Kylie Minogue fronts MasterCard’s ‘Priceless’ Brit Awards sponsorship activation across a blanket of marketing ranging from intimate exclusive gigs and Twitter competitions, to an integrated ad campaign blended with social media and PR work (the latter generating a backlash media storm – more of which later).
The Australian singer is also joined by song writer Laura Mvula and US singer Pharrell Williams as fellow brand ambassadors for the event’s long term commercial partner’s leverage campaign.
After a successful 18-year partnership, MasterCard’s ‘Priceless’ Brits strategy is steadily evolving from being based around a brand celebrating ‘Priceless Moments’ into one that creates shareable ‘Priceless Experiences’.
The year the payments giant has been offering cardholders the option to apply for tickets to a series of ‘Priceless Gigs’ – including Laura Mvula at Kensington Roof Gardens, Kylie unveiling new material at a March show and intimate Pharrell gig in May – by applying via its www.somethingforthefans.com campaign hub.
Also, back in mid January, the headline sponsor launched a parallel series of 24-hour Twitter competitions which offered music lovers a chance to experience a #PricelessMoment (and meet) their favourite music stars at these brand-backed concerts.
The stars themselves used PR, social media and online video to invite consumers to enter the competition by simply retweeting the competition post from the @MasterCardUK Twitter account.
The musicians also sprung Priceless Surprises on a set of lucky fans – these were, of course, filmed and posted up on the brand’s campaign YouTube channel.
These included Kylie’s #PricelessSurprise of Adam in his gym,
Pharrell’s #PricelessSurprise of Queen at her playgroup,
and Laura’s #PricelessSurprise of super fan Sophia.
The activation is further supported by traditional ad executions, a heavy focus on Twitter through the brand’s #PricelessSurprises hashtag and other campaign elements including lay on cars to take guests to the awards, plus logo inclusion on all BRIT Awards iconography and real estate ranging from onsite at the event in the O2 to the organiser’s website.
And as for that media backlash, MasterCard’s PR agency caused a storm of press protest with its heavy-handed approach to offering Brit Awards tickets to journalists in return for guaranteed, pre-scripted Twitter coverage. Showing not only how sponsor brands can loose control of agency activity, but also that PR outfits can live and die on social media.
Comment
This distinctly international artist line-up reflects the Brits ambition to become a more international event’.
MasterCard recently renewed its Brit Awards sponsorship for a further year years after 16 years of partnership with Europe’s top music awards event.
‘The BRITs are very close to my heart so working with MasterCard after their sixteen year support of these iconic awards was an easy decision to make,’ said Kylie.
‘The Priceless campaign appealed to me as it revolved around getting fans closer to the music, something which is also incredibly important to me.’
Shaun Springer, MasterCard UK & Ireland’s head of brand and sponsorship, said: ‘As well as increasing overall brand warmth and encouraging usage by bringing exclusive benefits to the table for customers, these experiences are now key in our quest to generate conversation on social media.’
Links
MasterCard ‘Something For The Fans’ Website
http://www.somethingforthefans.co.uk/
Brits Awards Website
