Why Visa opted for social videos over new year

Visa's Facebook video campaign featuring Korean actress Park Shin-hye unveiled for Christmas and the new year is approaching an end next week.The credit card giant's decision to use video on social media platforms as a core medium for its mass marketing campaign is part of a growing trend.According to statistics released by Facebook yesterday, videos uploaded by users and brands showed up in the News Feed 3.6 times more last year compared to 2013.  On a global scale, the number of video posts per person went up by 75%.Tom Tobin, country manager at Visa Hong Kong and Macau, said Visa's Facebook video campaign focused on eCommerce. "The campaign addresses consumers’ feelings of unease during online shopping where many hesitate when making purchases.  In the video, with just a few clicks, Shin-Hye has bought an evening gown for her red carpet event," Tobin said."The video helps make a memorable and human connection with viewers," Tobin said.Complementing the Facebook video are video ads and display banners placed on online portals such as YouTube, Yahoo, Apple Daily and myTV.Tobin added that Park was chosen as the brand's ambassador in the campaign because she appeals to online shoppers in Asia and has a broad social media fan base.A series of Facebook posts sharing tips about online shopping and security were also part of the campaign."This approach encourages customers to actively share the information in the posts with their friends," Tobin said.Jayne Leung, head of Greater China at Facebook believes the prevalence of videos on social media platforms marks the beginning of a larger shift in marketing towards personalisation on a mass scale."Business used to be personal. Then, we developed mass media, which was wonderful for scaling brands but this also made brands less personal," she said."Digital and mobile give us the opportunity to make marketing more relevant and rewarding for people because we understand so much more about them."Video Credits:Creative lead: Danny SearleCreative director: Mark WigginsAssociate creative director: Kogi KoAccount managers: Joy Ng and Tune LauTV producer: Jackie TheyMedia agency: OMD