MasterCard Worldwide has signed a six-year sponsorship deal with The Walt Disney Co. and Euro Disney Associés S.C.A. to create marketing opportunities and to do card-related promotions in Europe, the card brand announced Jan. 11.
The deal will feature MasterCard’s “Priceless” marketing platform and will include providing cardholders discounts on entrance-fee packages for Disneyland Paris. It also may include such experiential events as a behind-the-scenes look at Sleeping Beauty’s castle at the Euro Disney park, Paul Meulendijk, MasterCard vice president and head of sponsorship in Europe, tells PaymentsSource.
The deal illustrates that MasterCard, which has many sports-related sponsorships such as the Rugby World Cup 2011 and European soccer leagues, is now venturing into other entertainment areas, says Meulendijk.
“Our portfolio has always been focused on sports, but if you look at audiences around the world there are people who are less interested in sports and more focused on entertainment,” he says. “My conviction is that there are wider audiences to address to build a balanced portfolio.”
Having card companies pursue nonsport sponsorships is long overdue, says Megan Bramlette, group director at Auriemma Consulting. “The fact that the market has been pretty focused on sports could just be a function of sports organizations and events being very organized when it comes to sponsorships; it’s easier, and there are a lot of places to spend your [marketing] money,” she says. “But a lot of people don’t care about sports.”
The Disney deal will bring a lot of exposure to MasterCard, which is targeting a fairly affluent market that can afford the ticket prices to Euro Disney, Bramlette says.
The deal also creates an opportunity for Disney to consider MasterCard-branded products, such as prepaid cards and its contactless PayPass product, to improve efficiencies at the Euro Disney park and at Disney stores, says Meulendijk. MasterCard would not say whether Disney has any such plans.
