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At Mastercard, ingredient branding is when our brand is listed as an ingredient in a separate product or offering.
Generally, this is done to signal the positive associations such as safety, security, quality and performance that our brand conveys. Ingredient branding allows Mastercard to gain visibility and recognition in consumer-facing experiences where we are the underlying technology but not the prominent brand.
As the ingredient, Mastercard retains brand presence and receives brand credit as we expand from our core products to new rails, from real-time payments to Open Banking. And for our customers, our brand delivers important attributes to the consumer experience.
What
is this guide?
This guide is a tool to help product owners work with B2B/Product Marketing to develop, approve, and finalize the selection of an ingredient attribution for a new product or service offered to a customer
Why
use this guide?
1. You need to attribute a product or service to Mastercard
2. You want to embue a product or service with important characteristics of the Mastercard brand
Who
is involved?
• Product Owner
• B2B/Product Marketing
• Brand Strategy
• Trademark
Mastercard as an ‘ingredient’ within our partners user experience or display of a Mastercard product & service
Ingredient branding occurs when Mastercard offers a product or service that is used by a customer, for display during the user experience of that product by that customer. Generally, this is done to signal the positive associations such as safety, security, quality, and performance that our brand conveys. Ingredient branding allows Mastercard to gain visibility and recognition in a third-party user-facing experience where we are the underlying technology but not the prominent brand.
As the ingredient, Mastercard endorses the Mastercard product or service and retains brand presence and receives brand credit in the user environments as we expand from our core products and platforms to new rails, from real-time payments to Open Banking. And for our customers, our brand delivers important attributes to the user experience.
Choosing the appropriate ingredient attribution
The following as the most common scenarios for ingredient brand requests.
1. Mastercard is the technology or infrastructure provider underlying the solution.
2. Mastercard is providing data insights and analytics that are informing a solution.
3. Mastercard is providing enhanced security features and benefits.
4. Mastercard is a facilitator bringing parties together and leveraging relationships.
Today, we support three ingredient attributions that cover the majority of roles Mastercard plays in a customer’s product. Determining the most appropriate attribution is dependent on the context of the display of the ingredient branding (e.g., where it is displayed in the user experience journey) and business, legal and regulatory considerations which will be detailed on the following page.
Note: Ingredient attributions may be translated into local language with approval from local legal counsel.
APPROVED
ATTRIBUTION
STATEMENT
WHEN TO USE
powered by
Mastercard is the technology or infrastructure provider underlying the solution.
Mastercard is providing data insights and analytics that are informing a solution
secured by
Mastercard is providing the authentication Mastercard is providing enhanced security features and benefits.
presented by
When Mastercard is a facilitator bringing parties together and leveraging relationships.
PRINCIPLES
Mastercard is supporting the underlying technology, not leading it
Ingredient branding is leveraged when Mastercard is playing a supporting role. If Mastercard is leading, it is branded Mastercard. If it is a partnership, co-brand or endorsement would be considered.
The relationship must not open Mastercard to any legal liability
The relationship must not damage or diminish Mastercard’s brand equity
Mastercard’s presence on the offering must be clarifying, not confusing, to the end user.
There must be a credible reason for presence
For example
The offering is in a space where Mastercard has positive associations and is able to lend credibility.
Mastercard wants to expand its own credibility in certain spaces and this offering gives the opportunity to do so.
Use the criteria to determine the appropriate attribution
Once determined, ensure you have aligned strategically with the Global Product and Global B2B/Product Marketing teams.
Email naming@mastercard.com for review and approval, including full business and product context and confirmation from your legal team
The final attribution is cleared and approved for use by [marketing, marketing legal counsel, and product legal counsel].
[Product name] powered by Mastercard
- In the first instance of introducing the program branding in text, the ingredient attribution must be featured
- In subsequent instances on a page or screen, the attribution is optional
- Typeset the attribution in the same typeface as the surrounding copy
- If a Partner is incorporating a trademark ownership line for their trademarks on related Program materials, then an equivalent trademark ownership line for the Mastercard Marks must be included. Sample trademark ownership lines include Mastercard and the circles design are trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated.
We most often sell a product or service to our B2B customers and they in turn deliver the product to their end users. The B2B facing name is rarely if ever marketed to the end user, instead we use the ingredient branding endorsing the customers’ end user facing product in the end user UX.
In marketing, it is important that Mastercard be seen as the facilitator, beyond just providing the service. This can be accomplished through thoughtful marketing practices (need examples).
Ingredient branding must not be used in marketing copy in conjunction with the customer’s end user facing product name in text. Instead, ingredient branding may be used to support marketing copy when describing the key role or benefit Mastercard provides.
Feature Mastercard ingredient branding at the moments that matter (i.e., product introduction, authentication, enrollment, consent, and confirmation stages of the user experience, acceptance, including POS signage, marketing)
When the Partner displays the Program Branding during points that matter, the following requirements apply to the display:
- “powered by” must be followed by the Mastercard Symbol
- The Mastercard Symbol must always be displayed in full color. The black or white or grayscale versions of the Mastercard Symbol may only be used to signal acceptance and in marketing materials to market and promote Crypto Credential only when full-color printing is not available.
- Must have sufficient contrast between the background image and “powered by [Mastercard Symbol]”
- To ensure the greatest legibility of the Program Branding, Partners must follow the recommended minimum size specifications (size may depend on screen/print resolution).
- Minimum clear space: Partner Program Branding must appear in an uncluttered space free from text and other graphics.
- Must surround the Mastercard Symbol with clear space of at least 1/4 the width of one of the circles within the Mastercard Symbol.