Beyond Old School Marketing: Mastercard and Others Lean Into Immersive Experiences
Mastercard’s Raja Rajamannar, along with Netflix’s Josh Simon, spoke at a panel at CES 2024 on a radical visions for the future of brand engagement. Their patient, experience-focused approach represents a fundamental shift from interruption-based marketing to invitation-based engagement — a model that both companies believe will define the future of brand relationships.
By Justin Estes
In a candid discussion at CES 2024, two marketing powerhouses revealed why traditional advertising is failing and outlined their radical vision for the future of brand engagement. Raja Rajamannar, chief communications and marketing officer at Mastercard, didn’t mince words: "Ninety percent of marketing is not working." His solution? Abandon decades-old frameworks entirely.
Joined by Josh Simon, VP of consumer products at Netflix, the executives detailed how their partnership aims to transform marketing from interruptive advertising to immersive experiences. The stakes are clear — human attention spans have dropped to just eight seconds, while consumers face between 3,000 and 10,000 ads daily.
"Everything that we do and know in marketing was all formulated 60 years back," Rajamannar explained during the panel. At a time when there was no Internet, no mobile phone, no social media, no artificial intelligence."
The End of Marketing as We Know It
The fundamental problem, according to Rajamannar, runs deeper than ineffective campaigns. The entire theoretical foundation of marketing needs rebuilding. "Consumer decisions are subconscious. They are driven by emotions and feelings," he noted. "In market research today we ask, ‘Why did you buy this particular product versus something else?’ And the consumer will give you a very rational answer. It is post-rationalization."
This disconnect has created what Rajamannar calls "the great marketing myth." While brands talk about delivering seamless, frictionless experiences, their advertising actively disrupts consumer enjoyment. "I’m watching a video on one of the popular video sites, every few minutes my experience is rudely stopped. And I’m shown a stupid ad I don’t care about, and I’m waiting for that skip now button to appear."
The solution isn’t better ads — it’s moving beyond advertising entirely. Mastercard took this leap in 2013, pivoting to an experiences-led marketing strategy. The results speak for themselves: their brand value ranking jumped from 87th to 11th globally, while actually reducing marketing spend.
Netflix has witnessed similar success by focusing on immersive experiences. "When you find a TV show or a movie that you really enjoy, you don’t just love it, you want to live it," explained Simon. He points to organic cultural phenomena like J.Lo throwing a "Bridgerton"-themed birthday party and "Squid Game" becoming the dominant Halloween costume choice.
The streaming giant has leveraged this desire for immersion through experiences like their live "Squid Game" event, which has been sold out since opening in New York. "People have such passion for these movies and TV shows that we can feel it through live experiences," Simon noted. The company has now created about 40 different experience concepts, with 170 launches across 100 cities globally, attracting over 7 million attendees.
Building Cultural Resonance Through Experiences
The partnership between Netflix and Mastercard represents more than a traditional brand alliance — it’s a fundamental shift from storytelling to "story-making." Both companies have discovered that modern consumers reject traditional loyalty programs but deeply value authentic experiences.
Mastercard’s evolution demonstrates this principle. "We bought a company that does nothing but source experiences and make sure that the fulfillment is absolutely flawless," Rajamannar explained. Their experiential strategy ranges from exclusive high-end events to accessible family experiences.
One early (Parisian) example of such an experience set the standard: "One we did very early on was with the Louvre Museum, where the museum closes at 5 o’clock in the evening, you open it to select Mastercard customers… they visit the entire museum and view it in candlelight. And then they go and sit in front of Mona Lisa and have dinner with Mona Lisa… and then you sleep for the night in that pyramid."
Netflix has taken a similarly immersive approach but on a massive scale. Their "Bridgerton" Queen’s Ball experience exemplifies this strategy. "Ninety percent of the fans who come to this experience dress up in regency attire on their own," Simon revealed. "At this point, I think we’ve had more than 50 wedding proposals take place at the "Bridgerton" Queens Ball around the world."
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The cultural impact extends beyond entertainment. Netflix’s "Drive to Survive" series transformed Formula One’s U.S. audience demographics. "Forty percent of them are women," Rajamannar noted. "You talk of typically Formula One and women, you don’t think of in the same breath from conventional wisdom point of view. This has changed the demographic of the fandom."
This ability to shape culture through experiences has led to Netflix’s most ambitious project yet: Netflix House. Set to launch in Philadelphia’s King of Prussia Mall and the Dallas Galleria, these locations will feature live experiences, restaurants, bars, theaters, and retail spaces. Unlike traditional theme parks that require years to develop new attractions, Netflix House is designed for rapid adaptation.
"When the next "Squid Game" hits, or the next season of "Stranger Things" or "Wednesday," you name it, or even those surprises that we didn’t see coming, we’ll have the infrastructure and ability to bring these experiences to life," Simon explained. "Whether it’s in an immersive nature, whether it’s through a fun menu in a restaurant format or merchandise through our retail store."
Redefining Brand Trust Through Shared Experiences
The partnership between these brands comes at a critical moment when traditional loyalty programs are failing. "I don’t believe in brand loyalty. It’s dead," Rajamannar stated bluntly. "But you have brand preference, you have an affection for the brand which should not be misunderstood to be brand loyalty."
This shift demands a new approach to building consumer relationships. Mastercard’s global reach spans 210 countries with 3.6 billion cards in circulation, while Netflix streams in 190 countries. However, both executives emphasized that scale alone isn’t enough – success depends on authentic connection.
For Mastercard, this meant completely reimagining their Priceless platform. "Priceless is not about rich and expensive," Rajamannar explained. "It’s about truly something where you can’t put value on that." The company curates experiences across multiple passion points: movies, arts and culture, sports, philanthropy, shopping, travel, environmental sustainability and culinary experiences.
Netflix’s approach focuses on turning passive viewing into active participation. Their streaming content has sparked unprecedented cultural phenomena: Kate Bush’s "Running Up That Hill" topped charts 37 years after release thanks to "Stranger Things," while "Squid Game" drove an 8,000% sales increase for white Vans slip-on shoes. "We can’t force it and we can’t fake it," Simon noted. "Our starting point is always seeing naturally and organically what people love and end up talking about."
The future of this partnership will manifest in several concrete ways:
- Integration of Mastercard’s Priceless experiences into Netflix House locations
- Exclusive access and experiences for the upcoming "Stranger Things" Broadway production
- Expansion of Netflix Bites restaurants, which bring streaming content’s culinary world to life
- Custom cocktails inspired by shows and Mastercard’s signature scents (including "Penelope’s Passion" from "Bridgerton")
However, both executives stressed that future engagement must be built on trust. "Earning and keeping that trust is extremely critical. It’s not an overnight process, it’s a journey," Rajamannar emphasized. "Transparency, being responsible for consumers’ data, being responsible with consumers’ safety and security, these are all mighty critical, and they are the table stakes."
The Future of Brand Engagement
What emerges from this partnership is a blueprint for marketing’s next evolution. While most brands still wrestle with declining attention spans and ad fatigue, Netflix and Mastercard are betting on a future where engagement happens naturally through shared experiences.
"When they discover it, there is such a joy for them and a positive feeling about the brand," Rajamannar explained. "You need to understand data plays a key role, very, very key role. What matters to them? What are they passionate about? And what can I bring as a brand that’s significant value to them which they cannot get from anywhere else? That’s the ultimate formula for engaging them and winning their trust."
This approach extends beyond entertainment. Netflix’s Josh Simon highlighted how their content has repeatedly transformed entire industries, from Formula One racing to fashion trends. "We have a billion followers on social media platforms around the world. We can create these experiences, we can create merchandise, and we can help fuel the conversation."
The implications reach far beyond traditional marketing metrics. When Mastercard supported Ukrainian refugees with relocation and job assistance in Poland, they weren’t thinking about brand awareness — they were building authentic connections through meaningful action. Similarly, when Netflix opens its first two Netflix House locations, success won’t be measured in traditional retail metrics but in cultural impact and community building.
"You don’t stand up and then start thumping your chest and say, we did this, we did this," Rajamannar concluded. "Let consumers discover it." This patient, experience-focused approach represents a fundamental shift from interruption-based marketing to invitation-based engagement — a model that both companies believe will define the future of brand relationships.