What is the common factor behind seasoned upholstery in a 1955
Porshe Spyder, St Andrews golf course and a freshly ironed
newspaper?
Prestige and success.
The very images that Visa sought to associate its Visa Platinum
with.
Launched in Asia last year on an invitation-only basis, the Visa
Platinum was aimed at individuals with a minimum annual income of
US$100,000.
Since the product would only interest Asia's most affluent consumers,
the aim was to reach out to them in a way that would appeal to them,
while using the core media they consume, according to Visa's media
agency, Zenith Media.
The communication strategy was designed to say, "This product is only
for a select few."
To reach this select few, Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore devised a creative
strategy that zeroed in on the target audience's knowledge and
appreciation of the very best things in life.
The agency gave a new twist to the technology behind the scented strip
of cosmetics and fragrance advertisements, which have become a common
feature in consumer magazines.
Much in the same way that the fragrance-laced strips allowed readers to
"sample" the product being advertised in a bid to prompt purchase,
Visa's "open and sniff" strip concept featured the scent of success and
prestige - seasoned leather upholstery in a Porshe Spyder,
freshly-ironed newspapers and the smell of freshly-cut grass from St
Andrews golf course in Scotland.
With these scents, the campaign brought to life the hallmarks of
prestige, which the target audience could identify with.
Complementing the creative brainwave, Zenith chose regional print media
for the campaign, describing the choice as a "natural fit" for the Visa
Platinum since the majority of readers were in the top 10 per cent of
Asia's income bracket.
"As there are so many messages in regional media targeted to Asian
affluents, we needed to impact them in a unique and innovative way to
reinforce the creative message, to ensure the message was not lost.
"It was not enough to just run a simple advert. As Visa Platinum is 'the
ultimate', we needed a more expensive, more intelligent media
approach."
As it turned out, the strategy of using and updating a traditional media
idea of fragrance-laced strips turned out to be a breakthrough
concept.
Far fewer media inserts were needed to generate awareness, making it a
very cost efficient campaign, according to Zenith.
- This ongoing National Geographic Showcase series features selected
material from winners and other entries in the Best Use of Media
category in MEDIA's Agency of the Year Awards 1999.
