This case talks about how when competitors owned media on-ground, Mastercard owned the sky.

On 26 December 2019, from 6:30-8:30 am, Mastercard leveraged a unique media event - a rare solar eclipse - by creating an equally rare promotion for Mastercard holders, with offers tied directly to the astronomical data.

This gamified e-commerce promotion and shopper experience, activated a dead retail season with the clever use of occasion marketing, regional influencers, social ads, digital banners, large scale outdoor placements, events, and interactive AR-based print content.

Results were groundbreaking for the region, with an increase in usage and registrations for Mastercard.

CHALLENGE 1: MAKING MASTERCARD SYNONYMOUS WITH PRICELESS BENEFITS.

Mastercard is not the preferred payment method in the UAE, even for people who have Mastercards.

Task 1: Make Mastercard’s benefits more visible and more synonymous with priceless benefits, for everyone carrying a Mastercard-branded card in their wallets.

CHALLENGE 2: MAKING MASTERCARD THE PREFERRED CARD-ON-FILE.

To improve preference, Mastercard needs to be the card-on-file for consumers’ e-commerce purchases i.e., the registered card, online, on e-commerce platforms.

Task 2: With e-commerce’s rapid growth in the UAE and most consumers having multiple cards in their physical wallets, being card-on-file on e-commerce platforms, was essential in building preference.

CHALLENGE 3: BREAKING THE CASH-ON-DELIVERY HABIT.

44% of UAE consumers rely on cash-on-delivery, preferring cash-on-delivery when buying online.

Task 3: To drive acquisitions, Mastercard needed to find new ways to encourage shoppers to move away from a cash-on-delivery system, and to embrace and trust digital payment solutions.

Leveraging a rare solar eclipse, we put Mastercard’s brand where everyone would be looking - in the sky - creating the ASTRONOMICAL SALES.

We partnered with Noon.com, the biggest homegrown e-commerce retailer in the UAE.

We designed an original promotion mechanic tying data from the eclipse's phases to discounts on purchases with Mastercard.

We gamified the shopping experience by timing the rewards to the phases of the eclipse.

When the eclipse started, so did the sale.

In a live astronomical data-driven promotion and shopping experience, as people tuned in on the ground, the sun diminished and so did the prices, reaching discounts of 97% before returning gradually to full price.

Those who purchased at the exact moment the eclipse formed the Mastercard logo got Priceless rewards!

For the sight of the century, this was the sale of the century.

When we conducted a pan-Arab research into what ‘priceless’ means to people, the most common association (76% of respondents) was that “priceless means an occasion, an experience or a moment that’s rare.”

It was about a story few can tell, and few can be a part of.

On 26 December 2019, there would be a rare solar eclipse in our skies. It was an especially rare occurrence across the UAE; one that had been 172 years in the making.

And the most interesting about the eclipse? Owing to its phases, this rare eclipse would create a Mastercard logo in the sky - twice - during its occurrence.

We often find ourselves asking, could any other brand do this?

The answer in this case, was “No”.

This was something no other brand could ever do.

It was only and solely waiting to be owned by Mastercard.

Before the eclipse on 26 December 2019, by means of a transmedia content strategy across social, digital, mobile, interactive print, outdoor and PR, we created a buzz around the promotion.

On the day of the eclipse, events were held across Dubai, where attendees could watch the eclipse from premier locations while tracking the sale live on their phones in order to get the best prices.

When the eclipse started, so did the sale, for Mastercard holders across the UAE.

And as the sun diminished, so did the prices, reaching discounts of 97%, and returning gradually to full price.

To those who purchased at the exact moment the eclipse formed the Mastercard logo, priceless surprises and prizes were awarded.

• 1,276,197 VISITS to the campaign page on Noon.com during the campaign period i.e., 35% more visits than average during the same period.

• 15-TIMES HIGHER THAN USUAL ENGAGEMENT on Noon.com’s homepage.

• 80,000+ ACTIVE USERS during the eclipse period vs. the average of less than 20,000 for the same duration on an entire day, on the best day.

• An astronomical increase in Mastercards-on-file with 18,282 NEW REGISTERED MASTERCARDS on noon.com during 2 hours of the eclipse vs. the average benchmark of less than 1,000-a-day and vs. the target of 12,000 in one week.

• Products sold out in minutes.