Fresh from revamping its brand Mastercard unveils a sonic logo
Mastercard kicked off the year by removing its name from its intersecting circles logo, now the payment business has unveiled its own sonic brand identity.
Joining the growing throng of brands and publishers experimenting with sound, Mastercard has composed a unique melody that will play when customers interact with the brand in-store (point of sale or payment acceptance sounds) or online.
The tune will also beam out when customers use Mastercard on voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, with the brand looking to get ahead of the game in a world where the voice shopping economy is expected to hit $40bn by 2022.
The business is hoping the noise (which can be heard in the video above) will offer customers a "seamless familiarity" with the Mastercard brand.
“Sound adds a powerful new dimension to our brand identity and a critical component to how people recognize Mastercard today and in the future,” said Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer for the group.
“We set out an ambitious goal to produce the Mastercard melody in a way that’s distinct and authentic, yet adaptable globally and across genres. It is important that our sonic brand not only reinforces our presence, but also resonates seamlessly around the world.”
To ensure the melody would resonate with global audiences, Mastercard tapped musicians, artists and agencies from across the globe to record different versions of it, including Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park. As well as local versions, the sound will also be adapted for different situations, with varying instruments and tempos delivering it in operatic, cinematic and playful styles.
The melody was launched ahead of the Grammy's, of which Mastercard is a sponsor. Fred Segal Sunset is Los Angeles’ will be the first retailer to feature the sonic brand at the point of sale in in-store. A 'Sensory Lab' experience will also let customers trial Mastercard's new Priceless Cities skill for Alexa and Google Home.
The news follows on from Mastercard's top marketer Rajamannar being crowned WFA Marketer of the Year for 2018 earlier this week.