Applications
Visa introduces Fifa WC Facebook app
MUMBAI: Credit card major Visa which is a partner of soccer‘s governing body Fifa has announced the launch of the Visa Match Planner, a social media application that allows users to create Fifa World Cup viewing schedules to share with friends via social networking channels such as Facebook.
The Visa Match Planner is the latest extension of Visa’s first-ever global Fifa-themed marketing campaign, Go Fans, which also includes print, television and out-of-home advertising, host market merchant activation programs and usage promotions.
The new application will be available in English, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese, and will be customised for each of the 32 qualified countries. In addition to building a customised Fifa World Cup match viewing schedule, the application also lets users organise match viewing parties, chat with friends, track scores and standings, and obtain exclusive offers from merchants such as the Fifa official store on Fifa.com.
Visa CMO Antonio Lucio says, “Football fans are undeniably passionate about the Fifa World Cup and the teams they follow and social media provides a unique platform to help them express their views and connect with friends from around the world.
“Through social media extensions of the Go Fans campaign, like the Visa Match Planner, Visa is able to strengthen our connection to the Fifa World Cup and enhance every fan’s World Cup experience with engaging content”
First debuted in Latin America in 2009 and later introduced globally in February 2010, the Go Fans campaign celebrates the common love that all fans have for football with creative executions, featuring the colors of the national flags of each of the 32 qualified countries, symbolising the expression of each fan’s true colors and love of country. The campaign reinforces the ways that Visa enables fans to express their true colors in support of their teams by offering an easier way to pay, their Visa card.
Go Fans was developed to connect with football fans worldwide to drive preference for and usage of Visa products, promote Visa’s association with the 2010 FIFA World Cup South AfricaTM and reinforce the ways in which Visa enhances the fan’s FIFA World CupTM experience.
The company claims that today, more than 90 markets throughout the world are activating Visa Fifa-themed marketing programmes with more than 500 financial institutions and merchants via advertising, customized promotions and the development of marketing collateral (POS, signage and direct mail).
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
