For many years, Mastercard has used an advertising campaign that is very recognizable. Their commercials have used “priceless” moments in our lives to promote the use of their credit cards. The term “priceless” has become part of Mastercard’s identity. Now, as this article from the Globe and Mail explains, they are seeking to further emphasize this by randomly surprising Mastercard users with random, unexpected, and “priceless” rewards.

The new approach by Mastercard is attempting to gain the support of customers by employing celebrities and athletes to surprise fans. The marketing strategy is definitely not the authodox way of gaining exposure. However, in a world where traditional marketing methods are slowly becoming less and less valuable, the need for creative marketing is at an all-time high. The cost of this unique way of marketing is inevitably high. However, the advertising expenditure is something that Mastercard feels will benefit them greatly in the long run.

By utilizing a costly method, Mastercard are ensuring that they provide customer service excellence. Many companies in the past have strived off of this strategy and ultimately it has led to greater customer loyalty. For example, Nordstorm is a company that focuses a lot of attention of customer service. By doing so, customers are more likely to return to the store of multiple occasions and continue the business relationship.

For Mastercard, competition is fierce. Competing for market share with Visa is a long struggle that Mastercard will continue to face. However, by setting itself apart through focusing on the customer, Mastercard may have found the key to attracting and retaining the majority market share for credit card users.