Visa unveils sound and vision logo
Visa launches ‘first’ animated logo with unique sound cue for e-commerce transactions
In what it claims is an industry first, Visa International has launched an animated logo with a “unique” sound, designed to extend the company’s brand into e-commerce, mobile commerce, and other emerging forms of payment beyond the traditional point of sale.
The new animated logo and sound will signal that a Visa product is being used for payment over a PC, a mobile phone, a PDA (personal digital assistant) or other types of devices where a physical payment card may not be present. It is meant to convey to users that they can expect the same level of service and security that a Visa product provides in the physical world.
“The sound and animation will be used as a navigational cue when face-to-face service is not possible in the transaction process,” says Caroline McNally, Visa International senior vice-president of global brand management. “It will ensure that our cardholders feel as safe, secure and confident in the virtual world as they do in the physical world when they’re using their Visa cards.”
Visa believes this innovation will play a key role in the new world of “u-commerce” (the “u” stands for “universal”). It anticipates an explosion of new payment media which will allow e-commerce to happen “anywhere, any time, any way.”
McNally explains: “The challenge in today’s market is to ensure that the Visa brand is present even when a Visa card is not. Extending the Visa brand promise within new payment environments will reiterate to our users that they can be confident that Visa lets them do what they want, when and where they want.”
The Visa sound and the animated Visa brand acceptance logo will appear for about two seconds as a transaction is made, announcing that the consumer is in the Visa payment “environment”. Sound and animation were created by Agency.com, in partnership with Animation Dynamics.
One of Visa’s marketing partners, US health website MedicinePlanet.com, will be the first online company to incorporate the new Visa animation and sound into its payment process.
