The Campaign

Nothing was more well-loved and celebrated in Vietnam than football—a sport that unified a nation, with a madness that can only be described as priceless. Mastercard noticed an excellent opportunity to tap on this collective love, inspiring people to celebrate their passion, while driving everyday card usage. Leveraging its sponsorship of the prestigious UEFA Champions League, Mastercard created the Road To Milan, a multi-channel digital campaign that gave several fans the opportunity to experience the game like never before. Every swipe of the card brought users one city closer to Milan on a virtual map, with 10 swipes giving them a chance to qualify as a winner. Along the way, MasterCard also rewarded them with football-related offers. No minimum spend was required for each swipe, encouraging everyday use. At the same time, users were engaged on Facebook with posts that included match updates, football-related tips and simple games.

Creative Execution

To first engage its users, Mastercard had to spark interest. It did this by building its Facebook page from scratch and inviting users to share their goal celebrations for a chance to see their kids escort a UEFA Champions League player onto the pitch at the Chelsea vs Paris St-Germain match. Facebook posts, display ads on desktop and mobile, as well as a video were created. Once interest was heightened and engagement at its peak, MasterCard went on to drive card usage, where 10 swipes gave cardholders a chance to win a trip to Milan to watch the UEFA Champions League Final live. It did this by creating a microsite and building its own CRM platform—where every swipe of the card would trigger automated EDMs to be sent to cardholders to inform them of their progress and the rewards they could enjoy.

Record-Breaking Card Usage MasterCard saw a 126% increase in the average number of transactions, With an average of 16 swipes per cardholder. Those who used their cards at least once a week also rose from less than 10% to 70%. Merchant partner Domino’s saw a 40% increase average ticket size, While Lazada enjoyed a 400% increase in daily Mastercard transactions. Brand Awareness & Engagement Mastercard reached 58 million people, And engaged almost 400,000 Facebook users at just one cent per user. This surpassed Vietnam’s industry benchmarks by 243% in engagement rate And 294% in amplification rate (e.g. FB shares and retweets) - Mastercard’s share of voice in the finance industry also grew from 20% before the campaign to 70%.

With no presence in Vietnam, Mastercard had to connect with as many people as possible in a simple and powerful way. Learnings have shown that an emotional cut-through was pivotal in motivating people to respond to a functional message. Thus, it leveraged a passion like none other—football. With Facebook the leading social media platform in Vietnam, it was used for all engagement activity. Analysing past campaigns, Mastercard also realised that the ‘highest spender’ contest mechanic failed to increase transaction volume. Hence, it wanted to encourage everyday card usage, not dollar spent—incentivizing not just a wealthy few but every cardholder. It did this by rewarding cardholders with football-related online offers they could enjoy throughout the campaign, further enticing them to embrace the culture of card usage. From sporting gear to Uber rides for post-match journeys, the offers messaging were carefully crafted and weaved in seamlessly with consumers’ lives.