Mastercard is reaching consumers through ‘story-making’ and experiences that give consumers the opportunity to become part of the narrative themselves, according to the brand’s marketing chief. 

Speaking on CNBC’s Marketing|Media|Money show, Mastercard chief marketing and communications officer Raja Rajamannar discussed how customers want uninterrupted experiences, hence the propensity of ad block users.

“This is why I keep saying storytelling is dead, but it’s all going to be about story making,” he added, going on to discuss why, in his opinion, advertising didn’t work for the company.

“It’s not about communicating but it’s about story making and hence we have to shift to an experiential platform. [Long-running campaign] ‘Priceless’ is now for us a holistic marketing platform which means in all the four pieces of marketing, ‘Priceless’ is infused.”

Rajamannar commented that the Priceless campaign is not designed to make money; instead, its primary purpose is to drive brand preference which in turn generates revenue from the core business.

He also discussed the company’s interest in artificial intelligence. “The moment you have a connected device it’s an opportunity as a marketer for us to reach the consumer in a credible way at the right moment of truth in a contextually appropriate fashion, which is like a dream for any marketer,” he added.