• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 19, 2007

Visa has unveiled an online marketplace-cum-digital magazine as a key component in its latest extension of the "Life Takes Visa" brand platform.

The site at lifetakesvisa.com from AKQA, San Francisco, is organized by categories such as travel, dining, beauty, fashion, technology and entertainment, and offers category-relevant video content that's accessible by all, as well as co-branded deals available only to Visa cardholders.

The "Life Takes Beauty" area, for instance, currently offers a video featuring "hair secrets" from a Hollywood stylist, paired with an offer for $10 off when a Visa card is used to purchase $50 or more at H20 Plus. A video on runway-inspired makeup trends pairs with 20% off a card purchase of $50 or more at Urban Decay. There's a "latest beauty buzz" blog, a reader poll on hair do's and don'ts, and a variety of card-contingent hair-product deals through merchants such as Target.com, UrbanOutfitters.com, BlueFly.com and FragranceNet.com.

The wide-ranging array of big-name partners also includes Banana Republic, Sony, NFLShop.com, Brookstone, Hilton Hotels, Overstock.com, Samsonite, Princess Cruises, Alamo and many more.

This latest multimillion-dollar phase of the Visa campaign also relies heavily on print advertising. October issues of national magazines, including InStyle, Harpers Bazaar, GQ, Gourmet and others, will carry single-page ads that "visually interpret through iconic imagery how Visa plays a role in the lives of cardholders by providing every-day value" within the various product/service categories.

(For example, one ad focused on pre-packaged travel plans shows a vending machine whose contents consist of the flags of various nations.)

In addition, co-branded ads incorporating specific offers from Banana Republic, Sony and NFLShop.com will roll out in November and December issues of selected publications.

Kevin Burke, head of U.S. marketing, Visa USA, noted that giving cardholders exclusive access to unique merchant discounts within the categories that they are most passionate about is a continuation of Visa's commitment to "inspiring and empowering" consumers "to experience all that life has to offer."

The print ads were done by TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles.