The situation analysis and executive summary for the VISA My Money Skills campaign presentation.

1. Running head: Executive Summary – Visa: My Money Skills 1
Executive Summary:
Visa: My Money Skills Campaign
Team 4, UAE:
Maria Espinoza,
Timothy “Chip” Lowe
Isabella El Sheikh
PUR 4404 C
Deanna Pelfrey
University of Florida

2. Executive Summary – Visa: My Money Skills 2
A. Situation Analysis
While the UAE has been highly commercially successful despite its relatively new
establishment as a nation, research from the Genesis Institute indicates that Emiratis aren’t fluent
in the language of money – that is, they don’t have the financial literacy skills necessary to
manage this newfound wealth. (Maceda, 2014). The ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth
Survey, which evaluates the attitudes of Arab youth in six Gulf Cooperation Council states,
including the UAE, found that nearly 70 percent of those surveyed are “very concerned” about
the rising cost of living, unemployment and the economy. The same survey indicates that there
has been a 10 percent increase in the survey respondents’ desired country to live in from 2013 to
2014 in favor of the UAE (“Arab Youth Survey,” 2014). And these concerns are understandable,
considering the 2010 survey indicated that 70 percent of Emirati young adults are in debt
(Glover, 2012). These reports present a state of young people eager to better their country and
responsive to new and changing economic environments.
Visa capitalized on the opportunity to engage young citizens in the UAE with regard to
financial literacy. As part of Visa’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment, the
company has recognized it has the responsibility and opportunity to affect change in a huge
number of consumer’s lives. According to Visa’s 2012 Financial Literacy Programmes
overview, their guiding principle is to “provide economic empowerment to consumers who use
[their] products or services.” The company has been committed to financial literacy commitment
and has been actively engaging consumers worldwide for over a decade with this CSR objective.
Therefore, the need for Emirati financial literacy education expansion met hand in hand with
Visa’s desire to expand their CSR to the Middle East region.
The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates, which is a territory or state
under the jurisdiction of an emir. The UAE became independent in 1971, and its capital, Abu
Dhabi, is one of the centers of commercial and cultural activities and is the largest and most
prosperous emirate.
The largest public relations association in the Middle East is know as the Middle East
Public Relations Association. It was launched in 2001 and was officially licensed by the
government in 2002. Most of the largest professional agencies have their headquarters in Dubai.
Outside Abu Dhabi and Dubai, practices are less professional due to the scarcity of skilled and
trained professionals, even though there is a very high demand for skilled professionals. The
Internet is a very large and resourceful tool for public relations practitioners in the UAE. The
study of public relations in the UAE is starting to produce skilled professionals with their
educational facilities growing and developing.
Public relations in the Middle East has been influenced by the development of media and
growth of the hospitality and tourism business sectors. When working with the media, gifts and
other contributions to media professionals in exchange for positive editorial coverage is almost
expected and the practice of publishing news releases word for word is customary.
The government plays a very crucial role in the production of the media in this region.
The constitution in the UAE provides for freedom of speech but the government uses its judicial,

3. Executive Summary – Visa: My Money Skills 3
legislative and executive powers to limit those rights. UAE Federal Law No. 15 authorizes the
state to censor both domestic and foreign publications prior to distribution, and prohibits
criticism of the government, rulers and ruling families, and friendly foreign governments. The
media is completely owned by the government, with the exception of a few privately owned
newspapers and radio stations. Because of this, the media relies heavily on advertisements and
sponsorships to keep revenue flowing.
Reports tend to automatically self-censor what they produce because of the limitations by
the government They generally tend to avoid topics including the ruling family, Islam, national
security, the government, current policies in place, religion and relationships with neighboring
states. This gives little room for creative media stories. In 2012 the government even increased
its efforts to silence the media and started arresting bloggers and activists who went against their
guidelines and regulations.
The UAE is high-context culture. Being a country with high-context communication
means that there is an emphasis on personal relationships, an unwillingness to say, “No” the
power of words, politeness and indirectness. The Arab culture in general emphasizes personal
relationships and interdependence, and therefore group members in the nations are on the same
level of understanding. A focus on the interpersonal relations mean there is often more of an
emphasis on what someone wants to hear rather than on directness and honestly. This is due to
the fact that families have lived in the same communities in the UAE for centuries and so they
believe it is important to not offend another person or their family. Politeness is an important
characteristic of Arabs. They believe in always treating another person, especially guests, with
the utmost respect and courtesy,
Arabs are said to value the elegance of the spoken word. It is said that they have a love
affair with language and place a great emphasis on the importance of words. Arabs use a lot of
hand gestures and speak loudly with emotion. Shouting is believed to denote ultimate sincerity.
They are also big fans of praise, except to Arab women.
The UAE scored a 69 on the Corruption Perceptions Index. The scale ranges from 0 to
100, with 100 indicating that the country is perceived as very clean and not corrupt. According to
the corruption perception index of 2013, the UAE falls within the one-third of total countries that
score over 50, meaning they are less corrupt and serve as a reminder that there is very little abuse
of power, secret dealings and bribery that go on within this country. This entails that Visa can,
not only safely proceed with business in this region of the world, but also honestly go on with the
work that is being done. Being a company that deals primarily with payment processing, it is
extremely important to be able to trust one’s clients in their endeavors.
UAEInteract cites that the UAE economy is thriving and the country is blossoming with
opportunities for business to do well in this region. The site explains that there are low import
duties, there are no restrictions on profit transfer to capital repatriation, minimal financial risk
and labor costs are competitive. This information supports the perceived CPI and supports Visa’s
success in this country.

4. Executive Summary – Visa: My Money Skills 4
B. Primary Publics/Audiences
Visa identified their primary audience as young students throughout the UAE. By
working through education institutions to launch the campaign, Visa successfully connected with
their intended audience and properly limited the scope and access to the intended audience for
the financial literacy tools.
Visa piloted the program with three school and summer schools in the UAE in the 2012-
2013 school year. The company developed a toolkit to provide to educators at the institutions
participating in both Arabic and English. In order to ensure that teachers acting as program
coordinators were familiar with the skills and Visa-compiled materials, the company hosted
regional workshops to familiarize them with the campaign (“Visa: Financial Literacy
Campaign,” 2012). It was important that Visa took the time to localize the program the UAE and
also held workshops and utilized the feedback from those workshops to improve the program in
the future.
C. Overview of the Campaign
Visa brought its successful My Money Skills campaign to the Middle East region,
premiering in the UAE. Visa’s financial literacy CSR goals are: (1) “[To] empower positive
economic growth for individuals, businesses and countries.” (2) “[To] provide free, relevant,
accessible and innovative financial education to individuals and their communities.” (3) “[To]
facilitate entrance into the banking system for the unbanked. And (4) “[To] reach 20 million
people globally by May 1, 2013” (“Visa: Financial Literacy Campaign,” 2012).
To achieve these goals internationally, Visa set forth some general tactics in their
worldwide campaign overview. These include “[running] a global financial literacy initiative that
is localised for each country, allowing for customisation based on an area’s level of economic
development, cultural standards, education needs, government priorities and target audiences;
personal finance message and mediums tailored for each region; and third party partners [such as
governments, schools, banks and NGOs that] are actively engaged to improve reach, awareness
and impact of educational programmes” (“Visa: Financial Literacy Campaign,” 2012).
The campaign facilitated working with educational institutions and teachers in the
Emirates to develop location-specific financial literacy teaching tools. The financial literacy
program was then integrated into school curriculums. Visa created education websites, in both
Arabic and English, that teaches finical basics such as budgeting, saving, bank account
management, using cards wisely, online shopping precautions against fraud and preparing for the
future. Visa also initiated an educational video game called Financial Football, which was first
launched in the Middle East. Visa featured a free FIFA World Cup video game on their My
Money Skills website, that was designed to help people of all ages strengthen their knowledge of
personal finance. Financial Football is a fast-paced educational video game that tests players’
knowledge of financial management skills as they advance down field and try to score goals.
Visa evaluates their worldwide efforts, and in regards to this campaign in the UAE, they
sought feedback from the institutions and teachers that participated in its implementation.

5. Executive Summary – Visa: My Money Skills 5
D. Implementation
Visa launched the My Money Skills campaign website, their major online hub for the
campaign, in both Arabic and English in the UAE. The website features budgeting, saving, bank
account management, using credit cards wisely, online shopping precautions against fraud and
proper preparation for the future. One of the most resourceful tabs is Education under Life
Events. This specific section includes a personal finance “crash course” for all ages on being
money smart for making better decisions. The section, entitled a “Practical Guide to Financial
Literacy,” includes five lessons, quizzes after each lesson (with an answer key at the end of the
document) and a glossary of financial terms. The campaign site is filled with fact sheets and
FAQs on finances. The site was created to easily navigate around into educational programming
from financial advice to calculations already set up for the user. Educational games through the
site test the user’s knowledge in finances, including interactive quiz shows and soccer games. All
these educational materials are provided to target Visa’s primary audience, students and
consumers handling financial decisions.
Visa’s global presence throughout social media websites includes Facebook and
YouTube. Visa’s Middle East Facebook covers the most current events around the region, while
Visa Financial Football provides visual credibility of the campaign through photographs and
video of students in the schools the game was implemented in. Visa hosted a Facebook poll,
gaining 19 votes in total, all of who agreed on the need of children being taught money
management skills at schools. On YouTube, one can find members of the campaign providing
informative advice, educational lessons and info on the Financial Football game.
Press releases of the financial literacy summit at which the campaign was launched were
handled by DABO & Co. These were disseminated through the Visa CEMEA region website and
to appropriate media. The National, a newspaper in the region, ran an article with detailed
information about the pilot year. Other components of the campaign included a planned National
Financial Literacy Day and regional roadshows in shopping malls. In 2012, Visa and the
Financial Times hosted a series of Financial Literacy Forums. This was the third to be held in
Dubai, stressing the importance to promote financial education in emerging wealthy economies
like the UAE.
Teachers were identified as a secondary audience in the campaign. Visa created materials
branded with a financial wizard called SuperCal, or Mahsoobak in Arabic, and a dual-language
Financial Literacy Toolkit to show students that it is fun and clever to be financially literate.
The Circuit of Culture
Visa’s My Money Skills campaign in the UAE goes through the five moments of the
circuit of culture. The My Money Skills website creates a base of representation for all the
educational programming information for students and consumers. The campaign produced
educational materials provided in curriculum form given to professional educators and teachers.
The dual language Financial Literacy Teacher Toolkit and financial wizard helped teachers
tackle the subject with confidence in a classroom environment. In addition to other materials, the

6. Executive Summary – Visa: My Money Skills 6
interactive games and practical guides to financial literacy test the targeted audience on financial
knowledge. They are able to continue practicing financial knowledge by playing the Financial
Football video game and participating through online quiz shows. Students learning on financial
literacy are Visa’s future customers. For Visa to continue to be successful, it is to the company’s
benefit to teach future consumers of being financial literate when they use Visa’s services.
E. Evaluation of the Campaign
The UAE campaign reach over 76,000 people during the first six-month launch period,
according to the case study conducted by DABO & Co. This includes 70,000 unique website
views and 6,000 financial football games and brochures distributed amongst teacher and
students. The campaign was also featured in over a dozen full or double-page spreads across 16
publications in the UAE, Kuwait and KSA.
After looking at what Visa has been able to accomplish after just one school year cycle,
this launch has been an incredibly successful expansion of their CSR to the UAE. The DABO &
Co report estimates the PR value of the campaign at nearly $1.5 million.
As Visa looks to continue this CSR in the region, critics may push for more inclusion of
banks and other educational institutions in the region. Looking at Visa’s implementation of the
inaugural year of the campaign, there doesn’t appear to be any inhibitors that would prevent the
company from expanding the program to as many organizations as want to participate and help
them carry forward one of their key organizational responsibilities.
F. Conclusion
Visa was extremely successful in localizing and implementing this CSR campaign the
UAE because it completed its due diligence and respected the culture in which it already had a
business practice. Visa is a known and respected brand worldwide, and the stewardship it has
already taken to develop its company in the region undoubtedly paved the way for the huge
success they had with this inaugural campaign in the country.
The lessons learned from the study of this campaign could be summed up in stating that
to successfully expand a CSR campaign to a new region, one must truly comprehend the nation
or area, being respectful of cultural and business practices there. In order to maximize efforts,
having a brand presence in the region is preferable. And finally, ensure that the CSR campaign
matches the social efforts the company is truly passionate and engaged in. Following these steps
learned form the Visa implementation lead any organization or agency off to a viable start.

7. Executive Summary – Visa: My Money Skills 7
References
(2014). Arab Youth Survey 2014. ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller, 1, 14-21. Retrieved October 26,
2014, from http://www.slideshare.net/BMGlobalNews/asdaa-bursonmarsteller-arab-
youth-survey-2014-whitepaper
Glover, F. (2012, June 22). Emirati youth the focus for smart money skills. The National.
Retrieved October 26, 2014, from http://www.thenational.ae/blogs/your-money/emirati-
youth-the-focus-for-smart-money-skills
Maceda, C. (2014, May 20). UAE consumers need to invest in financial literacy. Gulf News.
Retrieved October 26, 2014, from http://gulfnews.com/business/general/uae-consumers-
need-to-invest-in-financial-literacy-1.1335789
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8. Executive Summary – Visa: My Money Skills 8
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