Marketing 4th Edition by Dhruv Grewal,Michael Levy

Exercise 1

MAKING MASTERCARD PRICELESS
How do you pay for books, clothing, groceries, or travel For many consumers, the answer is MasterCard, which has more than 200 million cards in circulation. Yet despite the credit card's popularity, it lags behind its major competitor, Visa, by nearly 100 million cards. It is also outstripped by American Express for both monthly and annual purchases and spending volume. Because MasterCard's primary function is to process transactions between each customer's bank and each merchant's bank, the company must appeal to two customer bases to build market share: the merchants who accept MasterCard for payment and the purchasers who use the card. These audiences are closely related, which implies that a single campaign can target both, likely even for an extended period. However, even the most successful campaigns can grow stale.
In 1997, MasterCard International and the advertising agency McCann Erickson Worldwide launched the emotion-based "Priceless" campaign, which celebrated life's most precious moments with the tagline, "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard." The campaign was hugely successful, saving MasterCard from disaster, even in direct competition with the more widely accepted Visa card. However, as consumer values and needs changed and the marketplace evolved, MasterCard faced a new challenge: how to retain customer loyalty and brand identification while reinvigorating its advertising. The solution was the "Priceless Cities" campaign.
EXPANDING SERVICES TO MEET MARKET DEMAND
In 1966, a group of California banks created a member-owned association called the Interbank Card Association. This association grew its services, changing its name to MasterCard in 1979 to reflect a commitment to international growth. As it reached new markets across the globe, MasterCard also focused on technology innovation to help make economic transactions faster, more convenient, and more secure. The company acquired interest in the international credit card EuroCard (known today as Europay International), as well as Cirrus, a worldwide interbank network that links MasterCard, Maestro, and Diner's Club credit, debit, and prepaid cards to an international network of ATMs. The company also added fraud\risk management providers to its network of services.
Today MasterCard's technology platform can handle more than 160 million transactions every hour with a 99.9 percent reliability rate, and the company has issued a contactless, or smart, card that communicates with terminals via radio waves. This payment method does not require a signature and can be a card or key fob that is tapped rather than swiped; it also appears as a smart-phone app. To provide even more value to customers, the company has added sophisticated consulting and information services that help merchants gain insight into consumer spending, according to their transaction data and in-depth analyses. These efforts have dovetailed with changes in consumer behaviour as shoppers have begun relying more on electronic payment options and less on paper-based currency. In 2006, the company transitioned to a new corporate governance and ownership structure and began trading on the NewYork Stock Exchange.
PRICELESS REVISITED
MasterCard began its Priceless campaign by identifying its target audience, which in this case focused on consumers. Hoping to persuade shoppers to keep their MasterCard at the top of their wallets, the campaign stressed the relationship between the card and experiences, as opposed to possessions. In early television ads, the narration linked the price of beauty parlor visits and new outfits to the "priceless" expression on an ex-boyfriend's face at a reunion, to create positive self-assessment feelings. In another, the cost of tickets, refreshments, and souvenirs at a game were tied to the "priceless" opportunity for meaningful conversation between father and son, to invoke both happiness and love. The Priceless campaign included various promotions and competitions, in additions to these television spots.
In 2004, Priceless print ads took a new tack, weaving well-known retailers into the ads, together with MasterCard's theme. These retailers-which represented another of MasterCard's target audiences-received value from the prominent placement of their names and product images in the ads. Messaging moved from the general to the specific; an ad showing a teenage rock band playing in a garage that might once have said, "extra-long extension cord, $11; moving them out of the living room: priceless," was modified to indicate that the extension cord was from Radio Shack. The result was a form of symbiotic marketing in which well-known brand names helped attract consumer attention to MasterCard ads, and each brand appeared to be endorsing the other.
MAGIC MOMENTS, PRICELESS CITIES
In July 2011, MasterCard launched an expanded campaign, called Priceless Cities. This campaign, kicked off initially in New York, offers cardholders special experiences in major cities that can be shared with family and friends. Designed to provide busy consumers with memorable opportunities in the realms of sports, music, entertainment, shopping, travel, arts, culture, and dining out, the campaign touted early opening times at the toy store FAO Schwartz, a safari sleepover at the Bronx Zoo, prime tickets to a Yankees game with an ex-Yankee, and VIP dining experiences designed by a famed chef. The idea, says MasterCard's chief marketing officer, is to transform consumers' perception of the card from simply part of a priceless moment to being the force that enables such experiences. In a shaky economy, when most competitors focus on deals and discounts, the MasterCard campaign attracts attention by appealing to emotions rather than wallets and stressing unforgettable experiences rather than cost savings. The campaign forges an additional bond with card users, because it places MasterCard at the center of these memorable social activities.
The ads run in more than 100 countries and air in more than 50 languages and the overall campaign uses print, radio, transit, outdoor advertising, and television. It also includes digital platforms to drive home its message, including a new section of the MasterCard website created specifically for the campaign, as well as social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. Cardholders register at the site to access special offers; World Elite MasterCard holders get preferred access to the events, as well as special offers.
Marketers must continuously evaluate their campaigns and update them to ensure they are effectively communicating with their customers. New channels like social marketing can change shopping behaviors, creating opportunities that must be considered as part of any marketing strategy. As MasterCard has shown, even the best ideas need new infusions and innovations to keep appealing to their targets.
Why was the original Priceless campaign such a success