Mastercard Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Raja Rajamannar said that he sees the company's reduced ad spending during the pandemic as a "temporary move that's more attuned to the current sentiment than a way to cut costs," according to a Q&A with Kristina Monllos of DIGIDAY. Rajamannar said, "The first thing we did was we started looking at (our advertising) from a philosophical perspective. There are times when you want to sell. This is not a time when you want to sell. This is the time to serve. Consumers don't want you to keep sending ads to them in a tone deaf fashion." Below are excerpts from the Q&A, some of which have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Are you spending less on ads?
Rajamannar: Yes, we have tightened our belts. At the same time, we’re making sure we don’t go dark. Globally, there’s a change in the messaging, strategy and tactics. All those changes require money.
Q: Where have you pulled back?
Rajamannar: The bulk of the change happened with sponsorship. Without (live events or sports) happening, that sponsorship opportunity has been canceled and that money is there. In 2013, we pivoted Mastercard. ... We moved a lot (of our budget) from traditional advertising into experiential marketing in a big way. As part of that shift, we went into sponsorships pretty significantly.
Q: When do you think advertising spending will return or go back up?
Rajamannar: As the economy starts to open up, you cannot be a silent brand. We need to see what’s going on in each region and based on the moment the market starts to open up. Marketers will quickly start to spend their marketing dollars again. So marketing spending will probably start coming back in Q3 (DIGIDAY.com, 4/28).
