Visa is inviting Canadians to participate in a virtual cheer for their favourite Olympic and Paralympic athletes as part of a global campaign built for the upcoming London Games.
Developed by TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles with input from regional offices including TBWA\Toronto, the “Go World” campaign will run in 70 countries. According to Visa executives, it is the largest Games-related campaign in the company’s 25-year history as an Olympic sponsor.
The campaign reflects Visa’s “global, yet local” marketing philosophy, said Brenda Woods, head of marketing for Visa Canada. “There are lots of things that don’t lend themselves to that philosophy as well as the Olympics do,” said Woods. “We look at the Olympics as an opportunity to do something with the power of a global campaign.”
At the heart of “Go World” is social media-based “global cheer,” inviting fans to cheer on 60 Visa-sponsored athletes from 30 countries – collectively known as Team Visa – through the company’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter outlets. Using a “cheer” app found at Cheer.VisaGoWorld.com, fans will also be provided with relevant athlete content based on their likes and preferences.
The campaign also includes locally preferred social networks such as China’s Sina-Weibo and Russia’s VKontakt.
In Canada, Visa is sponsoring six Canadian Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, including swimmer Brent Hayden, diver Emilie Heymans and Paralympic swimmer Benoit Huot.
“We want [the campaign] to be about athletes around the world and people around the world cheering, but we want to make sure that Canadians feel very included in the program and have a chance to cheer for Canadian athletes,” said Woods.
The campaign’s social media component is being supported by a series of TV spots and online videos profiling the Team Visa athletes and recalling memorable moments in Games history. Actor Morgan Freeman is once again the voice of the spots.
The first spot, “The Difference,” is currently appearing on U.S. TV and online in Canada. The spot celebrates some of the most dramatic finishes in Olympic history, including U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps’ 1/100th of a second win in the 100-metre butterfly event at the 2008 Beijing Games and Nadia Comaneci’s perfect 10 at the 1976 Montreal Games.
Fans will also be able to view commercials and training videos on both Facebook and YouTube.
Visa is also automatically entering cardholders in Canada and the United States into a contest for a trip to every Summer Olympics for the rest of their lives beginning with the 2016 Rio Games. The prize includes round-trip airfare and accommodations for two, event transportation and tickets to Olympic sporting events.
Media for the Canadian campaign was handled by OMD Canada.
