Visa budget now allocated 50-50 between mainline and digital media: Sujatha V Kumar

Earlier this month, Visa, a leading player in digital payments, launched its Visa Infinite campaign featuring Vicky Kaushal, showcasing the brand’s range of luxury experiences, security, and exclusivity offered through the Visa Infinite card.

In an exclusive conversation with exchange4media, Sujatha V Kumar, Head of Marketing, India and South Asia t Visa, delved into the campaign and the growing trend of premiumisation among Indian consumers. Interestingly, this marks the first time Visa has split its advertising spend equally between mainline and digital channels. She also shared insights on influencer marketing, celebrity collaborations, BFSI marketing trends, and much more.

Edited excerpts

Could you walk us through the Visa campaign—what it’s all about and what led Visa to develop this idea? Also, could you touch on premiumisation, how it's growing as a segment, and how Visa is adapting to it?

India is witnessing significant growth in its affluent population. In 2023, this segment was around 60 million, and it's projected to surpass 100 million by 2027 which is a steep rise. This shift, particularly post-pandemic, has transformed consumer behaviour, spending patterns, and lifestyle choices.

With our new affluent campaign—Visa’s first in India—we aim to redefine luxury and exclusivity for India's highnet-worth consumers. Previously, financial decisions were more focused on savings and material purchases. Now, affluent Indians prioritise access to unique, exclusive experiences that aren’t easily available.

Our campaign isn’t just a marketing initiative—it aligns with Visa’s product capabilities. We've structured our affluent portfolio around three key verticals: travel, dining, and entertainment—areas identified through extensive consumer research as top priorities for this segment.

Take travel, for instance. The trend of ‘revenge travel’ post-pandemic hasn’t just faded; it continues to grow. Affluent travellers now seek exclusive destinations and unique experiences. Similarly, dining remains a key interest—Indians love to explore exclusive culinary experiences. In entertainment, the demand for premium events has skyrocketed. Just in the last few months, we've seen Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and Maroon 5 perform in India. The rising popularity of concerts and sporting events presents opportunities for Visa to leverage its sponsorships and offer experiences in this space.

Through this campaign, we’re not just acknowledging these evolving aspirations but actively enabling them by curating premium experiences across these categories.

How has Visa's messaging evolved over the years, and what is the key focus of this campaign?

If we look back a few years, Visa’s messaging focused on being the fast, secure, and convenient way to pay—especially as consumers transitioned from cash to digital payments, often with concerns about security. As digital spending grew, security became an even bigger priority, which is why many of our past campaigns have emphasised "Pay Safe with Visa." Security remains a key pillar for us, backed by innovations like tokenisation, which ensures that when you make an online payment, your actual card details are never shared with merchants.

With the affluent campaign, we’ve taken this a step further. While security and convenience remain at Visa’s core, this campaign is about unlocking exclusive experiences. Life has a lot to offer, and Visa wants to be the trusted that not only enables seamless payments but also opens doors to unique, high-end experiences that affluent consumers seek. This approach elevates our brand by aligning with the passion points of this segment, ensuring Visa is not just a payment provider, but an enabler of premium lifestyles.

So, would you say Visa is redefining its brand strategy with a stronger focus on premiumisation? If so, what are the key pillars guiding this shift?

Visa remains committed to being a universal payment solution for everyone, everywhere—we are not positioning the brand as exclusive to a premium segment. However, with the significant growth in affluence and premiumisation, we want to ensure that we offer best-in-class experiences for this evolving consumer base.

In India, we've structured our premium offerings around three key pillars: travel, dining, and entertainment each designed to provide access to money-can’t-buy experiences. In dining, for example, we have partnered with top restaurants across the country to offer exclusive privileges such as curated menus, priority reservations, and behind-the-scenes kitchen tours, allowing customers to engage with chefs and explore the artistry behind their meals.

For travel, we offer access to Visa Luxury Hotels, where customers receive benefits such as VIP guest status, priority check-in, and late checkout, enhancing their overall stay. In entertainment, we provide privileged access to major events, including concerts, sporting events, and racing experiences. With Visa’s global sponsorships in FIFA, the Olympics, and Formula 1, we ensure that our customers can engage with the biggest events worldwide.

All of these benefits are seamlessly integrated with Visa Concierge Services, allowing affluent customers to easily access and book these premium experiences. Our goal is to back every premium claim with tangible benefits, ensuring that Visa is not just a payment provider but an enabler of exclusive, high-value experiences.

When we talk about affluent customers in India, how exactly is this segment defined? Is there a specific spending threshold, or how do you categorise consumers as premium or affluent?

We rely on multiple studies and surveys that analyse income levels. However, since Visa itself doesn’t have direct customer data—our customers come through banking partners—we approach segmentation differently. From a media perspective, which is where we have direct control, we define the affluent segment using parameters like SEC A and A+ classifications, education levels, and typical household purchase patterns. Based on this analysis, we’ve identified a target segment of approximately 110 million consumers for our campaign.

This aligns closely with broader market projections, which estimate that India’s affluent population has grown from 60 million two years ago to over 100 million. The overlap between reported market trends and our media driven segmentation reinforces our approach. Using this data, we tailor our outreach and communication strategies to effectively engage this audience.

How are your ad spends evolving with the changing media landscape? With CTV gaining traction — especially among younger audiences who bypass traditional DTH — how does it fit into your overall media mix and brand strategy?

That’s a great question. Media is evolving almost daily, and for us, the biggest shift with this campaign is that we are now allocating our budget 50-50 between traditional mainline media and digital/social. Previously, mainline dominated our strategy, simply because reaching a countrywide audience of over 700 million required it. However, with our core target now being around 100 million affluent consumers, it’s equally crucial to invest in digital platforms.

CTV is definitely a space we’re exploring. Within mainline, we are experimenting with CTV alongside HD channels, OTT platforms, and other digital-first formats. The surge in CTV adoption is evident, and it offers an effective way to directly reach affluent audiences.

Additionally, younger demographics—Gen Z and millennials—consume almost all content on their smartphones through social media, digital platforms, and OTT services. This is why our spend on social and digital has increased significantly, covering CTV, OTT, YouTube, Meta, and Google search. It’s an exciting shift, and we’re keen to see the results, as we are among the few brands committing to an even split between traditional and digital advertising.

Coming back to sports IPs, you’ve mentioned Visa’s long-standing association with global events like F1 and the Olympics. But from an India-specific perspective, especially with IPL coming up after the merger, there’s significant potential to expand audience reach. Can you share more about the India-focused IPs Visa is interested in?

Absolutely. Media offers vast opportunities, and sponsorship plays a key role in our strategy. Our global sporting sponsorships—Olympics and FIFA—have been successful for years. In India, we've leveraged this by partnering with top athletes like Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu as Team Visa ambassadors. Sindhu has been with us for over five years, and Neeraj is now in his second year. Their strong brand fit and immense popularity allow us to connect with millions of Indians through their journeys.

While cricket remains India's biggest sporting passion, we’ve seen growing interest in global events like FIFA. During the last World Cup, we engaged Indian audiences with on-ground activations, including live screenings of the semifinals and finals across multiple cities. Though India doesn’t have a team in the tournament, the enthusiasm for football was evident, and we tapped into that excitement. Similarly, for the Olympics, we not only support our athletes but also drive activations to amplify engagement.

As for cricket, Visa has deliberately chosen not to take up official sponsorships, given our focus on two of the biggest global events. However, we recognise the massive reach of tournaments like the Champions Trophy, Women's Premier League, and IPL. Our latest campaign, having just launched, will be prominently featured during the Champions Trophy starting in mid-February. We’ll also have a strong presence during IPL with ad spots, ensuring visibility where our target audience is most engaged. While we don’t hold official sponsorships in cricket, our media strategy ensures that we remain where our consumers are.

A quick question on celebrity endorsements—you mentioned how they align with your brand’s messaging and ethos. Are there any new collaborations in the pipeline specifically for the Indian market? And what about influencer marketing? Is that something you’re actively exploring?

You’ve touched on two important aspects. First, on brand ambassadors—I strongly believe they bring instant recognition and add value to a campaign, provided they align with the brand’s ethos. However, a brand ambassador should never overshadow the brand itself.

For instance, this is our third year working with Vicky Kaushal as our Visa brand ambassador, and our third campaign with him. He resonates with audiences across India and embodies our brand’s philosophy of being for everyone, everywhere. As he continues to establish himself in the affluent segment with recent films, he remains a great fit for us. Consumer research has reinforced this—when asked, people associate Vicky with Visa and Visa with Vicky, which is a strong validation of our choice. I even shared this insight with him during our last shoot, and he was thrilled. Beyond Vicky, we also have Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu as brand ambassadors, both of whom bring credibility, hard work, and an authentic connection to their respective audiences. As long as the partnership aligns with our values, it’s a win-win.

Now, coming to influencer marketing—this is an area growing rapidly, and we work extensively with influencers. Beyond our brand ambassadors, we’ve seen a significant rise in micro-influencers across specific categories. Since travel is a key focus for us, we collaborate with numerous travel influencers through our in-house influencer management agency, covering destinations within India, South Asia, and globally.

Beyond travel, we also engage with influencers in tech, such as Technical Guruji, and in the luxury space, spanning dining, experiences, and high-end travel. Our approach to influencer marketing is highly targeted—we prioritise micro-influencers with dedicated, loyal followers in their respective niches, ensuring an authentic connection with the audience.

The BFSI sector has emerged as one of the biggest spenders in advertising over the past few years, dominating digital, IPs, and various platforms. What key trends should we watch for in 2025?

You’re absolutely right. BFSI has been at the forefront of marketing investments. Take music concerts, for example—nearly every major event has had a BFSI sponsor, highlighting both the sector's growth and its direct consumer engagement. To quote our Country Manager, Sandeep Ghosh, "The future of payments will be increasingly digital, flexible, and consumer-driven." These three elements define the trends we see.

Digital-first approach is key. Marketing investments in digital and social platforms continue to rise.

Then there is flexible engagement where instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, communication is now highly personalised. A traveler next week has different needs than someone planning a trip months in advance—our messaging reflects that level of precision.

Lastly there is consumer-driven experiences. This is the best time to be a consumer. With Gen Z and millennials driving spending, there’s a strong demand for personalised, experience-led services. BFSI players are leading this transformation, backed by trust and cutting-edge technology.

What are Visa’s top three priorities for 2025-26 in India?

India is a vast market, but if I had to highlight three key areas, the first would be enhancing payments. Our focus remains on continuing to be the best way to pay and be paid, ensuring transactions are secure, convenient, and fast. Security and trust have always been at the core of what we do, and we will continue to build on that foundation.

The second priority is catering to the affluent segment. With this market growing rapidly, our goal is to provide the best product offerings and experiences while ensuring clear and effective communication of these benefits to our consumers. As the demand for premium services rises, we want to be at the forefront of delivering value to this audience.

Lastly, strengthening partnerships remains crucial. As a B2B2C brand, we do not directly serve consumers but work closely with our issuing banks, merchants, and partners. Our focus is to empower them with the best offerings and services, ensuring they can provide seamless experiences to their customers.