Mastercard - Where to Settle
Mastercard approached McCANN Warsaw. They wanted to leverage their data responsibly to address the Ukrainian refugee crisis in Poland. The challenge was helping refugees find suitable housing and job opportunities in smaller cities, promoting stability and financial inclusion. Mastercard aimed to enhance its brand perception as technological, modern, and socially responsible, increasing usage intent among non-users.
Creative Idea
Mastercard built a data platform to guide Ukrainian refugees to suitable Polish cities for housing and jobs, reducing their settlement uncertainty.
Mastercard created a digital platform called "Where to Settle" that uses anonymized data to help Ukrainian refugees find the best smaller cities in Poland for housing and job opportunities. By leveraging their data responsibly, Mastercard helped refugees navigate their resettlement challenges while demonstrating their commitment to social impact.
Turning Big Data Into A Humanitarian Compass
Five Weeks To Build A Lifeline
The development of the platform was a sprint against a growing humanitarian crisis. A core team of 15 people at McCANN Poland built the first iteration of the tool in just five weeks. To make the recommendations accurate, they engineered a complex "data mashup" that synchronized Mastercard’s anonymized spending patterns with official Statistics Poland (GUS) salary data and real-time housing listings from the Morizon-Gratka Group. This allowed the tool to calculate a realistic cost of living for families rather than just providing a list of available apartments.
Mayors As Brand Ambassadors
The production, directed by Tomasz Okulicz, intentionally pivoted away from traditional "sad refugee" imagery. Instead, the campaign utilized social storytelling by featuring local Polish mayors and officials who actively invited refugees to their municipalities. This strategy turned government leaders into "brand ambassadors," effectively positioning smaller towns as land of opportunity rather than places of exile. The tool became so essential that it was the only brand-created resource officially listed as a refugee aid solution by the Polish Prime Minister’s Chancellery.
The Power Couple Algorithm
One of the most granular features of the tech was the ability to identify "power couples" - pairing specific Ukrainian skill sets with Polish neighborhoods in need. For example, if data showed a high demand for bread in a specific district that lacked a bakery, the tool could suggest that location to a refugee with a background in baking. This precision helped 242,170 unique users navigate their new lives, with brand recommendation scores for Mastercard soaring 228% higher than industry norms. The framework was so successful it evolved into "Where to Start," a spin-off helping entrepreneurs launch new businesses.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Mastercard possessed massive, anonymized consumer spending data and a core business strategy centered on financial inclusion. They could credibly provide real-time economic insights into local markets that no other entity could offer.
Category
Financial services often focus on transactional utility or abstract corporate social responsibility. Most aid for refugees was focused on immediate relief like food and shelter rather than long-term economic integration via data.
Customer
Ukrainian refugees faced a 'big city trap,' fearing that moving to smaller towns meant no jobs or higher costs. They needed reliable, personalized data to overcome the uncertainty of where they could actually afford to live.
Culture
The massive influx of 10 million refugees into Poland created an urban crisis, leading to rising inflation and social tension. There was a critical need for tools that could decentralize the population to benefit local communities.
Company
Mastercard possessed massive, anonymized consumer spending data and a core business strategy centered on financial inclusion. They could credibly provide real-time economic insights into local markets that no other entity could offer.
Category
Financial services often focus on transactional utility or abstract corporate social responsibility. Most aid for refugees was focused on immediate relief like food and shelter rather than long-term economic integration via data.
Strategy:
Use proprietary economic data to decentralize the refugee crisis by matching individual needs with local community opportunities.
Customer
Ukrainian refugees faced a 'big city trap,' fearing that moving to smaller towns meant no jobs or higher costs. They needed reliable, personalized data to overcome the uncertainty of where they could actually afford to live.
Culture
The massive influx of 10 million refugees into Poland created an urban crisis, leading to rising inflation and social tension. There was a critical need for tools that could decentralize the population to benefit local communities.
Strategy:
Use proprietary economic data to decentralize the refugee crisis by matching individual needs with local community opportunities.
Results
The video highlights several key outcomes and statistics for the 'wheretosettle' campaign: - Millions of Ukrainian refugees flooded Poland's biggest cities, with 300,000 landing in Warsaw alone, causing an "enormous strain on city services." - The U.N. expected over 8 million people to flee Ukraine by year-end. - Poland's GDP may increase by 2-3% just from this migration. - Ukrainian refugees could add 3.5% to Polish GDP. - 1.5 million Ukrainians settled in Poland. - 20.05% of the 1.5 million Ukrainians who settled in Poland used 'wheretosettle'. - The campaign garnered widespread media coverage from Financial Times, Bloomberg, Monitor Deloitte, Finextra, Oxford Economics, and BalkanInsight.
2-3%
increase in Poland's GDP
3.5%
potential addition to Polish GDP
20.05%
Ukrainians using 'wheretosettle'
Strategy Technique
Turn Brand Values Into Action
Mastercard proved its commitment to social responsibility and responsible data use by creating a tangible platform. This action-oriented approach demonstrated their values, enhancing brand perception and trust.
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Creative Technique
Technology
Mastercard created a digital platform leveraging anonymized data to solve a critical refugee resettlement problem. This campaign demonstrates technology used responsibly to provide a tangible, useful tool for social impact.
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Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional in its innovative use of data and technology to address a critical humanitarian crisis, primarily through the brilliant strategic idea and the sophisticated digital platform execution.
The actual development and engineering of the 'wheretosettle' digital platform, capable of integrating and cross-referencing vast, diverse data sources to provide personalized, actionable insights for refugees, represents a significant technological achievement.
The user experience and interface design of the 'wheretosettle' platform itself, making potentially overwhelming economic and demographic data intuitive, accessible, and user-friendly for a vulnerable population, is a crucial craft element.
The true magic of this campaign comes from how a powerful strategic idea is brought to life through sophisticated digital craft and thoughtful design and data visualization, creating a truly functional and impactful tool.
