In 2014 we set out to grow MasterCard leadership in the Travel category. Although no card is more accepted around the world, we had to increase awareness of our comprehensive products and services as well engage cardholders to change perceptions.
However, for a variety of reasons, US consumers are not traveling to the extent that they could. In fact over 400 million vacation days go unused every year in the US. Based upon this insight we decided to spark a true travel carpe diem movement.
Through our social channels we engaged families and empty-nesters, encouraging them to take just #OneMoreDay… to take the time they've earned… to make the most of every moment and vacation with their family and friends.
Our social marketing approach leveraged a strong mix of visually rich and engaging content -- crafted specifically for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram. With unique and highly sharable content attuned to the audiences and behaviors of each channel, the effort leveraged inspirational imagery from across the globe. From short videos and animated gifs to albums, travel boards and photography diaries we created a mix of content to showcase the MasterCard travel benefits while inspiring audiences to see what they could do with #OneMoreDay.
Our audiences loved the campaign's approach. As a result, in 4Q'14 the social effort amassed nearly 200 million impressions, generated nearly 3.5 million engagements and over 400,000 #OneMoreDay mentions – truly bringing to life the idea we all should take #OneMoreDay of vacation!
Within the Financial Services community, our competitive set has invested heavily in marketing their travel offerings for years. As a result, although no card is more accepted around the world, MasterCard is not consistently top-of-mind when many people are planning to travel domestically or internationally.
Consequently, with the travel marketplace expanding, 2014 was the time for MasterCard to change consumer perceptions. We needed to introduce a new marketing platform that would promote our comprehensive suite of travel-related products and services while shifting perception that MasterCard is the card for travel.
However, although the market is growing, US consumers are not traveling to the extent that they could. People are working as hard as ever, resulting in over 400 million vacation days to go unused every year.
Based upon this insight we decided to change the conversation and inspire our cardholders to take action. We set out to inform and motivate them to take one more day of vacation… just a day of the time they've already earned. One more day away from work, to travel and create those priceless moments with their family and friends. After all, travel makes us happier, more productive and brings us closer to the ones we love.
With this mantra as our North star we introduced the MasterCard Travel Campaign: #OneMoreDay.
Our social content was built upon this unified theme, encouraging people to take advantage of the free time that they have earned and to pledge to take #OneMoreDay of vacation.
Highlighting key MasterCard benefits and services, we developed a rich collection of beautiful, inspirational and aspirational content that showcased the benefits of traveling and the connections that grow from the quality-time spent with those we care about the most.
From short-form videos and animated GIFs to custom illustrations and photography, our social content was created to engage our target audiences, building upon the natural behaviors of each individual social channel.
Social storytelling on Facebook and Twitter helped to create awareness and dialog. Showcasing an array of dreamy vacation imagery from across the globe, these highly sharable photographs and videos sparked our audiences responded – generating over 2.5MM engagements.
Capitalizing on the rich, visual nature of Instagram we created a series of photo-diaries. Each series of custom pictures beautifully suggested how the viewer could spend #OneMoreDay in places such as New York, London and Hawaii. The stunning imagery amplified our core message and inspired consumers by featuring the priceless moments of discovery, family-time, friends-time that travel brings. As net result, our organic impressions and positive engagement went through the roof.
Pinterest is a channel for inspiration. As such, our approach was to help people dream and discover the possibilities that traveling with MasterCard can offer. Extending our custom imagery/content from cities across the globe we created travel pins / "places" boards. City maps on each custom board contained unique pins that identified the locations where the pictures were taken and provided a brief description of the experience -- helping our cardholders to plan their next adventure.
Tumblr provided an interesting opportunity… the chance to engage consumers with a passion for travel via truly unique and shareable content that would help build a groundswell in support of taking #OneMoreDay. Recognizing the needs of the audience and understanding the behaviors of those on the channel, we created a series of humorous illustrations and animated GIFs to inspire action. Capturing the spirit of travel and the desire of our audience, the viewers loved the content -- delivering nearly 20MM impressions and more than 275K engagements in just eight short weeks.
The net result? Our storytelling approach to this multi-platform Travel campaign, and our array of inspirational #OneMoreDay contented, surpassed campaign goals. The effort generated a tremendous engagement, significant shift in brand perception, positive brand sentiment and fabulous response from consumers.
