He’s standing outdoors rather than a boardroom, wearing an open-necked shirt rather than a stiff suit and tie, speaking from Cannes rather than downtown Manhattan. Though it may not have been intentional, a recent online video with Raja Rajamannar may be a good example of how he wants the MasterCard brand to be perceived.
Speaking in a clip produced by The Holmes Report in association with Hill+Knowlton Strategies, the payment firm’s CMO took a few minutes from the recent Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to set the record straight about what MasterCard stands for and how it is trying to shift consumer perceptions.
“The reality is we do not issue a single credit card,” he said. The company is really a “technology platform” that allows partners “to create experiences for consumers, so we get perceived as an experiential lifestyle brand, and these experiences are in various passions for consumers.”
In fact, MasterCard has identified nine “passion categories” such as travel, shopping and music. It was philanthropy, however, that inspired one of its most recent initiatives: “Priceless Causes,” which was first launched with the Stand Up To Cancer Foundation and encouraged U.S. consumers to use their credit card during an eight-week period for purchases, with a portion of the transaction going to the charity.
The success of that project led Rajamannar’s team to expand the program to other countries, including Canada. “Priceless Causes” has raised US$34 million to date for cancer research, he said, and the impact on MasterCard has been equally significant — both in terms of the company’s “share of wallet” and its own corporate culture.
“Consumers’ perception about the brand really gets elevated,” he said. “From a company perspective, we feel that we are doing something truly good, and while we are doing that good, we can continue to do well.”
