MASTERCARD & AMERICAN AIRLINES

H.E.R. at the Palladium

The Challenge

To unite Mastercard’s “priceless” experiences with American Airlines’ loyalty program by creating a top-tier music event for American Airlines AAdvantage® Mastercard holders. And to boost mileage redemption for AA x MC cardholders via priceless.com/aa.

3,000

Concert Attendees

39

Descriptor in sentence Social Posts

275K

Impressions

The solution

We negotiated and contracted with Academy Award and five-time GRAMMY-winning artist H.E.R. for a private 60-minute concert, VIP access with complimentary food and drink, branded venue signage, a special poster for VIP guests, and a professional photographer. We began by investigating the best markets to house the campaign—one that would bring Influencers, media, music lovers, and key executives together—netting out with Los Angeles as the top choice. From there, we leveraged our existing relationships across various talent agencies to do a thorough sweep of available and fitting artists that spoke to both Mastercard and American Airlines’ customer/partner audience. In parallel with artist outreach, we began sourcing and visiting key venues that would bring the campaign to life—leading us to The Hollywood Palladium. Once our artist and venue were set, to spread the word, we used a combined approach of targeted digest emails from American Airlines’, artist-owned social posts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), MC/AA-owned social posts, and a LinkedIn newsletter. We expanded our ticket availability from mile redemption via priceless.com, to on-sale via livenation.com. This allowed a greater scope of audience—still targeted to AA x MC cardholders—but with the flexibility to purchase a ticket with cash, Instead of miles.

The impact

The campaign achieved an extremely well-attended concert, brand affinity for MC/AA, and a growth in mileage redemption + Mastercard card usage. Whether attendees were In VIP or GA, all were given white-glove treatment, resulting in glowing reviews from attendees who already can’t wait for the next one!