Why finance brands are pushing experiences

Finance brands are pushing money-can’t-buy customer journeys in an effort to keep customers engaged.

Take Mastercard’s “Priceless Surprises” lottery, for example. Customers who get their name drawn could be sent to a dinner at a fancy restaurant, on a vacation to their favorite city, or even have Justin Timberlake show up at their doorstep. It’s part of a larger trend in financial marketing to let the customer “feel” the experience of the brand in a way that’s not connected to a particular product or service.

“Storytelling is dead,” said Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer for Mastercard, speaking at Advertising Week New York on Tuesday. “You need to engage with consumers in a way that’s completely different; you need to connect with them as people, understanding what matters in their lives.”

So, rather than craft a story for the customer, brands now want to be part of that story, being there for life experiences that matter most to them. The thinking is the result of a change in the marketing strategies from storytelling around products to enmeshing the brand with the customer’s life.

Read the full story on tearsheet.co

Featured image of Chase-sponsored concert at the Club Bar & Grill in Madison Square Garden, courtesy Chase

More in Marketing

OpenAI’s next ChatGPT ad format: click to chat, not to site

The new format lets brands turn an ad click into a conversation with an AI agent inside ChatGPT, rather than sending users to their websites.

As Google’s ad tech case nears its end, the antitrust fight moves to AI

Google avoided breakups in antitrust cases as AI ads and CTV draw scrutiny; see what regulators may target next.

Future of Marketing Briefing: One more helping, for gluttons still hungry for Publicis and PepsiCo takes

Yes, more thoughts on what it means, or doesn’t, that Publicis walked away from competing for Coca-Cola’s media dollars to grab PepsiCo’s instead.