As a sponsor of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 in Aotearoa (New Zealand), technology brand Mastercard had a platform to showcase its innovation credentials, through the Player of the Match (POTM) Trophy. Simple.

Problem was, Mastercard wasn’t ‘Top of Wallet’ in Aotearoa, making demonstration of brand relevance and participation in the market critical.

So, Mastercard needed to activate POTM with a cultural lens, reinforcing their commitment to the local market, as well as reaching the hearts & minds of sports fans in Aotearoa, demonstrating the brand’s understanding of the country and its culture.

Campaign success would be assessed against three key objectives:

- Demonstrate Mastercard’s connection to the local NZ/Māori culture

- Position Mastercard as an innovator, beyond secure payments

- Drive conversation of Mastercard’s sponsorship of the tournament and broader commitment to accelerating the women’s game & growing youth participation.

First, we engaged cultural expert Piri Hetet, ensuring campaign development, messaging & content was accurate and respectful. Then, with innovation in mind, we developed a world first – a Sonic Trophy.

In Māori culture, female-led oral storytelling is sacred. Working with Māori designer Nichola Te Kiri we created a trophy evocative of the kakahu (cloak), worn by the Kaikaranga (ceremonial caller).

Embedded within each trophy was a sound unit. At the click of a button, ‘Player of the Match’ recipients heard a bespoke highlights reel of their game, comprised of broadcast feeds, fan commentary – via mic’d-up young female superfans in-stadium – the stadium roar, the kaikaranga cry, and the Mastercard Sonic sound, all captured and mixed live at our Mastercard Sonic Studio.

26 matches, 26 bespoke trophies. Spotlighting the shared values between the recipient and the Kaikaranga, and amplifying the voices within women’s rugby for years to come.

Mastercard understands the power of their audience’s passions, and how connecting to it helps to grow relevancy, trust, and integration into their audience’s lives.

That’s why its ‘Priceless’ brand is all about emotional connections – because it’s not about the purchases, but the moments you share it with a loved one.

In Sports, Mastercard works to support these passions through initiatives – like its long-term commitment to supporting female sports, with programs that have impacted the lives of athletes, and inspired millions of girls and women around the world.

Their sponsorship of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 was not only a natural extension, but also a way to invite the world to see Mastercard’s fan connection and local relevance.

This supports winning back the ‘Top of Wallet’ space, builds global visibility in innovation, and ultimately taps into women’s sports fan audience, who rewards support with immediate engagement and spend.

We worked closely with Māori cultural advisor Piri Hetet and designer Nichola Te Kiri to ensure the ‘Player of the Match’ (POTM) trophy was culturally sensitive, and told authentic stories.

To capture the live emotions of every game, we set up a Mastercard Sonic Studio, made up of a team of sound engineers and designers, who collected and clipped the different live sound layers.

The layers were made up of young female superfans, who were mic’d up for every game – their voices expressing the action, the official World Rugby broadcast commentary, the stadium roar & the Mastercard Sonic brand.

Over 2,080 minutes of gameplay was captured across 5 weeks, edited into bespoke soundtracks, and embedded into 26 trophies, which were then awarded to the POTM minutes after the final whistle. Our POTM became our media channel to the global rugby youth, sharing with them the attention we’d earned.

Mastercard had the largest Share of Voice across the tournament, which demonstrated a powerful connection to Rugby fans. We also raised the profile of the game globally.

- 60.8M Impressions on Social

- 42M Reach

- $460.2k Earned Media Value

26 Elite Athletes became our spokespeople, and media channel to the next generation.

It positioned Mastercard as an innovator.

- +78% increased their belief that Mastercard is an innovative brand

It demonstrated Mastercard’s connections to the traditions of local NZ/Māori culture:

- 1 in 2 now view Mastercard more positively, due to its understanding of New Zealand culture

And most importantly, showcased Mastercard’s commitment to accelerating the women’s game and growing youth participation.

- Mastercard tripled awareness that they’re accelerating women’s sports.

Because it’s not just the numbers; the accountability that comes from visibility will continue to grow the game, and be the legacy for years to come.