As golfers tee off at the storied Delhi Golf Club for the second edition of The DGC Open, Manasi Narasimhan, Vice President and Head, Marketing and Communications, South Asia, Mastercard, the global payment tech company, is justly satisfied with the response. The field has 138 players from around 35 countries and includes close to 50 Indians, many of whom have won on the Asian Tour as well as on home soil.

“For us, it’s about what our consumers’ passions are around the world, and in this case in India. Over here golf is an emerging sport. There was a perception earlier that golf was very affluent centric but there’s been a lot of effort being done to broad-base it, get more women into golf and so on,” says Narasimhan, noting that consumers have resonated strongly with the concept.

“Digital is ubiquitous, but even within digital there is a move now for more authentic content, right from the new ASCI guidelines for influencers to follow to what people choose to follow. Nobody likes to feel that they’re being sold to, they prefer genuineness and authenticity. And that’s our endeavour as a brand,” says Narasimhan.

This is important in India, where Narasimhan observes we live and die by our phones. “I read a sad statistic that we have more phones than toilets in India and there’s enough evidence to show that it’s true. And so there has been a pivot.”

That being said, Narasimhan is confident of the staying power of traditional media. “India is a collectivist society. We like to gather together to watch sports and movies with friends and family on TV. Digital is a medium that caters to individuals, and you’re going to be peering into your phone or tablet. No one’s denying that digital is here to stay, but traditional media is also not going away.”

 Admitting that golf still carries with it the tag of affluence which may not have mass appeal, Narasimhan says that Mastercard is committed to catering to people’s individual passions. “For the affluent and emerging affluent it’s golf. Cricket of course cuts across every demographic in India, so we’re in that. We’ve recently signed on four badminton players who won the Thomas Cup as the sport is seeing a resurgence thanks to their success.”

“It’s not about bridging the gap but catering to what people want to see and experience. Mastercard worldwide has identified nine passion areas, including art, music, movies, shopping, and one area that has emerged post the pandemic - wellness. We are present in all these areas,” she says.

This includes curating experiences that people without a Mastercard cannot enjoy. While sports is popular in India, there are other areas like Mastercard’s Priceless Cities, which allows you, for example, to do yoga in front of the Sydney Opera House, and other crafted experiences.

“That’s the beautiful paradox of payments. Whether you’re buying medicines and groceries or are splurging on something you’re really passionate about, you want the same method of payment: something effortless, seamless, and safe. That’s what we provide,” concludes Narasimhan.