StanChart Cathay Mastercard taps Michelle Wai for decade celebration

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard, both brands have launched a campaign to honour the transformative travel memories created together over the past decade.​

Also known as “A decade of miles. A world reimagined” (十年世界 因里更大), the campaign is rooted in the belief that the size of one's world is defined not by what one owns, but by how much one has experienced. It has brought these personal journeys to life, forging a deep and authentic emotional connection.

​The campaign supports new customer acquisition by pairing the card's core value propositions with limited-time incentives, headlined by exclusive welcome blind boxes loaded with bonus Asia Miles. This combination seeks to create a sense of urgency and excitement, encouraging immediate sign-ups while reinforcing the card's position as a leading choice among frequent flyers and lifestyle-oriented consumers.​

The campaign's target audience comprises existing cardholders, affluent premium travellers, and ambitious young professionals aged between 25 and 50 who prioritise travel rewards, dining, and lifestyle experiences.

Scheduled from 4 August to 15 September, the campaign leverages the peak summer travel-planning and holiday-shopping period, providing sufficient runway for sustained PR amplification, consumer engagement, and reward redemption.

The campaign has deployed an integrated top-to-bottom funnel strategy that seamlessly bridges deep emotional storytelling with targeted performance tactics, anchored by Hong Kong actress Michelle Wai as the campaign narrator and official face of the card. Awareness is driven by an evocative 60 second thematic brand video, starring and narrated by Wai, who anchors the overarching theme of personal growth. The film brings to life the distinct travel journeys of three customer portrayals, using authentic and relatable travel moments to forge a deep emotional connection with audiences.

By tapping into real customer travel memories and milestones, these character stories illustrate how the card actively supports and elevates cardholders through every chapter of their lives, honouring 10 years of loyalty from existing members while inspiring prospective cardholders to expand their horizons with the card.

The campaign transitions into tactical acquisition through a series of punchy 15 second customer value proposition videos featuring Wai. These focused clips spotlight core card privileges, including lounge access, overseas spending rewards, and Cathay Pacific status points.

As part of the campaign, Wai features prominently across all promotional materials and key visuals to maintain a consistent and recognisable campaign identity. High impact digital out of home presence in the heart of Causeway Bay pairs with welcome blind box visuals to drive consumer participation. As one of the city's premier shopping destinations, Causeway Bay placement strategically reminds consumers of the travel rewards they can unlock through everyday spending, seamlessly bridging the shopping and travel mindset while reinforcing core card value propositions among high density foot traffic.

Extensive out of home dominance spans both departure and arrival channels at Hong Kong International Airport. This omnipresent placement strategy ensures high frequency touchpoints with relevant travel audiences, repeatedly reinforcing card value propositions to drive maximum campaign recall at pivotal moments of their journey.

To promote the campaign, an integrated multi-channel deployment has been executed across key digital, physical, and owned touchpoints. On digital and social video platforms, the campaign spans YouTube, Meta including Instagram and Facebook, LinkedIn, and targeted programmatic video networks. Out-of-home and experiential efforts feature interactive digital panels in Causeway Bay with a Blind Box activation, alongside high visibility dominance across Hong Kong International Airport departure terminals.

Owned channels include SC Mobile app push notifications and electronic direct mail, as well as Cathay member digital channels. Earned PR is driven through targeted media distribution and pitch features across finance, travel, and lifestyle media outlets.

Haymans Fung, global head of wealth and retail bank marketing of Standard Chartered, said: “To mark this 10-year milestone, we deliberately chose to look beyond conventional celebrations and instead anchor our campaign in the power of storytelling. Over the past decade, travel has meant so much more to our cardholders than just taking trips - it has been about personal growth, perspective, and discovering what true wealth really is. By sharing authentic travel stories that mirror our customers' own memories and journeys, we aim to forge a deep emotional connection that inspires everyone to keep broadening their horizons with us."

Linda Wang, head of lifestyle marketing of Cathay, said: "For 10 years, our partnership with Standard Chartered has been about turning everyday spending into extraordinary journeys. Every mile earned is more than just a reward - it is a key that unlocks new destinations, seamless travel privileges, and infinite possibilities. As we celebrate a decade together, we remain dedicated to helping our members widen their horizons and experience the world with Cathay’s signature hospitality."

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