Mastercard was about to be the first in Singapore to launch contactless debit and credit card payments on buses and trains. The only problem: prepaid fare cards. Commuters had been using them for decades, making them synonymous with public transport. How could we disrupt their monopoly and get commuters to switch to Mastercard?
For a nation that loves efficiency, commuting with prepaid fare cards isn’t all that smooth—especially when your fare card has insufficient funds. You get blocked and turned back at the gantry, have to queue at ticket machines to top up, and waste precious minutes. Mastercard could offer a much smoother experience.
Life’s smoother when you tap & go with Mastercard. We wanted to show that the frictions and frustrations of commuting with a fare card would disappear when using Mastercard on the bus and train. But we couldn’t just say this to our audience. We wanted them to feel smoothness. So instead of making ads…we made songs. Working with local singer Sandra Riley Tang of The Sam Willows, we created a series of musical videos based on everyday commuter situations. In each, we showed how life’s smoother when you tap & go with Mastercard, to the tune of Sandra’s silky smooth vocals.
Not So Smooth
U-Turn
Excuses
Lyric Sheet
We tapped our way into social media feeds.
We targeted commuters with our videos on Facebook and Instagram during weekday rush hour, precisely when they were likely to feel the frictions of commuting with a pre paid fare card. But we didn’t stop there…
We took over entire train stations.
Commuters found themselves surrounded by our campaign messages throughout the MRT stations they frequent.
Each piece connected with them through the little frustrations they face daily, and showed them a smoother way with Mastercard.
We followed commuters on board trains.
There are so many things commuters could be spending their time on instead of topping up their fare cards.
We highlighted a few examples that were particularly relevant to passengers in the train cabin, and helped them imagine smoother journeys with Mastercard.
We used every available media space to get our message across — even the station’s public announcement system.
Bus commuters saw ads activated based on the crowd and weather.
Crowds and rainy weather are worse when your fare card’s empty. And the rare occasion you have the bus to yourself is ruined as well. We connected with bus commuters through these all-too-common scenarios, and showed a smoother way with Mastercard.
During rush hour.
During off-peak hours.
On a rainy day.
We even made the gantry sexy.
Staged and shot like Apple would its latest flagship product, we gave the humble MRT gantry sexy sheen in our print campaign key visual. And made it look as smooth as using Mastercard on the bus and train.
Most importantly, we got all of Singapore to tap & go on the bus and train.
The campaign made an impact all across Singapore, with contactless payments on transit rising exponentially from month to month from X to X. It showed that our audience got our message. After all it was something commuters know all too well—
Smoother journeys: priceless
Case Study Video
