The news: Visa’s newest Milano Cortina Olympics campaign, “Always With You For Whatever’s Ahead of You,” features elite alpine and cross-country skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Oksana Masters, per a press release.

Why this matters: Visa is unmissable at this year’s Winter Olympics, as the long-term official payments partner of the event since 1986. With Milan Olympic viewership up among both Europeans and Americans, per WBD Sports and NBC, Visa enjoys a massive boost in positive brand association against elite athletes’ performance, earning potential goodwill and loyalty from viewers.

Other strategic concerns: Visa is also battling murmurs of discontent among board members at the European Central Bank, who are looking to divest from US-controlled rails, per CNBC. The Olympic Games highlights this tension, as attendees of the events can only pay with Visa-backed cards, leading to settlement hangups. 

In addition, Visa’s advertising approach diverges from its rival, Mastercard in terms of presentation. While Visa is carrying out traditional campaigns, Mastercard has leaned into experiential strategies to connect to emotional highs at athletic events. Its campaign with Lionel Messi targeted the branding of match mascots—children who get to hold hands with professional footballers walking onto the pitch—in Mastercard-emblazoned jerseys. 

Implications for issuers: Association with major events and athletes is a huge score, but leaning into experience for marketing and rewards is connecting with Gen Zers and millennials, which currently are issuers target sign-up groups. Leaning into authentic moments over produced storytelling may leave a more permanent impression on viewers over brand saturation.