Survey: Wal-Mart Among Best 'Value' Brands†

YouGovPolimetrix places AIG at bottom of insurance heap

Adweek, November 4, 2008 — A recent survey by YouGovPolimetrix revealed that the slumping economy is having a significant impact on how consumers perceive brand value. Budget brands like Wal-Mart and Old Navy were ranked highest by consumers, while more upscale brands and financial services firms ranked lowest, reflecting a loss of consumer confidence.

Life Takes Visa in New Marketing Direction†

CMO Antonio Lucio on How It Plans to Keep Consumer Confidence Up and Use Media to Get Results

Advertising Age, October 20, 2008 — Visa's first global chief marketing officer, Antonio Lucio, joined the company last November after 12 years at PepsiCo. In less than a year, he's overseen both a global-media-agency search and a global-creative-agency search and consolidation of the marketer's $600 million account. Now he is preparing for next year's review of interactive and direct agencies and is helping Visa navigate the transition from private to publicly traded company after an $18 billion public offering in March. He's also consolidating messaging and marketing processes around the world.

Offer Consumers a Meaningful Service†

Understand What Your Target Needs, Deliver It and Stick With It

Advertising Age, July 28, 2008 — It's just common sense that if you give a little, you'll usually get a little in return. But to paraphrase President Harry S. Truman, that (inadvertent) font of marketing wisdom, "If common sense were so common, more [marketers] would have it." Marketing is nothing more or less than an exchange of value. The better the value the marketer provides, the more time and attention they'll usually get back from their target. If the value delivered by the marketer is exceptional, then the consumer will pay back the marketer with loyalty and brand evangelism in good times and bad.

To Make the Card Special, Try the Warm and Familiar

New York Times, February 8, 2006 — FOR 20 years, Visa USA said its credit cards were ''everywhere you want to be.'' But the image of the cards is so fleeting in Visa's new campaign, its first attempt to refashion itself since 1986, that you will need to set your TiVo in slow motion to see them.