Diners Club Promotes Itself As Overseas Card of Choice By Beth Heitzma

CHICAGO - Diners Club International is looking to link its image with the places frequent business travelers spend much of the their time and

A new campaign, created by Foote, Cone & Belding/Chicago, promotes the Diners Club Card as ‘The Right Answer in Any Language.’ That message began rolling out at the end of May in inflight videos and magazines; display advertising also is going up in airports in the U.S. and in other countries.
The international traveler is a key target for Diners Club. Last year the Citicorp-owned company publicly reported charge volume on the Diners Club card in the U.S. vs. worldwide for the first time, according to Credit Card News editor James Daly. The surprise was that more than half the company’s charge volume ($11.3 billion of a total worldwide $19 billion) came from outside the U.S.
Diners Club International, the Chicago-based franchisor operation that consults and services more than 50 Diners Club franchisees around the globe, is hoping to impress international travelers with the idea that Diners Club is the answer to the special problems they face in the global market.
For years, said Amrita Chugh, DCI director of advertising and communications, international marketing efforts have been virtually non-existent. Now, following extensive research and testing, Chugh said, DCI is ready to commit to a long-term global campaign and is initially supporting the effort with about $10 million in spending this year, including contributions by franchisees. Chugh, acknowleged that for a global campaign the spending is conservative, but said she anticipates franchisees will commit additional money from local budgets to add media weight to what DCI can spend.
‘Our target is incredibly mobile,’ Chugh said. ‘Unlike many companies who can communicate a slightly different message in every market because their target is unlikely to travel, our target may see an ad in Singapore that won’t register until Sydney. That means if we have advertising in those countries, it has to be consistent and identifiable.’
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