• •Mastercard Senior Fellow Raja Rajamannar confirmed he reduced the company's traditional advertising spend by 70% in favor of experiential marketing.
• •Rajamannar cited a perceived decline in the effectiveness of traditional advertising models during a conversation on Business Insider's CMO Insider podcast.
• •It remains uncertain how this strategy translates to long-term market share growth compared to competitors maintaining traditional media footprints.

Mastercard Senior Fellow Raja Rajamannar recently detailed his decision to cut the company's traditional advertising budget by 70%. Speaking to Business Insider's CMO Insider podcast, he argued that conventional advertising methods no longer yield the results they once did. Rajamannar instead shifted those resources toward consumer experiences to drive brand engagement. Whether this pivot successfully sustains brand loyalty against competitors who still rely on traditional media reach remains to be seen.