So today we are joined by Frank Cooper, the chief marketing officer at Visa, where he leads the brand's global marketing vision and its connection to culture, technology, and consumer expectations. Frank, it is so great to have you with us today.
Thank you for having me. Great to be here.
Thank you. So Frank, I've watched many of your interviews and there's something that you always touch on, which is this idea of culture and its importance when it comes to, you know, it's such a big driving force behind consumer behavior. How does Visa use sports sponsorships as a marketing tool to build emotional connections with fans beyond just traditional advertising?
I'm so glad you asked that question because, you know, a lot of times people hear about Visa or any company that's involved in commerce and they think that there's no way to connect commerce and culture. Our belief is that culture drives commerce. And so what we try to do in doing these large sports sponsorships is to integrate ourselves in a way that we are adding value to either the fan experience or the athlete experience. Like, you know, a traditional sponsor, you can come in, I can post a logo anywhere, most fans don't really care, you know, the logo shows up somewhere, they're okay, it's fine, but they don't really notice it. I can do some advertising around it, they'll kind of remember it, but they have no emotional connection to it. But if I make the fan experience better, and we have a great team that actually does this, if I make something easier for you, if I give you access to a space that you normally don't have access to, you know, if I create content around that, then you're adding value to the fan experience. That's what people remember.
All right. So, I want to ask you about how you move beyond just visibility and creating, you know, like a meaningful, memorable fan experience. How exactly do you do that?
Yeah. So, what we try to do is we try to take a broader view of the fan experience. You know, many times people will think of the fan experience as only being I'm in the stands watching the game, but before you even come to the game, there's fan experience. Can I give you some insight into what's happening? Can I give you a sneak peek at how a player is preparing for the game? When you show up to the stadium, you know, there's access that we can give you, you know, fast lane access through Visa. When you're in the stadium buying something, you know, reducing the friction, those small things make a big difference. And even after the game, we can create content. I just got back from the AFCON finals in Morocco and, you know, it was absolutely insane. Even after the game, there is content that you can create, particularly in social, that keeps it alive and well. But then once in a while, we get to design some experiences that are so, I think, moving. And one actually just moved me when I came back from the game. We give access to kids, really small kids, who get a chance to walk out on the field with their heroes, their players. And so they walk on the pitch with them right before the game. They come through the tunnel and what's amazing about it is that you see the athlete interaction with the kids. And if that doesn't change their perspective on life, I don't know what does. But anyone who's watching it, if you don't feel that moment, I don't know how you don't feel that moment. It's an incredible feeling. So designing those experiences to me are the things that actually make the big difference.
Yeah. Something that really stays with you and you can resonate with, which is interesting because it turns this idea of sponsorship into more of a partnership. You're trying to encourage participation rather than just providing visibility.
Yeah. And I love that you chose that word because, you know, I actually try not to use sponsor much. You know, like if someone says, 'Oh, you're a proud sponsor.' No, I'm not a proud sponsor. We are partners with the platform and we try to figure out ways again to add value to both the platform and fan experience and the athlete experiences. So when you have that mindset, it changes I think what we can deliver and what fans and athletes can receive.
Given that these experiences are designed to move beyond just this idea of awareness that we talked about into providing real actual value. So specifically, how does Visa measure the marketing impact of these sponsorships, or we could call them partnerships, in terms of commercial ROI?
Here's what we know. We know that if we can shift someone's preference for Visa, like they prefer it or they love it or they're loyal to it, any degree of that, it actually drives payment volume. It drives net revenue for us. And so we spend a lot of time thinking about what actually changes preference. And we think product superiority changes preference. And so having a great product at that right moment is really important. And so how the product operates, and we've done this by the way across multiple platforms, we're doing it right now in Milan Cortina for the winter Olympics, you know, where we have a million small businesses that we're bringing in digitally online so that you can reduce that friction, and we did it at the Paris Olympics. And so just reducing the friction, product superiority, that makes a big difference. We know that usage itself makes a difference, the fact that you actually use it becomes a kind of self-perpetuating force. And then cultural relevance, and the thing that most people, I think going back to our original question, ignore is cultural relevance in that context. Are we providing the right experience at the right time? And so we try to pull all those levers because we think those are the things that ultimately drive preference.
Can you give us examples of how Visa improves the payment experience at large events like the ones we talked about while also keeping transactions secure and seamless at the same time?
