With marketers grappling with new technology and demands, Mastercard’s CMO Raja Rajamannar urges brands to develop their marketing teams to stay ahead of the curve.
As Mastercard marks 26 years partnering with the Brits, marketing boss Raja Rajamannar discusses consistency, sonic branding and why Generative AI requires serious thought.
CMO Raja Rajamannar argues there is a difference between ‘brand purpose’ and ’cause marketing’, as he outlines the “roadmaps” Mastercard has built towards its own north star.
Mastercard marketing boss Raja Rajamannar argues that while the CEO might be in the driving seat on sustainability programmes, it is the marketing department that makes these ideas a reality.
In addition to launching a Mastercard sound and taste, the brand has now unveiled a Mastercard smell, all of which is helping it to elevate the brand’s status, says Raja Rajamannar.
With a “tsunami” of new technologies incoming, marketing is about to become more important than ever, argues Raja Rajamannar. So how do marketers regain their place at the table?
Mastercard’s Raja Rajamannar set up a risk management function within marketing three years ago, which has enabled the business to better cope with the fallout of the pandemic.
Mastercard’s marketing team is taking both a long- and short-term view as it looks to mitigate the risk of the pandemic on its business.
Has a socially distanced world rendered experiential marketing redundant, or has the lockdown only emphasised the importance of real life events as milestones in consumers’ lives?
From finding the right work/life balance to seeing the positive impact marketing can have beyond driving business growth, there are some questions Raja Rajamannar wishes he had asked earlier in his career.
The ability to anticipate and satisfy consumer needs in a rapidly changing market will be key to success during the pandemic and beyond, as the likes of Mastercard and Budweiser have shown.
Mastercard believes having a head of risk management for marketing allowed it to shift strategy much faster than other businesses when coronavirus emerged.
Maintaining relevance and responding rapidly to consumer demand has helped Microsoft, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Disney retain their spot in Interbrand’s top 10 after 20 years.
Having dealt with sight with the launch of its symbol logo and hearing with its brand sound, Mastercard is looking to push its brand positioning still further with the launch of its own taste.
In the late 1990s, Mastercard needed a long-term marketing platform to help reboot the brand, which was on a “burning platform” in the US. But while Mastercard knew it was on to a winner with ‘Priceless’, no one foresaw it still being part of the brand’s DNA 22 years later.