Visa amplifies support for small businesses, launching e-commerce and advertising opportunities, partnerships and a campaign reminding Aussies that ‘where you shop matters’

03/23/2020

- Visa launches commercial starring six small businesses from bushfire and drought-affected areas in New South Wales, with music composed by Jack River
- Visa launches e-commerce starter packages to get small businesses selling online quickly
- Turia Pitt’s Spend With Them partners with Visa to support regional small businesses across Australia


Visa today launched the next phase of its #WhereYouShopMatters initiative, with a campaign featuring small business owners. The campaign features winemakers, coffee roasters, a fashion designer, shopkeeper, potter and baker from across the New South Wales South Coast, letting Australians know they are open for business.

Visa’s Group Country Manager for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, Julian Potter said, “Visa has always proudly supported small businesses to grow through technology and payment innovation, and we know that support is particularly important right now. So that’s why we are using the power of our global brand to promote small businesses and keep reminding Australians that where you shop matters”.

Visa first launched its #WhereYouShopMatters initiative in December with a commercial featuring Dubbo-based small business Saddler and Co, which saw a 600 per cent increase in traffic to their online store and 200 per cent increase in their sales following the campaign.

The latest commercial, filmed in the New South Wales town of Milton, began airing nationally on television and online today. Mr Potter said it was intentional to use as many regional businesses as possible when producing the campaign.

“In creating our latest #WhereYouShopMatters commercial, we wanted to walk the talk and spend our money in regional areas of Australia, especially those impacted by the recent drought and bushfires, so it was important to us to not only feature small business owners from those towns in the ad but also to film it in a regional location,” Mr Potter said. “We look forward to expanding this support across the country in future commercials and via online advertising.”

New South Wales entrepreneurs, and musician Jack River, shine bright in Visa campaign

Australian singer-songwriter Jack River, composed the soundtrack for Visa’s new commercial. A resident of Mollymook, New South Wales, she said it was an easy decision to collaborate on a campaign that would put regional Australia in the spotlight.

“It’s so exciting to create music for a project with purpose, and when Visa approached me to write the soundtrack to this commercial starring small business owners from regional New South Wales towns I jumped at the chance to support my local community,” said River.

The campaign features six regional small business owners, each offering a unique product and all affected by the recent bushfires in their region in different ways:

  • Silos Estate: Winemakers Sophie and Raj Ray own and run Silos Estate, a winery, accommodation and restaurant in Berry. During the recent bushfires, they closed their business to focus on assisting evacuees from neighbouring affected areas and opened their accommodation to members of their community who needed shelter.
  • Flour, Water, Salt Bakery: Married couple Joost and Kirsty Hilkemeijer are the head bakers and owners of three Flour, Water, Salt bakeries based in and around Macclesfield.
  • Guerrilla Roasters: Coffee roasters Matt Hatcher and Lewis McKJenzie started Guerrilla Roasters in Mossy Point, with a focus on sustainability and quality. They are passionate about supporting their community and during the recent bushfires ran donation drives to deliver supplies to those most affected.
  • Dusty Road Apparel: Fashion designer Amanda Healy is based in Malua Bay and makes Australian themed organic baby and kids clothing under her label Dusty Road Apparel.
  • Home at Last: Samantha Whittle is a buyer for homewares and gift store Home at Last, which is an iconic landmark in Milton.
  • Berrima Village Pottery: Louise and Paul Bruce are the creative and business minds behind Berrima Village Pottery. All their products are unique and handmade in their studio in Berrima.

Visa and Turia Pitt’s Spend With Them collaborate to support Australian small businesses

Visa has also partnered with Spend With Them, an online movement created by Turia Pitt and Grace McBride, that encourages Australians to buy from businesses in bushfire affected communities. Visa will help promote businesses featured by Spend With Them as well as expand the number of businesses they support.

Spend With Them co-founder Grace McBride said, “Since launching Spend With Them, we’ve seen how all Australians have the ability to directly support small businesses simply by choosing where they shop and who they spend with. That’s why we started Spend With Them and why we’re so thrilled to be aligned with Visa’s #WhereYouShopMatters campaign – because where you shop really does matter.”

“Every time you choose to spend with a regional business, you’re putting dollars directly into the pocket of someone that, following the drought and bushfires, could be doing it tough. In a time when the world feels uncertain and the rebuild feels almost impossible, it’s empowering to know that you can make a difference, simply through the purchase of a bag of coffee beans, a bar of soap or a bottle of gin,” Ms McBride said.   

Visa launches advertising support and an e-commerce starter package for small businesses

Visa today rolled out a suite of resources and offers to support small businesses via its #WhereYouShopMatters online hub, including advertising support to connect regional businesses with city customers and an e-commerce starter package to help businesses start selling online.

Small businesses can sign up to be featured on the Visa #WhereYouShopMatters hub, and can also apply for $500 from Visa to boost their social media posts. A handful of businesses will also be chosen to appear in Visa’s Christmas 2020 #WhereYouShopMatters TV commercial.

Visa’s e-commerce starter package is worth more than $1200 and allows small businesses in Australia to create their own online store and begin accepting online payments conveniently and securely. The e-commerce package provides small businesses premium services and support from Shopify*.

“By getting small businesses set-up to sell online with our e-commerce starter package, Visa can not only connect small businesses to our global network and 3.4 billion cardholders, we’re also bringing them into the world of e-commerce and equipping their business with the right tools to continue growing into the future,” Mr Potter said.

To find out more, small businesses can go to visa.com.au/whereyoushopmatters to access the #WhereYouShopMatters online hub.

 

*All businesses with a Visa card that take up Visa’s e-commerce starter package will receive premium consulting services to help them set up and customise their online store and three months subscription to Shopify apps worth a total value of AUD $1,270, with any Shopify subscription. Full Terms and Conditions are available at: https://visaoffers.poshvine.com/offers/shopify-19614/retail

 

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit  About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.