Mastercard Debuts Ad Business to Pitch Its Data to Brands

The company is formally launching its advertising business, Mastercard Commerce Media, which will allow brands to buy ads on its owned properties and run ads with publisher partners. The new offering is built on top of Mastercard’s existing offers and promotions business.
Mastercard has more than 500 million enrolled cardholders and 25,000 advertisers enrolled in its promotions business, giving the company access to data from 159 billion transactions each year.
“The biggest differentiator is scale in this environment,” Jill Moser, svp of commerce media at Mastercard, told ADWEEK.
While retailers’ ad businesses can give advertisers insight into what goes on inside their stores, Mastercard’s data shows where and how people are spending money across categories like travel, dining, entertainment, fuel, or grocery, Moser said.