Visa Offers Speed-Shopper's Dream: Free Holiday Purchases, for 1Second

Credit-card market leader Visa is looking to spur holiday card usage by seducing consumers with an opportunity to win every shopper's fantasy: the chance to use a credit card without any obligation to pay.

"Magic Moments," running through the peak November-December shopping season, will spike charge volume by giving away all Visa purchases transacted in the U.S. during a randomly selected second each day for 61 days. Visa cardholders will have a 1-in-86,400 daily chance of hitting pay dirt each day. Visa will support the promo with "slightly less" than the $20 million behind last year's "Read Me A Story" children's literacy program, but deliver the same GRPs, said svp marketing services Bob Pifke. Also supporting will be 100 million statement inserts, 40 million more than for "Read Me A Story."

The ad support begins with a two-week teaser out-door campaign late this week that will ask consumers in top-10 markets if they "Believe in Magic?" Additional outdoor follows in November, plus print, POP, mall ads and 60-second network radio ads that employ the old B.J. Thomas hit "This Magic Moment." Local newspaper ads will feature winners.

There's only one night of TV backing the promo, but it's a doozy: Visa will roadblock Thanksgiving eve with a dedicated promo spot that will appear simultaneously on ABC, CBS, NBC, WB and UPN at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (Fox wasn't available because it is showing a commercial-free presentation of Jumanji, sponsored by Toys "R" Us).

"We launch at the beginning of November, so the roadblock is really designed to give it a spike as the heavy holiday shopping period begins," said Pifke. "But the really appealing part of this is that everyone thinks they can win."

BBDO's creative for what will be the most short-lived Visa spot in history will show a cuckoo clock and will include the news that the Thanksgiving weekend will include additional "Magic Moments." Pifke said Visa expects to give away more than $1 million during the promo to around 12,000 anticipated winners. Still, with no limit on purchase size, Visa has bought insurance against further exposure. Its processing network can handle up to 3,200 transactions per second, a high normally reached during the holiday shopping frenzy. Like other card marketers, Visa is eschewing cause-related holiday promos for something evoking the more capitalistic side of the holiday spirit. AmEx dropped its "Charge Against Hunger" a few years back.

Pifke said "Magic Moments" tested better than any prior Visa promotional concept, with 78% of those surveyed expressing interest, nearly half of cardholders saying they would increase Visa card use during the promo, and 30%-plus saying the contest would make them switch to paying with Visa from other cards during the promo.

Some Visa issuers and merchants are fashioning proprietary "Magic Moments" overlays. Citibank, the nation's top card issuer, is offering a $1,000 shopping spree; Dell Computer is offering to rebate the cost of an entire computer purchased online, and Best Buy is offering a "Magic Moment" every hour it is open during Thanksgiving weekend.

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