Visa refreshes brand identity after seven years

Seven years after it made its last brand refresh, Visa, the global finance giant, is changing again. This time, its new identity, 'Meet Visa', which is expected to debut during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, is a nod to the company's evolution from a cards issuer to a much broader financial-services and tech platform.

Developed by Visa’s new global creative agency of record, Wieden+Kennedy, the refresh lands with a short film directed by Malik Hassan Sayeed, which invites the world to meet a network working for everyone. Complementing this introductory film is a series of shorter digital films and photographic elements that showcase the breadth of the Visa network. Visa also worked with photographer Camilla Falquez and Argentinian directing team Pantera & Co—Brian Kazez, Pato Martinez and Francisco Canton—on the campaign. 

The brand overhaul focuses on the areas of trust, security, acceptance and inclusion, and the firm has worked to build a new visual identity with brand design firm Mucho. The ‘Meet Visa’ campaign shares a glimpse into the evolved visual brand identity launching later this year, featuring refreshed colours for digital impact, a custom font and an updated brand symbol. 

Over the course of 2021, Visa’s new brand identity will become visible in all 200+ countries and territories in which the company operates. In APAC, the identity will launch first in Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India before rolling out beyond. APAC marketing chief Danielle Jin told Campaign Asia-Pacific that the campaign will roll out in 18 markets worldwide by the end of the week and 40 markets by the end of the year. 

"Our business has become more expansive and includes categories such as B2B payments, crypto, fintech and P2P payments," she said. "We wanted to make sure we evolve our brands with our business." The campaign will be run across film, TV, digital and OOH.

“People think they ‘know’ Visa," said Lynne Biggar, executive vice president and global chief marketing officer. "Consumers and businesses trust the power of those four letters and see it when they open their wallet, pay a vendor, walk into a store or check out online. What they don’t see is how those four letters operate the most dynamic network of people, partnerships and products." 

Visa said its network connects 3.6 billion credentials, over 70 million merchant locations and tens of thousands of partners, while powering more than $11 trillion in total volume annually.

"We don't regard ourselves as a credit card company, we are a technology payments firm," Jin contended. Over the last five years alone, Visa has also invested $9 billion in its technology backbone. 

“We are capturing the bold ambition of Visa with this brand evolution as a way to express what we stand for and what we strive for,” added Biggar. “With the world reopening and with money increasingly moving in new ways, there’s no better time to showcase the work we do and the impact a purpose-driven brand with Visa’s scale can have to enable individuals, businesses and economies to thrive.”