Innovate2025 – Mastercard’s Sensory Brand Experience

Mastercard wanted an experience to mark its announcement as the official naming partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team. Innovate2025, a high-profile thought leadership event at the McLaren Technology Centre, transformed how senior stakeholders experienced Mastercard’s innovation strategy.

The client brief called for moving beyond passive presentations to fully multi-sensory engagement. big group combined interactive AI-led demos, biometric personalisation, real-time AV environments and multi-sensory activations incorporating sight, sound, touch, scent and taste to make complex concepts like digital identity, agentic commerce and security, tangible. This created confidence, emotional connection and advocacy among global advisory boards and customers.

Visual storytelling was at the heart of Innovate2025, transforming abstract financial and technological concepts into experiences that could be seen and felt.The client brief called for an environment that went beyond traditional presentations, and visuals became the primary tool to engage and immerse guests in Mastercard’s innovation strategy.

From the very first moment, visuals set the stage. The welcome area featured large-format LED screens displaying the Innovate2025 opening film, immediately immersing visitors in a dynamic world of innovation. Carefully choreographed lighting and projection mapped visuals across the space, creating layers of depth and guiding guests through the experience without relying on spoken explanation.

Each zone used bespoke visual design to communicate specific narratives. In the “Sight” station, a 7 x 3m undercar LED screen simulated racing flows, exploded component models, and aerodynamic particle movements, bringing the evolution of commerce to life alongside the iconic Senna MP4/5. Projection mapping extended across vehicles, surfaces, and interactive touchpoints, creating a seamless blend of real and digital that reinforced key messages while encouraging exploration and discovery.

Visual identity was tightly integrated with Mastercard’s brand assets, ensuring that every projection, graphic, and animation reflected the company’s innovation values. Custom motion graphics, interactive AI-led demos, and data visualisations allowed delegates to see concepts like agentic commerce, digital identity verification, and threat intelligence come to life, making complex topics accessible and memorable.

Lighting was central to the immersive storytelling experience. The brief called for lighting design that guided the visitor journey, emphasised key interactions, and reinforced brand messaging across a complex space.

From the moment guests arrived, lighting set the tone. The welcome sequence featured “lights out” spotlights synchronised with the opening film, instantly signaling the start of the journey and creating anticipation. Throughout the welcome experience, lighting was used strategically to differentiate zones, highlight vehicles, and frame multi-sensory activations without overwhelming the environment. Color, intensity, and direction were carefully choreographed to align with the narrative of each station, from the sleek, high-tech ambience of the AI-led “Sight” zone to the dynamic energy of the “Taste” activation with the Lando Norris MCL39.

In addition to atmospheric control, lighting played a functional role in guiding visitor flow. Subtle cues drew attention to interactive touchpoints, projection-mapped vehicles, and biometric stations, ensuring an intuitive experience that felt natural yet orchestrated. Moving and dynamic lighting reinforced dramatic moments, such as revealing a car or transitioning between zones, while supporting the spatial audio and projection content for cohesive multi-sensory storytelling.

Audio played a pivotal role in transforming Mastercard’s innovation strategy from abstract concepts into a fully immersive experience. Tasked with engaging senior stakeholders across global advisory boards and customers, the brief demanded sound to actively guide, inform, and emotionally connect guests as they navigated the multi-sensory environment.

The “Sound” zone, paired with the iconic 1992 Senna MP4-7, showcased how Mastercard’s sonic brand could communicate complex ideas like threat intelligence and real-time transaction security. Custom mixes were created, blending Mastercard’s Sonic Anthem with McLaren audio assets, including engine roars and spatialized F1 effects. This layering of brand and environmental audio provided guests with both context and theatre, reinforcing narrative cues while subtly influencing emotional response.

Across the experience, spatial audio was used to break up the different zones, highlight focal points, and enhance the storytelling of each station. Directional sound cues guided visitors through the journey without the need for intrusive signage, creating an intuitive flow between multi-sensory areas. From the hum of AI-driven demonstrations in the “Sight” zone to the immersive, enveloping soundscapes accompanying projection-mapped vehicles, every element was choreographed to enhance comprehension of each concept.

Meticulous testing and calibration ensured that audio levels, spatialisation, and sequencing maintained clarity across the acoustically challenging environment of centre.

The installation presented a series of complex logistical, technical and spatial challenges, all delivered within an exceptionally compressed timeframe. With only a two-day build window and a four-hour overnight de-rig, meticulous pre-production planning was essential. Six weeks of detailed layout design ensured that every element, from LED placement and rigging points to vehicle positioning and guest flow, was resolved in advance, minimising on-site risk and maximising efficiency.

The McLaren Technology Centre imposed strict access restrictions, alongside tight footprint constraints within The Spine. Integrating multiple immersive zones, a 360-degree auditorium, synchronised large-format LED displays, projection mapping and spatial audio environments into a compact environment required precise coordination between creative, technical and venue teams. Rigging complexity was carefully managed through advanced planning and collaboration with LCI Productions, who delivered the full AV solution and ensured seamless integration between interactive touchpoints, biometric technology, media servers and live show control systems.

One of the most sensitive challenges was the movement and positioning of priceless McLaren cars, arranged chronologically from 1990 to 2025. Each vehicle had to be installed safely while maintaining narrative clarity and audience circulation. Close coordination with McLaren’s specialist teams ensured safe handling procedures without compromising creative ambition.
The multi-sensory activations, including AI-led car design, biometric hand-scanning, scent profiling, and projection mapping onto vehicles also required robust system testing to guarantee intuitive user interaction. Every technology had to function flawlessly to maintain immersion and delegate confidence.

Through rigorous planning, collaborative technical delivery, and clearly defined installation sequencing, the team transformed significant operational constraints into a seamless, high-impact experience that set a new benchmark for immersive brand storytelling.

Innovate2025 redefined how complex financial innovation can be communicated through an immersive, technically ambitious live experience. The project seamlessly fused storytelling, sensory design and advanced AV integration at the highest level.

Arrival & Innovation Showcase
Guests were welcomed by screens showing an inspiring Innovate2025 welcome film, synchronised by “lights out” spotlights that animated to signal the start of the guest journey.

The Sensory Zone Approach
A multi-sensory framework connected physical installations with digital experiences, with Mastercard technology and McLaren cars working together to drive lasting impact.

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 by simulating racing, aerodynamic particle flows and exploded component 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 and 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 and strengthened 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.

Technical Excellence & Delivery
Overcoming a compressed build schedule, complex rigging, projection mapping and live interactive systems were delivered flawlessly through meticulous planning and collaboration.

Innovate2025 stands as a benchmark for technical excellence, immersive AV design and experiential storytelling.