Visa International Introduces Sound and Animation to Payments
(EMAILWIRE.COM, December 20, 2000 ) In an industry first, Visa International has introduced a new animated logo with a unique sound designed to extend the company's brand in e-commerce, mobile commerce, and other emerging forms of payment beyond the 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 also will signal to the user that they can expect the same high level of convenience and security that a Visa product provides in the physical world.
'Navigational Cue'
"The sound and animation will be used as a navigational cue when face-to-face service is not possible in the transaction process," said Caroline McNally, Visa International's 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. The Visa-branded sound will be associated with the Visa brand exclusively to signal to our users that Visa is the best payment choice in this new world of u-commerce."
U-commerce, or "universal" commerce is Visa's vision of an emerging payments future where commerce can be conducted anywhere, anytime, anyway, with a variety of new and emerging payment devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and set-top boxes.
"The challenge in today's marketplace is to ensure that the Visa brand is present even when a Visa card is not," said McNally. "Extending the Visa brand promise within new payment environments-- whether they be mobile phones or Web sites -- will reinforce to our users that they can be confident Visa lets them do what they want, when and where they want."
Sending a Signal
In these new commerce channels, the Visa sound and the animated Visa brand acceptance logo (flag) will appear for approximately two seconds as a transaction is made, announcing that the consumer is in the Visa payment environment. The new sound and animation signals the speed, convenience and security associated with Visa's brand. It uses sound design elements combined with a traditional melody that reflects the dynamic, contemporary character of the Visa brand.
One of Visa's marketing partners, MedicinePlanet(SM), Inc., will be the first online company to incorporate the new Visa animation and sound into its payment process.
"Visa's u-commerce vision fits well with MedicinePlanet's philosophy of providing access to healthcare anytime, anywhere," said Mark Pruzanski, MD, MedicinePlanet's President and CEO. "As the pioneer in mobile health, MedicinePlanet is pleased to partner with another leader in the emerging wireless economy."
In August, Visa International teamed up with MedicinePlanet to offer cardholders online and mobile health resources. Visa cardholders have access to credible, up-to-date travel health news, information and services via the Internet and wireless devices. By visiting www.medicineplanet.com, travelers can learn about regional health alerts, precautions, outbreaks, common hazards, and immunization requirements. The company's Mobile Medical Network(SM) provides real-time, location-specific, and personalized healthcare tools and services available through wireless devices. MedicinePlanet also offers a travel health store, travel insurance, global news and alerts, and travel health clinic information.
Animation to Expand
The animation will continue to roll out in other emerging technology products and will ultimately be heard and seen in most markets worldwide in the next several years. Visa anticipates a wide spectrum of uses for the sound and animation ranging from pure brand expressions such as part of the sign-on to its Web site, www.visa.com, to being directly tied to the Visa payment experience.
The sound and animation for the Visa brand were created by AGENCY.COM (Nasdaq: ACOM), a leading e-business builder in global markets that offers its clients strategy, branding and technology services across all interactive channels. AGENCY.COM created the unique identifying sound, and partnered with Animation Dynamics, Inc., to develop an animation of the Visa brand. The sound and logo will be used in a variety of "Visa-branded" situations including, and uniquely appropriate for, u-commerce.
"Visa is a company that has demonstrated the vision needed to position itself at the forefront of e-commerce on mobile devices and AGENCY.COM is proud to be working with them to develop and implement interactive solutions for their next generation of business needs," said Chan Suh, Chairman and CEO of AGENCY.COM. "We believe we are in a unique position to help them execute this vision, technically and strategically, which will leverage the Visa brand across multiple digital channels."
Sound and animation are frequently used as navigation cues in such areas as the telephone (AT&T), the PC (Microsoft), and on television (NBC) to support brands. "In the future, as technology replaces face-to-face interaction in environments where cards are not present, signaling what type of payment choice has been made will become very important," McNally noted.
To view and hear the Visa sound and animation, go to www.visa.com/animation. To view it in operation on a merchant site, go to www.medicineplanet.com and click on the "Travel Kits" section with the Visa logo.
About Visa
Visa is the world's leading payments brand and the largest payments system worldwide. Visa-branded cards generate more than US$1.6 trillion in annual volume and are accepted at nearly 20 million locations around the world. The Visa organization plays a pivotal role in advancing new payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa is a leader in Internet based payments and is pioneering the creation of u-commerce, or universal commerce - the ability to conduct commerce anytime, anywhere, over any type of device. Visit Visa at www.visa.com.
About AGENCY.COM
AGENCY.COM is a leading e-business builder in global markets. The company provides strategy, branding and technology services that help its clients build and grow their interactive business across multiple digital channels - the Web, wireless and interactive television. Founded in January 1995, AGENCY.COM is headquartered in New York and has offices in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dallas, London, Paris, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Vail (CO), Woodbridge (NJ) and affiliate offices in Miami (FL), Seoul, Korea and Singapore. AGENCY.COM serves a broad and diversified global client base in a variety of industries, including 3M, Bank of America, British Airways, Colgate-Palmolive, Compaq, Heineken, Incyte Genomics and Reuters. For more information, please visit www.agency.com.
For more information about Animation Dynamics Inc. (ADI), go to www.flypixels.com, contact Kate Ertmann or Jamie Elmer at (503) 227-5914, or email kate@flypixels.com, or jamie@flypixels.com.
------------------------
Produced for Visa International
Contact: Michael T. Sherman, Visa International
650-432-3923
e-mail: sherman@visa.com
------------------------
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 also will signal to the user that they can expect the same high level of convenience and security that a Visa product provides in the physical world.
'Navigational Cue'
"The sound and animation will be used as a navigational cue when face-to-face service is not possible in the transaction process," said Caroline McNally, Visa International's 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. The Visa-branded sound will be associated with the Visa brand exclusively to signal to our users that Visa is the best payment choice in this new world of u-commerce."
U-commerce, or "universal" commerce is Visa's vision of an emerging payments future where commerce can be conducted anywhere, anytime, anyway, with a variety of new and emerging payment devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and set-top boxes.
"The challenge in today's marketplace is to ensure that the Visa brand is present even when a Visa card is not," said McNally. "Extending the Visa brand promise within new payment environments-- whether they be mobile phones or Web sites -- will reinforce to our users that they can be confident Visa lets them do what they want, when and where they want."
Sending a Signal
In these new commerce channels, the Visa sound and the animated Visa brand acceptance logo (flag) will appear for approximately two seconds as a transaction is made, announcing that the consumer is in the Visa payment environment. The new sound and animation signals the speed, convenience and security associated with Visa's brand. It uses sound design elements combined with a traditional melody that reflects the dynamic, contemporary character of the Visa brand.
One of Visa's marketing partners, MedicinePlanet(SM), Inc., will be the first online company to incorporate the new Visa animation and sound into its payment process.
"Visa's u-commerce vision fits well with MedicinePlanet's philosophy of providing access to healthcare anytime, anywhere," said Mark Pruzanski, MD, MedicinePlanet's President and CEO. "As the pioneer in mobile health, MedicinePlanet is pleased to partner with another leader in the emerging wireless economy."
In August, Visa International teamed up with MedicinePlanet to offer cardholders online and mobile health resources. Visa cardholders have access to credible, up-to-date travel health news, information and services via the Internet and wireless devices. By visiting www.medicineplanet.com, travelers can learn about regional health alerts, precautions, outbreaks, common hazards, and immunization requirements. The company's Mobile Medical Network(SM) provides real-time, location-specific, and personalized healthcare tools and services available through wireless devices. MedicinePlanet also offers a travel health store, travel insurance, global news and alerts, and travel health clinic information.
Animation to Expand
The animation will continue to roll out in other emerging technology products and will ultimately be heard and seen in most markets worldwide in the next several years. Visa anticipates a wide spectrum of uses for the sound and animation ranging from pure brand expressions such as part of the sign-on to its Web site, www.visa.com, to being directly tied to the Visa payment experience.
The sound and animation for the Visa brand were created by AGENCY.COM (Nasdaq: ACOM), a leading e-business builder in global markets that offers its clients strategy, branding and technology services across all interactive channels. AGENCY.COM created the unique identifying sound, and partnered with Animation Dynamics, Inc., to develop an animation of the Visa brand. The sound and logo will be used in a variety of "Visa-branded" situations including, and uniquely appropriate for, u-commerce.
"Visa is a company that has demonstrated the vision needed to position itself at the forefront of e-commerce on mobile devices and AGENCY.COM is proud to be working with them to develop and implement interactive solutions for their next generation of business needs," said Chan Suh, Chairman and CEO of AGENCY.COM. "We believe we are in a unique position to help them execute this vision, technically and strategically, which will leverage the Visa brand across multiple digital channels."
Sound and animation are frequently used as navigation cues in such areas as the telephone (AT&T), the PC (Microsoft), and on television (NBC) to support brands. "In the future, as technology replaces face-to-face interaction in environments where cards are not present, signaling what type of payment choice has been made will become very important," McNally noted.
To view and hear the Visa sound and animation, go to www.visa.com/animation. To view it in operation on a merchant site, go to www.medicineplanet.com and click on the "Travel Kits" section with the Visa logo.
About Visa
Visa is the world's leading payments brand and the largest payments system worldwide. Visa-branded cards generate more than US$1.6 trillion in annual volume and are accepted at nearly 20 million locations around the world. The Visa organization plays a pivotal role in advancing new payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa is a leader in Internet based payments and is pioneering the creation of u-commerce, or universal commerce - the ability to conduct commerce anytime, anywhere, over any type of device. Visit Visa at www.visa.com.
About AGENCY.COM
AGENCY.COM is a leading e-business builder in global markets. The company provides strategy, branding and technology services that help its clients build and grow their interactive business across multiple digital channels - the Web, wireless and interactive television. Founded in January 1995, AGENCY.COM is headquartered in New York and has offices in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dallas, London, Paris, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Vail (CO), Woodbridge (NJ) and affiliate offices in Miami (FL), Seoul, Korea and Singapore. AGENCY.COM serves a broad and diversified global client base in a variety of industries, including 3M, Bank of America, British Airways, Colgate-Palmolive, Compaq, Heineken, Incyte Genomics and Reuters. For more information, please visit www.agency.com.
For more information about Animation Dynamics Inc. (ADI), go to www.flypixels.com, contact Kate Ertmann or Jamie Elmer at (503) 227-5914, or email kate@flypixels.com, or jamie@flypixels.com.
------------------------
Produced for Visa International
Contact: Michael T. Sherman, Visa International
650-432-3923
e-mail: sherman@visa.com
------------------------
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Tel:
Email us
This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.
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