Visa 2008 Annual Report Download - page 14

Table of Contents
Core to all Visa Commercial payment platforms are information management, reconciliation and reporting, which integrate payment data into company
financial systems. Visa Information Management is a web-based tool that provides access to a suite of reporting and information tools in multiple languages
to companies using any of the Visa Commercial platforms.
Product Platform Innovation
We invest in the development and enhancement of payment product platforms with the goal of increasing the migration of consumer and business
spending to electronic payments. We believe that innovation results in more secure and versatile payment program options for customers, merchants and
consumers. We focus on new payment channels, card technologies, payment account access devices and authentication methods, and have recently made
significant investments in the development of contactless payment cards and devices, mobile payments, chip cards, magnetic stripe and unembossed card
enhancements, and money transfer.
Payments Network Management
We devote significant resources to ensure that Visa is the payments network of choice for customers, merchants and cardholders. We seek to
accomplish this by promoting our brand through marketing and sponsorship activities, increasing acceptance of Visa-branded cards around the world and
ensuring that the system operates in a reliable and secure manner for all of our network participants.
Brand Management and Promotion
We engage in a variety of activities designed to maintain and enhance the value of our brand. Our integrated approach to brand management and
promotion combines advertising, sponsorships, promotions and public relations to create programs that build active preference for products carrying our
brand, promote product usage, increase product acceptance and support cardholder acquisition and retention. For merchants, we work to ensure that the Visa
brand represents timely and guaranteed payment, as well as a way to increase their business profitably. For our customers, our marketing is designed to
support their card issuance, activation and usage efforts while complementing and enhancing the value of their own brands. For cardholders, we work to
ensure that Visa is a symbol of security, convenience and acceptance. By emphasizing these core attributes of our brand, we aim to reinforce the recognition
that Visa is "The World's Best Way to Pay."
Advertising plays a critical role in building brand awareness and equity, as well as communicating the benefits of our brand and Visa-branded payment
products. Through our advertising campaigns, we strive to provide a consistent, recognizable and compelling message that supports our brand positioning.
During 2006, we launched our "Life Takes Visa" brand campaign in the United States, reinforcing our brand promise to deliver innovative products and
services that empower our cardholders to experience life and business their way and on their terms. In other regions, we promote these same brand messages
through tailored regional and country-specific advertising campaigns, such as our "All It Takes" campaign in AP and our "Porque La Vida es Ahora"
("Because Life is Now") campaign in LAC.
We establish global marketing relationships to promote the Visa brand and to allow customers to conduct marketing programs in conjunction with
major sporting and entertainment events. Our primary global sponsorship platforms are the Olympic Games, for which we have been the exclusive payment
card sponsor since 1986, and the FIFA World Cup. Through these marketing relationships, our customers may develop marketing programs that include the
Visa brand and mention our sponsorship status. In addition, we engage in marketing and sponsorship activities around other national and local events or with
associations and companies to provide customized marketing platforms to customers in certain countries and regions.
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