Mastercard has entered the advertising game with a new commerce media offering.
Mastercard Commerce Media allows brands to buy ads on its owned properties and uses transactional data to help brands target consumers on global bank and publisher sites.
The payments company said that it uses shopping data from 160 billion annual transactions—collected from 500 million enrolled cardholders and 25,000 advertisers—to help brands target consumers.
Mastercard said its digital media network helps brands identify the right audience for an advertising offer, and accurately attribute sales to content where ads appear. It claims the offering delivers up to 22-times return on ad spend (ROAS).
“We understand how to connect advertisers to consumers and consumers to the products, services and experiences they value,” said Craig Vosburg, chief services officer at Mastercard.
“Mastercard Commerce Media is a natural extension of the trusted connections we’re known for and the work we already do across our unique suite of services. That means we’re not just well-positioned to bring a full-scale commerce media network to life — we’re best-positioned.”
The platform, which builds on its existing offers business, is supported by partnerships with Citi, WPP, American Airlines and Microsoft at launch.
Mastercard said that a growing collaboration with WPP extends its footprint and connection to brands and buyers in the traditional media space.
The partnership with Microsoft uses its Copilot Studio to “redefine how commerce happens in real time, ensuring a connected experience whether a human or an agent is driving it”.
Mastercard said that advertisers come to Mastercard to deliver tailored offers and content (such as cashback, discounts, incentives, advertisements and more) to specific audiences.
The payments company said it uses insights from permissioned data to identify the right audience for each offer, and can help brands attribute sales directly to the content consumers are served.
Mastercard said it is planning new distribution channels — including point of sale, digital wallets and more — as well as expansions to new markets and deeper integrations with existing Mastercard solutions.
