Originally, RCS was approached by Premium Outlets in the US to convince Japanese travelers to shop at their outlets. However, at the time, outlets were an unfamiliar concept to the Japanese, and though the outlets offered great deals on top brands, these deals were so good they seemed suspicious to the target.
RCS proposed a partnership with Visa that would enable Premium Outlets to leverage the brand trust established by Visa. It gave outlet merchants exposure to millions of visitors. It offered Japanese Visa cardholders a savings program from outlet merchants. It also gave them incentives to spend more—if they reached a target spend level, they received a gift from one of the outlets’ top brands. This not only increased share of wallet, it helped track spending to the program. Visa also enjoyed the benefit of increased exchange fees. In this way, RCS created a win-win-win situation for Premium Outlets, Visa, and Visa cardholders.
RCS created the Premium Outlets USA Shopper’s Guide in partnership with Visa, who distributed the Guide to tens of thousands of Japanese cardholders who traveled to the US, driving them to shop at PO USA.
The results of this initial program led to a long-term relationship between RCS and Premium Outlets not only in the US, but overseas. It gave outlet merchants valuable exposure at no cost, increased traffic and trackable sales. And it gave Visa a competitive advantage over rival credit cards and payment systems. RCS delivered results over and above the target set by each client:
Partnerships, Partner Management, Incentive Programs, Creative Development, Multi-lingual copy and design, Direct Response, POP, Collateral, Post-program reports and evaluation.
