As India’s affluent consumer base rapidly expands into Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, Visa is evolving its brand, marketing, and product strategy to tap into the next wave of premium card users. In a detailed conversation with exchange4media, Ramakrishnan Gopalan, Chief Product Officer – India and South Asia, Visa, sheds light on how the payments giant is deepening its reach and relevance among digitally active, upwardly mobile Indians beyond the metros.
“Over the past five years, non-metros have shown nearly a 4x increase in users spending Rs 2 lakh and above, almost three times the growth seen in metros,” Gopalan told e4m, noting the growing digital and aspirational mindset of consumers in smaller cities.
To tap into this shift, Visa is leveraging a multi-pronged strategy that aligns product development with a sharply tuned media and marketing mix.
Media Mix
A significant pivot has come in how Visa plans and executes campaigns. Traditionally, Visa leaned heavily on print media, particularly when targeting affluent consumers in Tier 1 markets. But with the rise of digital-savvy consumers across the country, the brand is recalibrating its media mix.
“Our media spend is now roughly balanced - 50 percent digital and 50 percent traditional,” said Gopalan. “But within traditional, it’s more TV-led than print. For example, all our IPL campaigns were focused on television.” Digital, however, is where Visa sees stronger growth, particularly given its ability to offer precise targeting, real time campaign tweaks, and influencer-led storytelling.
Digital campaigns also align better with partner banks’ co-marketing efforts, allowing them to fine-tune messaging based on their customer bases. This co-branded flexibility makes digital a more agile and efficient channel for Visa and its issuing partners.
Influencer Marketing & Celebrity Endorsements
At the heart of Visa’s marketing approach in smaller cities is influencer-led content, a marked departure from broad-reach advertising. “We rely more on influencer-led, digital-first campaigns than traditional media. KOLs help us reach consumers in a relatable, contextual way,” Gopalan explained.
Campaigns like the one with Curly Tales, which demonstrated how a Visa card stored on a mobile device could double as a transit pass abroad, highlight Visa’s focus on real-world utility over flashy claims. “We avoid superlatives like ‘fastest’ or ‘best-in-class.’ Instead, we focus on authentic consumer experiences,” he added.
To deepen emotional resonance and build aspiration, Visa has also leaned into carefully chosen brand ambassadors that align with its values of ambition, excellence, and relatability. Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal leads the face of Visa Infinite — the brand’s flagship premium card offering — bringing to life experiences like Formula One paddock tours via concierge access.
“Vicky resonates with a digital-first, aspirational audience,” said Gopalan. “He embodies a blend of success, groundedness, and ambition, all of which connect well with our premium consumer base.”
Alongside him, Visa continues its association with sporting icons like Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu, who bring credibility and mass appeal. Their campaigns focus on the idea of “small steps” — underscoring how consistent effort can unlock greatness. This messaging syncs with Visa’s larger narrative of enabling everyday actions that lead to infinite possibilities.
Reaching the Digitally Native Bharat
Visa’s marketing now segments less by geography and more by consumer behavior. “Our research shows that a consumer in a Tier 2 city has digital habits and aspirations quite similar to someone in South Bombay,” said Gopalan. “They shop on Amazon, order food from Swiggy, and want premium experiences.”
Accordingly, Visa’s product features, from secure tokenised payments to bundled OTT benefits via Times Prime, are built for digital-first users, no matter where they live. Its partnerships with platforms like CRED, Samsung, and Google also reinforce the brand’s positioning as enablers of a seamless digital lifestyle.
“We’ve ensured consistency in brand messaging globally, anchored around two core ideas: Visa as the best way to pay and the best way to be paid,” said Gopalan. “In India, we’ve layered this with a local narrative—‘small steps’— which emphasises how everyday actions can unlock infinite possibilities.”
What varies, he noted, is the delivery and localisation. “In India, we bring this to life through vernacular languages and culturally resonant brand endorsers like PV Sindhu and Neeraj Chopra. These campaigns spotlight their daily routines - the ‘small steps’ behind their Olympic journeys, reflecting the aspirational, yet relatable paths of Indian consumers.”
Personalisation
Even as Visa sharpens its focus on personalisation, trust and security remain foundational to its brand promise, especially in emerging markets. “Features like tokenisation, which converts sensitive card details into secure, anonymised tokens, are central to how we deliver safe digital experiences,” said Gopalan.
Despite operating within a B2B2C model - where direct consumer interaction is limited, personalisation lies at the heart of Visa’s strategy. The company harnesses network data, insights from issuer banks, and AI-driven tools to craft hyper-relevant user experiences. “Our long-term ambition is to reach the ‘segment of one,’ where every consumer interaction feels tailored,” Gopalan noted.
One such initiative is Visa’s travel predictor tool, developed by its in-house consulting team. Based on behavioral patterns—like an individual’s tendency to travel during long weekends or summer months, the tool helps issuers target users with offers on international card usage, curated itineraries, or seamless tokenisation for cross-border safety.
Importantly, Visa maintains strict privacy standards. It does not access or use personally identifiable information such as name or gender. “We rely solely on anonymised behavioral insights to guide personalisation,” Gopalan emphasised. “It’s about being relevant without being intrusive.”
In a crowded financial ecosystem where many issuers offer seemingly similar premium cards, Visa leans on its foundational strengths: global interoperability, security, and trust. “Whether you're in Singapore, Senegal, or San Francisco, your Visa card just works,” said Gopalan. “That seamless global acceptance, combined with deep local insight, is our biggest differentiator,” he concluded.
.jpg)
