• Five Lebanese Visa cardholders win the chance of a lifetime
In conclusion of its aspirational Bejing Olympic Games themed cardholder promotion in Lebanon Visa hosted a celebratory finale on June 18th, 2008. Recording an exciting finish for the campaign, Visa stylishly commemorated the marketing efforts related to its longest-running and one of the most successful sponsorship platforms. The event included announcing the winners of the three Grand Prizes offered by Visa and the additional guaranteed bank winners compliments of Audi and BLOM Banks.
It was six weeks ago that Visa launched an Olympic themed promotional campaign targeting both Visa and Visa Electron cardholders in Lebanon. When a cardholder used their Visa card from April 15 through May 30th, they were automatically entered to win one of three Grand Prize trips to attend the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games courtesy of Visa. The package is for two people, including flights, tickets to Olympic events, guided tour of the Great Wall of China and much more!
Hosted at the St. Georges in downtown Beirut, the highlight of the event was a drum roll announcement of Mrs. Gasia Georges Mouradian (Bank of Beirut cardholder), Mr. Ghady Haidar and Mr. Charles Dagher (BLOM Bank cardholders), as the lucky winners of the three trips to Beijing.
Moreover, Bank Audi and BLOM Bank opted to guarantee that one of their cardholders was nominated as a winner, resulting in a total of 5 cardholders receiving pre-paid packages to attend the 2008 Olympic Games tournament. At the event, Mr.Charbel Younan from BLOM Bank and Mr. Bassam Najjar from Audi Bank Infinite cardholder were announced as the winners of two trips for two.
In addition to its national marketing efforts, Visa worked with the merchants to create promotional and point-of-sale marketing programs that use the Visa Olympic platform. These programs included discounts, instant gifts and raffle draws for Visa cardholders shopping at Panasonic, Adidas, McDonald’s, Chopsticks restaurants, Mike Sports and Habre Sports shops.
Speaking at the event, Visa’s Area Manager for the Levant and Qatar, Mr. Tony Gougassian said, “With two decades of sponsorship under our belt, Visa has learned how to maximize the value of the Olympic Games sponsorship for our member banks and merchants. The Olympic Games sponsorship property has thus far delivered strong returns for the member banks, merchants, and cardholders alike. In true Olympic Spirit, I would like to congratulate the five Visa cardholders awarded the Grand Prizes for this promotional campaign and the 5 winners of the online trivia competition with Executive Magazine. Our appreciation also go out to the member banks and merchants that participated in the campaign”
He further stated that the Visa’s Olympic Games’ sponsorship platform stemmed from the company’s belief in the unifying power of sports and the importance of celebrating human achievement. At the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympics Games, Visa is helping athletes realize their dreams, enabling visitors to access convenient and secure payment solutions, in addition to offering cardholders the opportunity to attend the greatest sporting event on earth.
From his end General Souhail Khoury President of the Olympic Committee in Lebanon, thanked Visa for the support it provides to the Olympic Games on international level.
General Khoury informed the audience that the Lebanese Olympic team for 2008 consists of 6 athletes and that he is pleased that the 5 Visa cardholders will join the Lebanese community in China in cheering for their national team and encouraging it.
Visa retains its category exclusivity for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and its position as the only card accepted at the Olympic Games, including ticket sales, Olympic merchandise online, in retail stores and by catalogue; tickets for select Olympic trials, and at all Olympic and Paralympics games in Beijing.
