The story behind Mastercard's new logo

The company rebranded itself in July 2016 after 20 years. To know the thought process and strategy behind the rebranding, BestMediainfo caught up with Sam Ahmed, CMO, Asia Pacific, and Parag Bhatnagar, Vice-President, Marketing, South Asia

Akansha Mihir Mota | Mumbai | August 4, 2016

If the new Mastercard in your wallet seems different, it's because the company has changed its look last month. The brand is now just 'Mastercard' and in some cases 'mastercard'. The logo still has the overlapping red and yellow circles and the contemporary fonts, but all the elements are slimmer, flatter and less fussy. The capital letters have been omitted to de-emphasise 'card' and play up its image as an omnipresent brand.

Whenever any iconic brand takes a decision to change its logo, it's noteworthy. And such is the case today with this brand that started in 1966 as the Interbank Card Association (ICA). It changed to Master Charge for a few years and ultimately came to be known in 1979 as Mastercard.

The new logo is anything but instantly eye-catching. Instead, it's an effective transition from a tested design to one that's complementary to an evolving brand identity. The new design changes will be followed by the company's sub-brands, starting with Masterpass.

Manhattan-based Pentagram designed the new logo and the face behind the new logo is Michael Bierut.

BestMediaInfo had a chat with Sam Ahmed, CMO, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, and Parag Bhatnagar, Vice-President, Marketing, South Asia, Mastercard, to understand the rebranding process and the market for the company in India.

Need for rebranding

Sam Ahmed

Mastercard strongly believes that the new economy is driven by digital and found it the right time to rebrand itself to fit the economy. Ahmed said, “Rebranding is a big and important decision for any company. If you look at the changes that we have been through in the last 20 years, e-commerce, digital engagement, online security, experiential marketing – all of this didn't exist back then. We as a brand saw that and realised that it is time for us to be a part of shaping the future and also take the lead. We wanted our brand to be simple, modern and fit to purpose in the new economy.”

Idea behind the new logo

According to a global market research undertaken by Mastercard, the company found out that people recognised the brand through the two interlocking circles. Therefore, the company didn't completely revamp the logo, but slightly tweaked its look. The key for the company was to be the part of the changing ecosystem and help the brand evolve accordingly. Ahmed explained, “Often, the brand consultancies and the experts will tell you to completely leave behind the history but we didn't want to do that. We wanted to keep the heritage in the brand. The two interlocking circles have a great recollection power. People relate to it well. Therefore, we didn't want to walk away from that, but modernise and build on that iconic foundation. We decided to slightly tweak the look that signalled on the majority, simplicity and more flexible for the use of the online and offline situation.”

The C was used in lower case to make the logo look simple and cleaner. The strategic reason behind it was to de-emphasis the word 'card'. Ahmed explained, “The brand image is more to the future of digital payments, wallets and products. We have a product called Masterpass, which is our digital wallet. We are not just a card company, but have multiple ways of using Mastercard. We wanted to signify that we are more than just a card.”

The whole rebranding process took over six months. The design and the marketing team worked together on it and consumer feedback was taken. Ahmed said, “One very important thing about Mastercard is that we take very bold decisions of facts and experience. After the brand new look was ready, the decision was conveyed to the management committee. It expressed confidence in the new look that will present the company's identity going forward.”

Marketing strategy for Asia

The company's plan for Asia is to focus more on consumer engagement and to pay more attention to the travel and the e-commerce sector.

Ahmed broadly explained the strategy, “Our marketing strategy going forward would be to connect to the consumers and that's our brand ethos. We want to help the consumers to get the most out of the future and the experiences that we can help them with. Secondly, we also work with the government by helping them through cashless transactions. In Asia, one very important marketing vertical is travel. Through Mastercard, we help consumers travel from just sightseeing to life-changing experience. Second is the e-commerce transformation. We enable the e-commerce shopping experience by ensuring that the check-out is simple, safe and secure.”

Parag Bhatnagar

Bhatnagar added, “I think we focus more on the opportunity aspect than the challenges. India is a large and a growing economy. One of the opportunity areas here is to drive consumers from managing cash to electronic payments. I think in India we are currently in a very good stage. Digital wallets are helping the cause to get people to adapt to the new technology and to pay through the digital system. Whether it is a credit card, debit card or digital wallets, Mastercard is spearheading the entire economy with all the stakeholders.”

Advice for marketers

Ahmed has a word of advice for all brand managers and marketers worldwide who are thinking of rebranding their logos. He said, “There are three aspects to it. Firstly, you have to make sure that you are working with the best talent and respect that talent. Secondly, you need to listen to the consumer. One also needs to understand the brand heritage point of view – what you are going to take from the brand heritage and what you are going to leave behind. Also keep in mind the design and the strategic rationale. Ultimately, you need to have the confidence and the foresight to make that change as it is a very daunting task and we are only the guardian of the brand and don't own the brand.”

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com