MasterCard is taking its “Priceless Surprises” platform into new territory: real-time, mobile-based rewards.
In the U.S., the brand partnered with San Francisco-based mobile marketing company Kiip, which was co-founded by Canadian Brian Wong. Kiip launched in 2010 with a “moment-based rewards” platform that allows brands to reward gamers for achievements. It has since expanded into other apps such as fitness and food.
The Priceless Surprises app uses Kiip’s new engagement platform that allows brands to add mobile rewards to their own apps, social media pages and mobile websites.
“For the first time ever, we are white-labelling our technology and allowing another brand to power their own eco-system,” said Wong. “Brands came to us and said, ‘we’re buying all these moments in other apps, but we also have our own ecosystems and apps where we’d like to use your technology to surprise and delight our own consumers.”
Wong said MasterCard is the first to leverage the new platform. It will allow MasterCard to “serendipitously acknowledge and reward customers,” said Wong. For example, MasterCard can give a priceless surprise to someone who engages with the brand on Twitter.
A big difference with Kiip’s new platform is that it enables brands to reward consumers for their existing behaviours in real time, rather than consumers doing an activity to get a reward.
A software development kit will allow MasterCard’s advertising partners to reach cardholders through smartphone push notifications. For example, an airline could offer a free lounge pass to someone who checked a delayed flight status.
In a press release, MasterCard said it would seek to integrate with some of its largest sponsorship partners around the world.
“Through one surprise at a time, we aim to deliver Priceless Surprises at scale in a contextually relevant and real-time manner,” said chief marketing offer Raja Rajamannar. “We’ve pushed a lot of boundaries to date, but it’s the insights and mobile technologies available today that will get us closer to our goal of enabling delightful experiences for MasterCard cardholders.”
MasterCard launched its global “Priceless Surprises” platform in 2014. The program awards cardholders surprises such as seat upgrades at sport events, backstage passes and meetings with celebrities.
