CAPTIVATING THE BLACK AFFLUENT CONSUMER MARKET
How might we make Mastercard integral to the lives of Black affluent consumers?
The power of the Black dollar is growing. The affluent Black community has emerged as an influential cohort of consumers with distinct values, behaviors and preferences. And with 73% of Black millennials saying it is their goal to make it to the top of their profession, this growth isn’t slowing down any time soon.
Team: Alexandria Blue, Ariane Chee, Rei Kigoshi, Jorge Marin, Fred Rose
OUR APPROACH
RESEARCH
PRIMARY RESEARCH
15 customers interviews guided by research objectives focused on empathizing with the customer segment, understanding their experiences and identifying sub-segmentation factors.
Our user interviews incorporated stimuli to solicit engagement and critical reflection from consumers.
Example of user interview data
Example of interview stimuli after user engagement
SYNTHESIS
The team conducted multiple rounds of synthesis to unearth common themes around our research objectives. Affinity clustering enabled us to identify sub-themes, incorporate secondary research and visualize how broadly themes applied across our interviewing sample.
High-level view of affinity clustering
Zoom in for detail of affinity clustering
CORE RESEARCH INSIGHTS
INSIGHT 1: MORE MONEY, LESS PROBLEMS
INSIGHT 2: LOOK MA, WE MADE IT
INSIGHT 3: GOING THE EXTRA MILE
INSIGHT 4: TOMORROW IS A NEW TODAY
NARROWING THE SCOPE
To focus our concept creation, we developed a set of narrower ‘How Might We’ statements honed for each insight. Then conducted a brainstorming workshop with our client team to ensure the business insider voice was incorporated into the remainder of our work.
FINAL CONCEPTS AND TESTING
Illustrative mock ups of Engage Your Community interface
CONCEPT 1: ENGAGE YOUR COMMUNITY
Meet community members and benefit from tailored perks
Be an active cohort member and engage with community members
Receive tailored perk recommendations based on your interests, goals, and spending habits
Gain early access to exclusive speaker series, restaurants, and events that support businesses, organizations and causes you care about
CONCEPT 2: MASTER YOUR JOURNEY
Choose your path, allocate your rewards, meet your goals, enjoy the ride
Use your card and earn points according to your personalized allocation - spending in some businesses aligned with your categories may earn you extra rewards
Set your preferences and track your progress to meet your goals on each category. Unlock curated perks each time you meet a goal
Receive notifications time to time to encourage revisiting allocation + preferences
Illustrative mock ups of Master Your Journey interface