Mastercard launched its Intelligence and Cyber Centre of Excellence “Experience Centre” in Vancouver where product innovations come to life through interactive demonstrations. The Experience Centre is a community space where local, national, and international cybersecurity and tech experts can collaborate. The innovative work and demonstrations represent the latest in up-and-coming cybersecurity products and solutions that are transforming the future of digital payments globally.

We were tasked with positioning Mastercard as a global leader in cybersecurity, demonstrating their commitment to the Canadian financial and cyber landscape, and building awareness and excitement among key stakeholders locally in Vancouver and across Canada on the innovative work Mastercard is conducting at the centre.  

The tech hub was officially opened before the COVID-19 pandemic, thus a communications plan and strategy was required to secure renewed interest from key stakeholders including media, government officials, tech talent, and the broader Vancouver population. 

As a first step, we prepared a comprehensive communications audit to determine which audiences were aware of the tech hub and which key audiences needed to be reached through media relations, social media, and sponsored content. 

Considerations such as current partnerships Mastercard’s tech hub had with universities, non-profits, and government were taken into account when developing a tailored key message framework to ensure priority topics were reaching their desired audiences.  

We executed against the communications plan by drafting earned media pieces, finding relevant pitch angles, and inviting key stakeholders including Vancouver-based media to the launch of the “Experience Centre”.

Targeted outreach for tier-one and regional media garnered 11 media hits with an audience reach of over 3.7 million. Highlights of the media coverage included Politico, Yahoo Finance, the Vancouver Tech Journal, and the Canadian Business Journal. 

A targeted op-ed in the Hill Times had an estimated reach of 88,000 targeting government decision makers. 

Additionally, sponsored content across digital, social and media partnership platforms garnered 29 million impressions.