CleverTap Engage: Mastercard Executive Discusses Importance of Experiential Marketing

Mastercard's healthcare business CMO outlines how experiences are key to engagement and value propositions for customers

News provided by

CleverTap

Jun 23, 2021, 09:00 ET

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and MUMBAI, India, June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "CleverTap Engage", a new video interview series featuring the globe's most respected CEOs and executives, today released an insightful interview with Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard's healthcare business Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and President and author of Quantum Marketing, which explores Mastercard's use of experiential marketing to engage customers and provide value in challenging times.

Co-hosted by Peggy Anne Salz, a top 30 mobile marketing influencer and veteran Forbes writer, and John Koetsier, a mobile expert and senior Forbes writer, the series' third episode highlights Rajamannar's instrumental role in adapting Mastercard's marketing strategies and guiding the company through the pandemic. Under his leadership, Mastercard shifted from traditional advertising to experiential marketing, empowering consumers to create their own memorable experiences. When the pandemic limited in-person activities like sporting events and concerts, Rajamannar adapted a new strategy to create "priceless experiences" that focused on digital activities, like virtual golf or cooking lessons, to engage and provide value to customers.

"Determining the right ways to pivot this past year was crucial for corporations to engage customers authentically in the digital realm," said Dave Dabbah, CMO of CleverTap. "When their customers needed it most, Rajamannar and Mastercard set a powerful example of how connection can be established and superior value created. Mastercard's marketing strategy success throughout the pandemic serves as testament to the advantage of personalized engagement."

Echoing Dabbah's focus on the facilitation of dedicated brand champions, which is at the core of CleverTap's solution, Rajamannar outlined how Mastercard reinvented its advertising strategy to concentrate on marketing efforts. These tactics were developed to directly engage customers through exclusive Mastercard experiences, rather than buying expensive advertisements that are more likely to annoy customers.

"Loyalty is dead, the concept of brand needs a rebrand, and corporations must raise their DQ (Decency Quotient)," Salz says. "Mastercard's Raja Rajamannar opens our eyes to today's hard truths and reminds us that marketing is in danger of losing credibility. He is painfully candid about the challenges ahead, but fortunately for us, he is also incredibly insightful about what brands and businesses must do to communicate with empathy and emphasize serving over selling."

The third guest on CleverTap Engage, Rajamannar added to a powerful lineup of speakers sharing their insights into how the world's largest companies are engaging customers.

"The most insightful leaders break paradigms so effectively you wonder why you ever thought the way you did," says John Koetsier. "Among other gems, Mastercard CMO Raja Rajamannar shares why customer loyalty is not about customers being loyal to brands, but brands being loyal to customers. Which then, of course, has an impact on brand loyalty: customers who stay."

Those interested in tuning in can find episodes on CleverTap's website, or stream them directly on Spotify.

About CleverTap:
CleverTap is the leading customer engagement and retention platform that helps brands maximize user lifetime value. Consumer brands around the world representing over 10,000 apps—including Vodafone, Sony, MercedesBenz.io, Carousell, and Gojek—trust CleverTap to help them improve user engagement and retention thereby growing long term revenue. CleverTap is backed by leading venture capital firms, including Sequoia India, Tiger Global Management, Accel, and Recruit Holdings, and is headquartered in Mountain View, CA with regional offices in Amsterdam, Singapore, Dubai, and Mumbai. For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.