Insight
Nearly 2 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer in 2014.
MasterCard has been a partner of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), a popular non-profit organisation dedicated to funding cancer research, for four years. For eight weeks in the summer, MasterCard makes a donation to SU2C each time a cardholder dines out and pays with their MasterCard.
For 2014, MasterCard wanted a creative, exciting way to reinvigorate the partnership. It also wanted to move “Priceless” beyond identifying priceless moments to enabling priceless experiences for cardholders. This effort was designed to refresh and renew the 17 year-old Priceless message, one of the most successful and recognisable campaigns in advertising.
Additionally, this effort had to generate buzz amongst media outlets and increase consumer card usage at restaurants during the aggressive eight-week promotional period. Ultimately, MasterCard’s goal was to donate $4 million to SU2C.
Strategy
There isn’t anyone in the United States whose life hasn’t been touched in some way by cancer. Carat knows that consumers shared MasterCard’s desire to help fight the disease as “Health and Healthcare” is the #1 cause marketing category for the target. It also recognised that the promotion was a bit tired and needed something special to make consumers take notice and action.
Evolving MasterCard’s media landscape was imperative to staying relevant with its consumer base. The strategy was to develop a one-of-a-kind campaign that would gain the attention of media outlets, celebrities and consumers, all while giving cardholders a simple way to fight cancer and join MasterCard in supporting a cause close to their heart.
To capture the attention of the nation, Carat turned to America’s favourite pastime - baseball. It capitalised on MasterCard’s presence in Major League Baseball stadiums across the country and used high-profile tent pole events (The Home Run Derby, All-Star Game and the World Series) to amplify MasterCard branding on a national level while still encouraging people to dine-out and use their cards locally.
Execution
All-Star Game:
Carat capitalised on MasterCard’s sponsorship of Major League Baseball (MLB) by amplifying activity during the popular Home Run Derby and All-Star Game in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Creative featuring SU2C celebrity ambassador and two-time Modern Family Emmy-winner Eric Stonestreet set up a special in-game integration where Eric “surprised” ESPN announcer Pedro Gomez at a stadium restaurant and highlighted how cardholders could dine out and donate.
A second emotionally charged spot featured live announcer-read copy and a televised placard moment where 48,000+ people stood at the All-Star Game with SU2C branded signs honouring cancer victims. Especially poignant was honouring Baseball Hall of Famer and 15-time All-Star Tony Gwynn Sr. who died of salivary gland cancer the previous month. His son, also a MLB player, attended the event in his father’s honuor.
On site activations brought MasterCard’s “Priceless Surprises” to local cardholders where it surprised them at the All-Star parade with tickets to the game and other MLB-related prizes.
World Series:
The high point of the programme took place during the World Series when MasterCard presented SU2C with a $4 million donation. This televised moment was the programme’s third in-game integration and was rebroadcast to further drive awareness and association of MasterCard, MLB and SU2C working together to find a cure.
Priceless Table:
Priceless Table was a first-of-its-kind promotional experience where the agency built and launched a high-end restaurant high above the neon lights of Times Square on a billboard. Cardholders booked reservations through OpenTable to enjoy a five-star meal from world-famous chef Marcus Samuelsson.
Results
To date, MasterCard has donated more than $16 million to SU2C. Additionally:
• 685 million impressions delivered a digital engagement rate 2.5x better than industry benchmarks
• MasterCard’s dining category grew +6.4ppts faster than the competition, resulting in a 265% growth rate, and shattering the industry’s 3.9% growth average
• 91% of MasterCard social mentions were Priceless Table-specific, generating 730,000 engagements using time-lapsed video rich media units and paid and owned social
• Search CTR grew +190% from 2013 while Cost-Per-Click dropped 72%. SU2C terms delivered the highest CTR at 3.9%
• On Priceless Table launch day, MasterCard led SOV 30% against competitors, maintaining lead post-launch, driving 27% of the conversation vs. Visa’s 16%
• MasterCard was one of the first advertisers to use YouTube’s premium Google Preferred solution, running SU2C assets only across the top 5% of YouTube, which was beta at the time
• Added-value OOH on the Reuters and NASDAQ signs dominated Times Square
• NYC-based national radio personality Elvis Duran heightened awareness of Priceless Table by talking about it on-air for 15 minutes
• Top-tier PR in Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes and ABCNews.com
• Presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr drove a 25% increase in mentions vs. 2013, reaching nearly 12,000 buzz mentions.