For many brands, customer engagement ramps up during the summertime as they seek fun, innovative, and rewarding ways to build upon the excitement of the season. This year, Visa and Williams-Sonoma are joining forces to offer a promotional customer engagement initiative called “Time to Savor Summer,” which features a series of innovative and “shoppable” videos.
By integrating a new YouTube technology, “Time to Savor Summer” will allow consumers to make purchases by clicking directly on a video as it plays. These “shoppable” videos purport to bring increased relevance and ease to the customer experiences of mobile and online shoppers. Each video will engaging viewers through a series of informative and entertaining vignettes and feature a wide range of products from Williams-Sonoma, a leading world-class provider of high quality home, cooking, and outdoor accessories.
“We’re bringing a whole new meaning to instant gratification,” said Sam Shrauger, Visa’s Senior VP of Digital Solutions. “With Williams-Sonoma and Visa Checkout, if you see it and want it, we can help you buy it, quickly and easily, so you can focus instead on creating delicious food and making great summer memories.”
The videos will be posted at Williams-Sonoma.com. Visa Checkout, Visa’s proprietary online platform, will manage all payments. Four videos will be featured in all. And each will be based around a different theme, and hosted by a different media personality who will offer summer tips on cooking food, hosting parties, and more. 
The first video is called “West Coast Cantina with Megan Mitchell.” It will be followed by additional videos throughout the summer including “Southern BBQ with Claire Thomas,” “East Coast Clambake with Andy Allen,” and “Backyard Bonfires with Shawn Thomas.”
“Williams-Sonoma makes summer entertaining inspirational and easy, so getting together can be all about fun, friends and food,” said Janet Hayes, President of Williams-Sonoma. “The hosted videos show customers how to create memorable experiences in their own kitchen or backyard. Our partnership with Visa Checkout gives time back to our customers, so they can enjoy these moments even more.”
For a short time, the launch of “Time to Savor Summer” will also offer a $10 discount for customers that make Visa purchases over $100. This promotion ends July 31st, 2015.