical assistance (+ 17 pts), car rental insurance (+13 pts), Purchase protection (+10 pts) and Access to Hotel benefits (+9 pts).