The future of payments is unseen as technology becomes more autonomous and personalized,” said Raja Rajamanar, Director of Marketing and Communications at Mastercard. “We started with card payments, but now we are also focusing on new technologies that increase security and trust,” explains Raja Rajamanar, who is also the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Quantum Marketing, in a conversation with K.

– The word “map” has been part of our name since our founding, but in practice it is only a small part of who we really are today. Today’s digital world needs modern payment solutions, and today’s consumers have different expectations than they did a year ago, let alone five years ago. Now it’s up to them to have access to their money and use it the way they want, using whatever media or device they choose. So, in order to offer consumers the choice and flexibility that is increasingly required, we must provide payment solutions that are easily accessible and always active – and this is at the heart of our strategy. We started with card payments, but we also focus on new technologies that increase security and trust. We offer new payment methods that suit the different choices and needs of each consumer.

“Two areas that come to mind where marketing has been instrumental in addressing the challenges posed by the pandemic are the importance of risk management and the value of maintaining a consumer-centric mindset. Every marketing department should have a risk management team. I was very fortunate to have built a lead risk management team in my organization prior to the pandemic, so when it hit we were ready and able to act quickly. At the same time, the pandemic has shown that even with the highest level of preparation, the world and our daily lives can change in the blink of an eye. At the time, the responsibility of marketers was to serve, not sell; Simply put, when we support our consumers in bad times, they will choose us in good times.

Traditional marketing no longer works. Its leaders can attract consumers through their feelings.

“People are bombarded with over 3,000 ads every day and try to block brand messages. It is clear that traditional marketing no longer works. In a hyper-connected world where voice devices are becoming more commonplace, how do brands stay at the top of consumers’ immediate preferences without the luxury of visuals? Marketers can engage consumers through their senses, whether it be sight, sound, taste, smell, or touch. We have successfully implemented this concept with our sound DNA, which is an integrated system – a web of sounds that appears every time someone interacts with our brand – whether in a physical, digital or voice environment. At the same time, we began to implement multi-sensory marketing by launching a series of gourmet restaurants that offer exceptional experiences that captivate consumers with a passion for the epicurean lifestyle. We have also released a set of Passion & Optimism fragrances. These fragrances connect our brand with people through smell. Smell has been scientifically proven to evoke strong memories and create emotional bonds.

“In recent years, three key innovation trends have emerged that shape how we develop our products: First, consumer expectations have changed – we live in a new normal and customer experience has never been more important. Second, in the future, payments will be seamless and virtually invisible as technology becomes more autonomous and personalized. Finally, to support these new changes that will come in the future, we will need to rely on reliable networks, as well as new ones, so that we can play a role in solving the serious social and economic problems that are so important to today’s consumer. .

– Absolutely! In fact, we recently announced that we have linked employee compensation to our ESG goals. This is an extremely important step that strengthens and validates our “Doing Good by Doing Good” philosophy – a responsibility and obligation that we all share at Mastercard. When business strategy and success are linked to a goal, it not only benefits society, but business as well. As marketing professionals, we must remember that the goal is the North Star and use marketing as a guide to achieve our goals. So we’re trying to connect with all of our global and local actions, such as in Greece with Live Heritage for women’s empowerment and the Priceless Planet coalition for a greener world around us.