Visa Goes for Gold as Sponsor of London 2012 Olympic Games

Visa, one of the world’s leading payment solution providers, is celebrating its long-standing worldwide sponsorship of the Olympic Games with one its biggest ever regional campaigns.

As an Olympic partner since 1986, Visa continues to be the exclusive card of the Olympic Games and official payment service of the International Olympic Committee with Visa being the only card accepted at all Olympic venues for all official Olympic-related transactions.

As part of its sponsorship, Visa is delivering a high impact advertising campaign across the Middle East, and is also offering Visa cardholders in each market the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to London to see The Games in action for themselves.

Visa’s eye-catching ‘Go World’ campaign was unveiled to the public last month featuring an interactive 3-D activation in Dubai, which enabled Visa to promote its involvement with The Games in a fun and engaging way. The high impact advertising campaign has now been rolled out across the GCC and will be launched this month in Egypt.

The extensive campaign will run until July and with a series of below-the-line initiatives, including a dedicated PR and social media campaign, complimenting the advertising campaign. As part of Visa’s worldwide sponsorship of The Games, Visa will be running a series of promotions giving over 100 Visa cardholders across the region the opportunity to attend the Games in London with a friend during the summer. In the Egypt, 4 prizes packages are on offer directly from Visa, with customers of local banks having additional chances to win this much coveted prize as part of exclusive partnerships with Visa.

As the world’s biggest sporting event, the Olympic and Paralympic Games provide Visa with an unparalleled opportunity to promote our brand to our broad and diverse customer base and to reinforce preference for Visa products and services at an international and local level.
As a result, Visa has utilized its sponsorship of the last twelve Olympic Games to increase its global brand leadership, grow Visa transaction volume, expand acceptance in new and emerging markets and enhance preference for its products and services.

“Visa is thrilled to offer our customers the opportunity to win an unparalleled experience, attending the 2012 Olympic Games in London, said Tarek Elhousseiny, General Manager Visa North & Francophone Africa.  “Over the years, Visa’s use of the Olympic sponsorship to support its business has evolved with its business strategy.  We have shifted focus throughout the years from highlighting the exclusive acceptance of Visa at the Olympic Games to promoting the benefits such as security and convenience of using Visa cards instead of cash and also to facilitate the development and advancement of the payment infrastructure in host countries.”