Street Taps
Visa
Issue 36 | September 2015
Agency
BBDO New York
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer, BBDO Worldwide David Lubars Chief Creative Officer, BBDO New York Greh Hahn Executive Creative Directors Toygar Bazarkaya, Tom Markham Associate Creative Directors Danny Adrain, Monty Pera, Don Wilhelmi Senior Copywriter Roberto Danino Production Company Decon
Other Credits
Account Team Olivia Farr, Emily Morris, Amanda Baizen, Frances Rivera, Julie Trieschmann, Michael Woodall Director of Creative Engineering JD Michaels Senior Creative Engineer Casey Adams
Date
April 2015
Background
Fewer people carry spare change with them these days, which makes it hard for street musicians. They rely on tips to make a living.
Idea
Visa took pride in leading the way when it came to innovation in payment systems. So, to help out struggling performers, they created Street Taps, portable mobile payment stations. Using the very newest technology, passers-by in Central Park and Union Square could leave a $1 tip simply by tapping the portable NFC-enabled terminals.
Results
What started on the street spread on social media, as an online video was shared on Twitter and Facebook. In just two days, the video received over 13.5 million impressions and over 2.7 million views.
Our Thoughts
Not long ago, this would have been a brief for a press ad or a TV commercial. Please tell people that Visa is at the very forefront of making it easier and safer to manage your money. But today, rather than getting an advert to tell a story about clever Visa, better by far is to get people telling their own stories about it.
This isn't just an innovative little device, it's an innovative strategy – well, in the financial services market, anyway.