MasterCard launched an out-of-home campaign on Aug. 1 that integrates QR codes and Facebook Places to enable consumers to enter a sweepstakes. The “Check-in to the Ballgame” campaign is part of the company’s larger “Priceless New York” campaign that launched in July. MasterCard worked with digital agency R/GA on the out-of-home campaign.
MasterCard has placed 20 seats from the old New York Yankees stadium throughout New York City and is asking consumers to check in from those locations via Facebook Places for a chance to win tickets to a Yankee game. Consumers can check in by scanning a QR code affixed to the installation or by punching in a URL that directs to the installation’s Facebook Places page.
Winners will receive tickets for MasterCard’s Batter’s Eye Café section at Yankees Stadium. The “Check-in to the Ballgame” campaign runs through Aug. 31.
Julie Hogan, VP of consumer marketing at MasterCard Worldwide, said the company chose to incorporate the digital elements in order to broaden the reach of the campaign.
“The digital aspect is hugely important because we want to make sure that when somebody sees the installation, they’re interacting,” she said. “But the other piece of it is around the sharing and driving awareness that this program’s going on.”
In addition to being able to share check-ins to their Facebook walls, consumers are also asked to “like” MasterCard’s Facebook page, which extends the lifespan of the campaign, said Hogan. MasterCard is also featuring an email opt-in on the “Priceless New York” campaign’s landing page.
“Priceless New York” is the first roll-out of MasterCard’s “Priceless Cities” initiative. The campaign enables MasterCard members to receive exclusive, New York-centric “experiences” in the dining, sports, entertainment, music and travel sectors, said Hogan. The campaign’s promotions include a showing of the film Madagascar at the Central Park Zoo and dinner for two at Top Chef winner Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem.
Hogan said MasterCard is planning to expand the “Priceless” campaign globally in 2012, but the company is still identifying which cities to include.
