Mastercard Wildlife Impact Gift Card – Brand Activism Example

Now we all feel helpless sometimes with some of the larger scale problems in the world, lots of brands are taking a stand against social environmental,and political issues, or focusing on brand activism as a way to connect with their audience and grow their brand awareness. One of the most recent examples of this is MasterCard who teamed up with conservation international.

To take a stand against wildlife extinction. They’ve launched a co-branding initiative called the wildlife impact card program, which ties the expiration date on the cards to the actual possible extinction date of those species that have pictured on the carts with the slogan for the campaign being cards, expire species shouldn’t.

There are three species pictured on the cards that black and white ruffled Lemur, the sundew Pang Golan, and the African forest elephant and MasterCard donates $1, to Conservation International for every gift card purchase to help them continue the work that they do. In helping to preserve these endangered species, the cards themselves are made of eco-friendly materials.

And this is a great initiative from MasterCard and conservation international that ties directly into MasterCard’s corporate sustainability program of doing well by doing good and will undoubtably raise a lot of awareness for the issue of extinction in these species and beyond for MasterCard as a brand, this helps them to build a deeper connection with their current audience and their potential audience. Elevating MasterCard as a brand that does good. And by association passing on that feeling of good to their customers hit that like button. If you’re a fan of this brand activism campaign, let’s get a discussion going. So put in the comments. What are your thoughts on brand activism?

Is it a good idea? Is it something that could hurt a brand? What are your thoughts? Put them in the comments below.

Key takeaways. So what are some of the things that you can take away from this brand activism campaign that you can use with regards to your own campaigns in your business? So, number one is authenticity.

So make sure that everything you do when it comes to your brand is authentic. So if you did a brand activism campaign, it wants to be authentic. It doesn’t want to be something that is just a marketing ploy or a way to try and get some quick brand awareness. Now, every brand is different and every brand has their own values and beliefs.

And if you’re not authentic, Then your audience is going to see straight through that and the values and beliefs that you have as a brand, they can be large scale as the same sort of things that MasterCard have done, or they can be on a smaller scale that is just relative to your industry. But if you decide to engage in brand activism, then make sure it’s authentic is something that makes sense for your brand.

And it’s something you can get on board with as a company and get behind 100 percent.

Number two, it has to be on brand. So any brand activism that you do, it must make sense. With your brand. Now, MasterCard have outlined a really comprehensive sustainability plan and this ties directly into their brand with the mission behind it being

‘our mission is to power an inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart, and accessible. We understand how interconnected the world is. And we see firsthand how our commitment to environmental and social responsibility and our core values of operating ethically, responsibly. And with decency is directly connected to our continuing success as a business.

Now MasterCard have tied their brand, their experiences and their expertise. Into initiatives focused in three different areas, environmental, social, and governance. And this allows MasterCard to continually come up with new brand activism, ideas and campaigns that directly tie into that brand leverage their existing skills.

And allow them to develop their brand through these initiatives.

Number three, give your customers some agency. Now we all feel helpless sometimes with some of the larger scale problems in the world. And what MasterCard have done here is they’ve allowed their customers to feel as though they’re part of something bigger by buying into this initiative and getting these gift cards.

What they’re doing is they’re allowing their customers to feel like they’re having some agency or they’re doing some good through using those cards. So MasterCard is allowing their audience and their customers to do good through their brand. And by giving your customers the opportunity to do good through your brand and giving them agency, you will give them a brand experience like no other.

And this will build a strong connection between you and your audience and give you the opportunity to stay top of mind in your audiences mind.

Now you have a clear idea of what brand activism is and how you can use it for your business if you need any help or guidance in building, designing, developing, or improving your brand.

There is a link in the description below to a free brand discovery call with Elements brand management. And we can go through on that call, find out some things that you’re struggling with and potentially help you to take your brand to the next level. If you’ve enjoyed this video and you’d like to see more hit the subscribe button below and hit the bell notifications, you’ll be notified every time a new video drops videos come out weekly and they’re designed to help you unlock your brand’s potential.

So you can stand out from the competition and create impact. Have a great week, catch up soon and keep those brands unified.