2018 Brand Experience & Activation

BUSINESS FACELIFT

TitleBUSINESS FACELIFT
BrandMASTERCARD
Product/ServiceMASTERCARD
Category E02. Sponsorship & Brand Partnership
Entrant McCANN WORLDGROUP Warsaw, POLAND
Idea Creation McCANN WORLDGROUP Warsaw, POLAND
Credits
Name Company Position
Bartek Klimaszewski McCann Worldgroup Creative Director
Marcin Sosiński McCann Worldgroup Creative Director
Catalin Dobre McCann Erickson Worldwide Chief Creative Officer
Adrian Botan McCann Erickson Worldwide Global Creatve Director
Bartosz Włodarczyk McCann Worldgroup Senior Art Director
Jarosław Michalski McCann Worldgroup Design and Art Director
Sylwia Rękawek-Michoń McCann Worldgroup Senior Art Director
Grzegorz Karwowski McCann Worldgroup Senior Art Director
Natalia Karawajczyk McCann Worldgroup Senior Copywriter
Magdalena Banasik McCann Worldgroup Senior Copywriter
Agata Pietraszko McCann Worldgroup Designer
Agnieszka Le Hong McCann Worldgroup Digital Designer
Małgorzata Tereszczenko McCann Worldgroup Account Director
Iwona Kowalczyk McCann Worldgroup Account Supervisor
Marta Życińska Mastercard Vice President, Marketing and Communications CEE
Paweł Kotowski Mastercard Director, Area Marketing
Marta Borówka Mastercard Manager, Consumer Marketing
Marcin Samek McCann Worldgroup Strategy Director
Paweł Sitnicki McCann Worldgroup Strategic Planner
Justyna Sztengreber Sztengreber PR Director
Dominika Grzegdala McCann Worldgroup TV & Print Producer
Małgorzata Chojnacka McCann Worldgroup Head of Social Media
Klaudia Karkulowska McCann Worldgroup Community Manager
Rafał Jastrzębski Craft Worldwide Video Postproduction Manager

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

Mastercard teamed up with NGO's specializing in urban aesthetics to create Good Sign. This digital platform connects merchants with signboard makers and designers. On the platform they can also take a crash course about basics of communication and modern digital solutions. Those who implement Mastercard technologies can win storefront facelifts. This created a unique brand experience for business owners (knowledge, technology, design), their clients (cashless technologies) and their local communities (prettier neighborhoods).

Background

Situation: With the growth of large, international chain stores, Polish people lose their interest in small business. According to Businode Poland research, since 2009 our country lost over one hundred thousand small shops. The other peril comes from online trade, which is developing rapidly. But small companies are afraid of digital revolution and innovation. Business objective: terminalisation of Polish SME sector and increase the number of cashless transactions in SME sector. Communication objectives: building awareness of Mastercard's support to SME companies and secondly - improving the quality of Polish commercial communication.

Describe the creative idea

To help small business owners stay in business and at the same time make Poland pretty again. To do that we created Good Sign – a digital platform connecting merchants with signboard makers and designers. At www.dobryznak.org small business owners can also learn the basics of modern marketing. Those who implement Mastercard technologies could win a makeover of their storefront conducted by Traffic Design – winner of the Fast Company 2018 Innovation by Design Awards and our partner.

Describe the strategy

Brand’s meaningful role among all the target audiences and sectors is to enable to experience the priceless possibilities. In this case, to empower Polish SME and equalize the chances between large and small companies. Because well performing small companies are crucial for the economy, cardholders, and Mastercard. Small companies have always had problems when it comes to marketing communication. It was bad, amateur, ineffective. Not only was it discouraging to enter these points of sale, but it was also making the entire neighborhoods look hideous. With the upcoming landscape act, which obliged all the small companies to adhere to strict communication rules designed for specific cities, we wanted to own this subject and to educate business owners about importance and rules of proper marketing design. We felt it's the high time we've professionally changed the look and feel of the small shops.

Describe the execution

From the beginning we knew that Mastercard can provide cashless technologies and digital tools. It stands in no position to judge signboards. That’s why we teamed up with two NGO’s specializing in urban design: Miastodwa, who is a cocreator of Polish landscape regulations, was responsible for creating marketplace www.dobryznak.org with its designers’ database, good practice and legal advice, while Traffic Design is a curator of the project and executor of all the work. The platform was launched in June 2018. To create organic buzz, we conducted a stunt: overnight we changed signboards on one of the busiest streets in Warsaw. Next launched a competition: those who use Mastercard technologies could win a makeover of their storefront. It was supported with a standard campaign targeting SME (display, radio, OOH). At the same time, we used social media to build positive image of Mastercard among general public.

List the results

In the first month our campaign reached almost 5 out of 38 million Poles. Our market place gathered 25 independent design studios who started selling their services to merchants all around the country. In a limited time, it was visited by over 200k small business owners. Our competition initiated over 100 makeovers (some of them are still in the making). 69% of SME companies agreed the Mastercard supports small business. That’s 42% increase compared to campaign pretest. 79% of SME companies felt encouraged by the campaign to renew their signboards. 92% of SME companies want our campaign to be continued.