Visa International refreshes its brand

Visa International has refreshed and evolved its brand identity and architecture. The changes include a new look for the famous blue, white and gold Visa logo and changes to card design and security features.

Robert Clark, Senior Vice President and General Manager for sub-Saharan Africa, Visa International said, "We need to evolve the way the brand is used to enable consumers and merchants to distinguish between different Visa products and services while continuing to trust Visa to enable them to make efficient secure payments anywhere in the world. We are also taking this opportunity to refresh the look and feel of the brand to ensure it remains up to date and relevant."

The brand identity and architecture project started in November 2002 with a full review of Visa's brand architecture, one that led to the strategic thinking behind the choice of the new Visa brand mark. It was this thinking that informed and directed the entire process.

This strategic framework allows Visa to deliver the 'everyday ally' strategy via the new brand mark. The new mark is crisp, clear and concise. It amply reflects the wider range of payment solutions that Visa offer members and, indeed, cardholders.

Evolution of the logo



The new logo is a distinct evolutionary development of the original brand mark.

"The significance of the new logo is that it gives the organisation a completely new identity", says Marcelle Arnold, Marketing Manager for sub-Saharan Africa at Visa International. "We will no longer be seen as a credit card brand but as a provider of a large number of payment solutions."

The updated brand will work better across new technologies and payment channels, such as the Internet, mobile phones and handheld devices. As well as a refreshed Visa logo on the card and at the point-of-sale, it will allow for a new card format that will complement the issuer's own brand. The well-known Visa dove hologram on the front of the card will be moved to the back and be integrated with the magnetic stripe, making card counterfeiting more difficult while allowing a larger part of the front of the card to be used for new issuer designs or communication.

Visa aims to create a brand look that's right for their business, their member banks and the world around them. The Visa brand offers the following value:

Value to consumers. The Visa's brand assures consumers that by using any card with the familiar blue and gold logo, they can expect near universal acceptance worldwide, convenience, security, protection from fraud, dispute resolution and other features.

Value to merchants. Visa's brand assures merchants guaranteed payment (once the transaction has been authorised), speed and efficiency in closing a transaction, and a potential increase in sales (since industry research indicates consumers typically spend more with cards than the do with cash and checks).

Value to member banks. Since Visa's brand communicates the values we mentioned earlier to consumers and merchants (reinforced with aggressive marketing), we believe this frees up member banks' from having to articulate the basic value of payment cards.

Visa International believes that the new brand identity will give them the flexibility to meet the demands of today's payment solutions marketplace.