Visa are one of the flagship sponsors of the 2008 Olympics. This should provide them with an excellent opportunity to link their brand with some of the most memorable moments ever.Unfortunately some marketing monkey thought it would be a great idea if Visa cards were the only card payment option at official Olympic venues.
This decision, which was not widely communicated before the Games (like that would have helped) and has caused issues not only with supporters but some faily influential coaches and athletes.
The decision smacks of corporate bullying at an event that is centred in "being open to everyone".
Recent reports have suggested that the negative PR has reached a level that people are widely talking about not getting Visa card as a result of this action.
As reported by Rohit, one of the Ogilvy/Lenovo bloggers at the event.
Disclaimer: Ogilvy have worked on American Express Cards for the past 25 odd years
Tags: visa olympic sponsoship bad advertising visa backlash giles rhys jones
2 comments:
I think visa and mastercard always do that at the events they sponsor. It was the same with mastercard at the world cup I think.
That doesn't help though does it Amelia?
The same goes for McDonalds and Coca-cola. The mark of a proper brand like those two would have been to lay unbranded food and water. Instead we had rubbish junk food (crisps in most cases) and it's just not on.
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