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Mastercard Mobile Payments DMEXCO

MasterCard wants to shake of its image as a credit card company and become a ‘lifestyle brand’

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By Natalie Mortimer, N/A

September 18, 2015 | 4 min read

Despite brand perception of the almost half a century-old MasterCard linked intrinsically with finance it now wants consumers to view it as a lifestyle brand.

Following the repositioning of the brand, which dropped its ‘Best Way to Pay’ positioning in favour of the more consumer centric ‘Priceless’ messaging, it now focusses on how it can enhance lifestyle experiences powered by the brand.

As part of this ambition, a large part of MasterCard’s marketing centres on four digital platforms designed to connect with consumers on a deeper level and tap into a variety of passion points from travel to philanthropy.

Speaking to The Drum MasterCard Worldwide’s chief marketing officer Raja Rajamannar explained why the business decided to reassess its image in the marketplace after he took up the role two years ago.

“We are not a credit card company, we are seen to be a credit card company [but] we want to be a lifestyle brand,” he said. “We are a technology company, which happens to be in financial services, giving lifestyle to consumers and we are a lifestyle experiential brand and that’s a position we have been developing over the last two years.”

The four platforms – Priceless Cities, Priceless Surprises, Priceless Causes and Priceless Specials are helping the brand to rise up in rating lists and rankings, handing MasterCard a marketing advantage, claimed Rajamannar.

Given the pace of innovation within mobile payments, MasterCard is now actively looking to work in partnership with other businesses to create better and more seamless payments both via mobile and wearable devices. MasterCard first dipped its toe in the space earlier this year when it launched Qkr! in partnership with Wagamama, a mobile app that allows customers to pick when they pay and choose if they want to split the bill before sending over a payment.

Rajamannar is a firm believer of creating brand partnerships – MasterCard currently collaborates with everyone from the government of Singapore to actor Hugh Jackman – and said that such relationships are ‘extremely’ important as the payment landscape evolves.

“Because we want to address nine different passion points of human beings around the world, and there are 1.6bn consumers around the world, you cannot do it all by yourself because we don’t manufacture everything and we don’t create everything,” he said. “Partnerships are very critical, not just in the mobile space and digital space but in totality.”

Perhaps, surprisingly, MasterCard doesn’t see the rise of Apple Pay et al as a threat – despite developing its own offering with initiatives like Qkr! – with Rajamannar quick to dismiss the notion. “Many times people ask, ‘Oh my god Apple Pay has come is it a competition to you?’ [And we say] no, because we are the force that is powering Apple Pay and Samsung Pay and Android Pay, so we are basically a network on which all the transactions happen. Apple Pay for us is one form of embedding this functionality inside there,” he added.

Mastercard Mobile Payments DMEXCO

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