Mastercard humanises the brand through the medium of sports: Manasi Narasimhan

Mastercard has been working actively to connect with the masses through cricket in India. Apart from appointing former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador, the company has recently acquired title sponsorship rights for all international matches (featuring both women and men) of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) held on home ground, domestic cricket tournaments like Irani Trophy, Duleep Trophy, and Ranji Trophy, and all junior cricket (Under 19 and Under 23) matches held in India.

This partnership is an extension of Mastercard’s commitment to bolstering awareness about digital payments and providing priceless experiences to their cardholders.

Mastercard has recently joined hands with BCCI to launch the #HalkeMeinMattLo (Don’t take it casually) campaign as part of their ongoing endeavour to support gender equality on and off the field. The films developed under the campaign depict the journey of top Indian women cricketers Shafali Verma, Harleen Kaur Deol and Renuka Singh, highlighting their struggle, hard work and determination to do well.

In conversation with Adgully, Manasi Narasimhan, Vice President and Head, Marketing and Communications, Mastercard South Asia, speaks about Mastercard’s strategy for sports partnerships, identifying 10 passion points globally, foraying into the gaming sector, and more.

What is Mastercard’s strategy for sports sponsorships?

Mastercard’s brand strategy is all about connecting people with what they are passionate about. We have identified 10 passion points globally, which are sports, music, culinary, fashion, arts and culture, tourism, philanthropy, environment sustainability, health, and well-being. Sports is an area which people are extremely passionate about and connect well with. Hence, it has been an important part of our business strategy globally and in India as well.

With sponsorship deals ranging from baseball to e-sports to tennis, cricket, and soccer, Mastercard has a significant global presence in the world of sports. To increase our strategic outreach in the nation, we want to capitalise on the sports boom. The passion people have for sports in India will help us strengthen their trust in our brand and help us bolster the acceptance of digital payments in the country.

How do sports sponsorships help build the bridge between the company and people?

Sports is a big part of Indian culture. It cuts across gender, age, religion, and caste and brings people together as no other force can. People’s passion for the game comes to the forefront and they are open to engaging. Our goal at Mastercard is “connecting everyone via priceless possibilities”. We connect with everyone, including people who do not currently have access to the financial system, not just the wealthy and famous. We humanise our brand through the medium of sports and connect to the fans. It is about genuinely understanding the audience’s love for sports and then doing something meaningful in that space. Sports provides us with the chance to cross all these barriers, increase knowledge of digital payments, and foster acceptance.

How will the BCCI sponsorship aid in fulfilling Mastercard’s objectives such as spreading awareness about digital payments?

Cricket is more than a sport in India. Igniting passion and pride in millions of Indians every day, it is a unifying force that binds people from different walks of life. The partnership with the BCCI allows us not just to strengthen our brand recall, but also to nurture and invest in India’s sporting talent as we will be supporting domestic tournaments such as Ranji Trophy as well. Being the title sponsor for all international matches for the women’s cricket team held on home grounds will give us great chance to support and create more visibility for women’s cricket. The partnership allows us to engage with existing and new audiences, our partners such as banks and merchants across a spectrum of categories.

The response so far has been better than what we expected. The impact has been overwhelming and we are hopeful that it will continue to grow.

Other than BCCI, what are the other partnerships/ sponsorships that Mastercard is planning?

Mastercard has a diverse portfolio when it comes to sports partnerships. Golf resonates well with high-spending Mastercard cardholders and prospects. Hence, we onboarded Shiv Kapur and Anirban Lahiri as brand ambassadors. We also collaborated with Delhi Golf Club for The DGC Open to co-create golf experiences that not only bring top talent from all over the world to play in India, but also broaden the fan following for golf in the country.

The inspiring performance of India at the Asian Games, the Olympics and Thomas Cup has made badminton the most flourishing sport in India in the last decade.  We roped in badminton players Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as our brand ambassadors to spread awareness about the safety, security, and convenience of digital payments in India.

Mastercard has also forayed into gaming with gaming titles and ambassadors since 2018. To create unique and deeply gratifying experiences for those who are passionate about gaming, Mastercard was the first global sponsor of the League of Legends in 2018, through a multi-year partnership with Riot Games. We also launched Mastercard Gamer Xchange (MGX), a first-of-its-kind, turnkey solution that helps consumers convert their unspent rewards points into gaming currency across nearly 4,000 of the world’s most popular gaming titles.

We are endeavouring to extend our sports-related expertise to India and create priceless experiences and possibilities for our cardholders.

What can Mastercard cardholders expect in the coming days, that connects them to sports?

Mastercard is committed to delivering “priceless” experiences that matter more than items of tangible value to its cardholders. We engage with all facets of consumers in a purposeful and relevant way.

Through exclusive offers and promotions, Mastercard cardholders throughout the world benefit from our sponsorships. These include virtual workout sessions with Shaped by iB – a boutique Fitness Club in Vienna, and Masterclasses with renowned sportspeople like José Mourinho, three-time UK Premier League Champion, and World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen, etc.

We also have a high level of cultural sensitivity and are aware of India’s subtleties and sensibilities. We are all working to create something that has great meaning for the fans and a profound influence on the brand. This is just the beginning and our cardholders can expect a lot of action from us going forward.