Challenge
To deliver an immersive multi-sensory brand experience for Mastercard’s global advisory board
Innovate is Mastercard’s global thought leadership conference for leaders in payments technology. The event comprises board meetings and dinners, the main Innovate business session and incredible priceless entertainment. Our challenge was to enhance the main event with innovative technology that highlighted Mastercard’s technological expertise. To celebrate Mastercard being Official Naming Partner of the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team, the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) was chosen to host this spectacular event.
Client
Mastercard
Sector
Finance
Services
Highlighting Mastercard’s sensory brand experience
Showcasing Mastercard as a sensory brand is a key part of their brand experience, and one of our challenges was to incorporate this approach into technological product showcases. Our concepting was both immersive and memorable, with guests invited to experience Mastercard and McLaren technologies in innovative and surprising ways. With the challenges posed by the architecture of the MTC, it was essential that we developed an unbroken narrative that linked the Mastercard technical story to the building as guests travelled through the MTC.
Solution
Building a narrative around technology and the senses
The MTC is an amazing building of modern architectural design, but its sprawling layout creates challenges for cohesive storytelling to keep audiences engaged in every moment. A key part of the guest journey was ‘The Spine’, a central space connecting experiential hubs in the MTC. By reimagining this transit to our advantage, we created a fully immersive innovation space. Along the length of The Spine, guests could experience distinct aspects of Mastercard innovation, with interactive storytelling anchored by McLaren cars arranged chronologically from 1990 to 2025. We designed immersive experiences to highlight product development, with the main presentation held in the 360° auditorium that was the heart of the event. Guests witnessed demonstrations ‘in the round’, with the immersive format delivering highly technical content in a futuristic environment.
Adding immersive sensory experiences to cutting-edge technology
Innovate2025 transformed how Mastercard’s innovation was understood by senior stakeholders. By replacing passive presentations with immersive, interactive technology, delegates were able to experience complex concepts such as digital identity, agentic commerce and security in tangible, human ways.
Technology played a critical role in increasing confidence and comprehension. AI-led interaction, biometric personalisation and real-time AV immersion enabled delegates to engage directly with Mastercard platforms, rather than observe them abstractly. This shift from explanation to participation created deeper understanding, stronger emotional connections and clearer alignment around Mastercard’s future direction.
Immersive event technology at speed
Innovate2025 presented significant challenges. Six weeks of meticulous planning ensured flow, accessibility, and narrative clarity through projection mapping, spatial audio, interactive touchpoints and live show operation. Over two days our team installed the event, with an entrance arch and 3 x 2m digital screens, five freestanding car plinth structures, multiple display podiums and seven 55” digital touchscreens. In the main auditorium we installed a 7.3 x 3m LED screen, a 360-degree rigging truss with eight 4K projectors, screens for guests, and synchronised AV.
Guests were welcomed in the 360 theatre by screens showing an inspiring Innovate2025 welcome film, before synchronised “lights out” spotlights—emulating the grid lights at Formula 1— signalled guests to start their journey along the Spine.
The sensory zone approach
To bring Mastercard’s sensory branding to life, we developed a bespoke experience, merging McLaren cars and Mastercard technical innovations for each of the 5 senses:
Sight – a vision of smarter commerce
Paired with the iconic Senna MP4/5 from 1989, ‘Sight’ explored the evolution of commerce with a bespoke Agentic AI demo. A 7 x 3m undercar LED transformed the space, creating theatre through simulating racing, aerodynamic particle flows and exploded content to mirror the F1 shape above.
Sound – driving threat intelligence
Alongside the Senna MP4-7 of 1992, ‘Sound’ brought Mastercard’s sonic brand to life with custom mixes of the Sonic Anthem & McLaren audio to showcase the technology that protects transactions in real time.
Touch – verifying your digital fingerprint
‘Touch’ was the defining area of The Spine, showcasing biometric digital ID verification. A projection mapped McLaren Artura took centre stage, with guests using live-rendered biometric technology to sign their name which was then projected to reflect Mastercard’s focus on personalised, secure customer experiences.
Scent – the essence of an experiential future
Featuring Mastercard’s Optimism and Passion scents alongside a McLaren IndyCar, delegates discovered their scent profile and received their personalised perfume. This sensory storytelling approach deepened emotional engagement to strengthen brand connection.
Taste – the taste of success
The 2025 Lando Norris MCL39 paired with a taste activation examined Stablecoin innovation. Guests sampled the Speedmark Cookie, merging flavour and finance in a nod to the McLaren Mastercard partnership.
Results
A new standard for immersive leadership events
For Mastercard, Innovate2025 set a new internal benchmark for how innovation can be communicated through live experiences, demonstrating the power of integrated event technology to build trust, clarity and advocacy at the most senior level.
A collaborative and technical experience, Innovate2025 demonstrated our ability to translate complex innovation into tech-led experiences by designing moments that matter.
We reimagine the brand experience by unlocking new ways of interacting with technology. By transforming physical environments into immersive, interactive spaces, we help brands move forward with clarity and confidence.
5
sensory zones
360-degree
rigging
100+
guests
Your professionalism, creativity, attention to detail across so many key areas were vital to delivering an exceptional experience. We couldn't have achieved this without your outstanding partnership.
Alisdair Haythornthwaite
SVP Communications, APEMEA
Work
