Mastercard uses Jamaica as pilot for ‘I Accept’

With approximately 11,000 merchant locations accepting Mastercard on the island, the leading technology company in the global payments industry said the decision to use Jamaica as the first Caribbean island to launch its 'I Accept' campaign was an excellent idea.

For the first time in Mastercard's history for the region (Caribbean and Latin America), the new campaign, which started advertising locally and on social media in April this year, had all the content for the commercial shot on the island using local talent.

"This was a chance for us to present the brand to the Jamaican people with Jamaican flavour. It was a lot of learning to develop more intimacy with a lot of customers," said vice-president of marketing and communications for the Caribbean, Luis Araujo.

In an interview with The Gleaner on Wednesday during Mastercard's media day in Miami, Florida, Araujo said its 'I Accept' campaign is aimed at increasing its presence locally by using a holistic approach. The goal is to extend its reach and be accepted in more places.

MEASURING IMPACT

"We are seeing an increase in terms of real acceptance as it relates to location growth, which is the primary driver of this. We are measuring impact in terms of brand acceptance perception, so those results are going to come by the end of this year once we close the cycle of the campaign. The idea is to continue repeating these type of activations in 2019, increasing our relevancy and bringing more local content to the market," said Araujo.

In three years, Mastercard is hoping to double the number of merchants using its service, targeting small and medium-size businesses that do not accept any electronic means of payment in Jamaica. Based on the feedback from the 'I Accept' campaign, it will be replicated across the Caribbean.

 ... Reggae Sumfest went cashless

Another first for Jamaica and Mastercard also occurred this year. The company sponsored its first music festival in the form of Reggae Sumfest and, for the first time in the festival's 26-year history, assisted it to go cashless.

"That was terrific. You know, you start with a traditional approach and say, 'Let's sponsor this event'. Music is super relevant across the Caribbean and, in particular, in Jamaica. You know, reggae is just [a] synonym for Jamaica," said Mastercard's vice-president of marketing and communications for the Caribbean, Luis Araujo.

"So, what we identified there was not only an opportunity to connect with a passion point of the Jamaica people, to drive more local relevancy, but also to kind of create controlled ecosystems. It was a chance for us to showcase our technologies, such as contactless payments, the convenience of not carrying cash into this type of event, and that also represents an opportunity for us to educate our cardholders and our partners."

Mastercard said it is interested in developing more local partnerships and is ready to go above and beyond traditional sponsorship.

"We want to partner more in the gastronomy area with relevant partners in the travel area, in shopping as well, those things that can help us connect more on a day-to-day basis with Jamaicans," said Araujo.

carlene.davis@gleanerjm.com