MasterCard teams up with Wayne 'Buck' Shelford for Rugby World Cup in New Zealand

One of rugby’s most well-known personalities, All Black’s player Wayne 'Buck' Shelford, will converse with fans and foes alike through MasterCard’s “Ask Buck” social campaign during the Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand.

The public will be able to ask Buck anything they want via Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Buck will then answer a handful of his favourite questions at the Mastercard microsite.

And for the first time, spectators from around the world will hold one-third of voting power for MasterCard's “Man of the Match” in real-time during the tournament, with the final two thirds of the vote decision in the hands of match commentators. 

“Rugby is truly a ‘grass-roots’ sport on a global scale. Rugby World Cup 2011 really gave MasterCard an opportunity to not only engage with the fans on a personal level, but also empower them by digitally connecting them to their heroes. The 'Ask Buck' forum gives fans around the world a two-way digital dialogue with one of rugby’s living legends, while the MasterCard ‘Man of the Match’ platform takes real time engagement to a whole new level by giving fans a voice in determining which player deserves the award," Stuart Cameron, vice president for regional marketing for Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa, MasterCard Worldwide commented.

R/GA's Singapore and New York offices were heavily involved in developing the original strategy, design, and programming for the site. Meanwhile, the MasterCard “Man of the Match” voting platform was built by TeamDigital.

R/GA Singapore's group director Steven Kalifowitz added the agency is proud of its partnership with MasterCard which "focuses on fan engagement".

To top the campaign off, MasterCard cardholders in New Zealand will have access to special merchant offers if they pay with their card.

Credits:

Agency:    R/GA

Client:    MasterCard

Executive Creative Director:    Carla Echevarria

Associate Creative Director:    Paul Dery

Associate Creative Director:    Ben Smith

Art Director:    Adam Jesberger

Senior Producer:    David Kalvert

Producer:    Nigel Goodman

Technical Lead:    Mike Brennan

Junior Designer: Sasa Numic

Account Director: Kelly Kernaghan