Mastercard places small business ‘dreams’ at the center of its new global campaign

Mastercard is bringing its “Priceless” brand to the small business space, launching a global platform built around the stories of ambitious entrepreneurs.

Under the banner “Dreams”, Mastercard is rolling out the platform in Australia, the US, the UK and Brazil, with a local campaign starring Australian business owners and the tagline: “Give your dream a chance. It’s priceless.”

The campaign focuses on the personal ambitions that drive the founders.

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Speaking to Mumbrella ahead of the campaign launch, Mastercard Australasia vice president of marketing and communications Alexandra Sloane said the strategy was based on the company’s Dreamonomics report, which surveyed 6,000 business owners around the world.

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“There are many campaigns for small businesses [that] falling into that trope that it’s all about growth. ..actually, it’s about more than that. It’s about whatever your dream is. “It’s quite personalized,” he said.

“[We’re] without assuming that it is doubling, tripling or expanding. It’s actually very nuanced and that’s why we took the approach of talking to small businesses and just presenting their authentic story.”

The campaign features companies at different stages of growth, each facing the challenges of going it alone, from managing expansion and increasing administrative workloads to navigating technology and cross-border payments.

Sloane said Mastercard deliberately takes a back seat creatively, with the owners and their stories remaining at the center.

“It’s really about telling emotional stories, being authentic and playing heroes for these companies,” he said.

“Mastercard’s role in this is not to be the hero of the story, but to provide the technology, security and infrastructure across our global network that helps small businesses focus on what they started the business to do in the first place.”

Behind that positioning, Mastercard is promoting the technological and payment infrastructure it offers to small businesses.

The company is also developing an AI-powered “virtual C-suite” for small businesses, including a virtual CFO designed to manage cash flow, analyze performance and working capital, and assist with decision-making in real time.

“For us, it’s building for small businesses because they are a critical part of the economy. The work we do behind the scenes to enable them is our priority.” she said.

The Australian campaign is being rolled out primarily on social media and out-of-home, alongside longer-form “Dream Diaries” content. Among those featured in the latter is Melbourne-based jewelery company House of Dizzy.

The campaign was developed through Mastercard’s global and local agency, overseen by its internal marketing and communications team.

McCann Global led the creative, with TBWA Sydney leading local creative execution, EssenceMediacom leading paid media and Ogilvy PR leading communications.

Creative