The incumbent also pitched against Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco. The latter suffered a double whammy by not winning the business, because last year it had resigned its $80m Discover Card account in anticipation of the Visa pitch.
Visa's European ad account, which covers the UK, is unaffected by the review and remains with Saatchi & Saatchi.
In terms of its advertising, Visa is significantly more active in the US than in other markets. Its campaigns tend to feature stars such as Kevin Bacon and basketball player Yao Ming and use the slogan "It's everywhere you want to be".
However, the increasingly aggressive stance of rivals MasterCard and American Express was one of the main reasons for the advertising review. Visa is also eager to better exploit marketing opportunities beyond TV advertising, especially online.
Visa is currently in the process of reviewing its $450m global media planning and buying business. The lion's share of its spend is focused on the US, where OMD USA handles the account. The agency also manages Visa's media in Asia, having won the business in 2000. Mediaedge:cia is responsible for the 拢5m UK planning and buying account as part of the European relationship with Visa.
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