Priceless.

While interviewing for a marketing position recently, I was asked to describe a campaign that I loved, one that was effective. Of course, this is a question we should always be prepared to answer, but often the answer changes depending on who's asking. Is it a firm rooted in tried and true methods of respected brands? Or is it a company that may be equally (if not more!) impressed by the innovative experiments of emerging businesses? Either way, it's smart to really learn about those campaigns so that you're not only naming them, but discussing them as well.

So which did I choose? Well, having already demonstrated by admiration for Disney's efforts in a previous question, the interviewer asked me to pick anything but my favorite brand to talk about. The first (well, second, but first behind anything associated with Disney) that came to mind has to be one of the most prolific of the last two decades. It is, in a word....Priceless.

MasterCard's "Priceless" campaign began running back in 1997, and since then, everyone has created their own version of their ads at least once. Admit it - you have. Maybe it was spending $200 on concert tickets and $60 on gas so that you could see NKOTB on tour with your sister. Maybe it was blowing your paycheck on a new tv and 25 lbs of hot wings so you could celebrate with your friends as your team won their first Super Bowl of your life time. Whatever it was, you've had a "Priceless" moment. And maybe MasterCard helped you pay for it.

Over on MasterCard's Twitter account, you'll find an feed full of hashtagged "#priceless" tweets. Literally. MasterCard invites their followers to submit their priceless moments in 140 characters or less, doling out retweets to the ones that catch their attention and, once a week, a prize based on whatever that week's topic was. In the past, they've prompted followers to submit their idea about what's priceless about school, or the summer, or baseball or Christmas. Sometimes, it's just priceless in general.

I love how MasterCard has given new life to a campaign that is 15 years old via twitter. I mean, it's not like the tv ads are ineffective - they still have enough of a following to merit their own page on MasterCard's website - but Twitter has allowed MasterCard to give their followers #priceless moments through trivia contests, instant win games, and, yes, the "tweet of the week".

Our "priceless" seats

I would know. Back in 2010, I won Yankee tickets via #pricelesstrivia, and my sister and I sat in seats that we couldn't even afford to breath on otherwise. It really was priceless. (Technically, for the Yankees, "priceless" was actually $250 a ticket that year, but I digress). And it was excellent marketing because after I won those tickets, and MasterCard started following me on Twitter?




I applied for one of these:

(Note: Not my actual card.)

Well played, MasterCard. Well played.