CANNES – If you thought Mastercard’s brand revision was just about the logo, think again, listen up or… have a sniff.
For Raja Rajamannar, Chief Marketing Communications Officer & President, Healthcare Business, Mastercard, marketing has to go “multi-sensory”.
That means appealing to ears, noses, tastebuds and skin receptors.
Sensory clutter
“When we are trying to reach the hearts and mights of people today, we overly rely on the visual medium to the sense of sight,” Rajamannar says in this video interview with Beet.TV at Cannes Lions.
“When there’s so much of clutter that is happening, there is an information overload. You need to find alternate ways of reaching consumers and cutting through the clutter and standing out. And that’s where sonic comes in very handy.”
Mastercard has introduced three sonic logos since 2019, and plans to add seven more.
Beyond sight and sound
But the company hasn’t stopped there. After sight and sound, Rajamannar wants to appeal to the other three senses:
- Smell: The company has launched two perfume fragrances.
- Taste: Mastercard has experimented with opening temporary restaurants in cities around the world.
- Touch: Mastercard introduced a Touch Card, a card with a series of notches so that it can be easily identified by blind, partially sighted or other users.
MasterCard Harnesses Spend Data For Marketing, CMO Rajanmannar Says
Good card
Rajamannar is trying to make Mastercard multi-sensor whilst also making it a good citizen.
The company has created a series of “Priceless Causes”, collaborations with charities across a range of causes.
“They had to be authentic to Mastercard,” Rajamannar says.
“It cannot just be about purpose-washing and making statements that are politically correct, or just getting some soundbites for your CEO to make some speeches or to write in your annual reports.”
You are watching ‘Attention Matters: New Ways to Build Community & Drive Engagement’, a Beet.TV Leadership Summit at Cannes Lions 2022, presented by WMX in partnership with dentsu.
For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
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