“On Feb. 13, you’re going to hear some of the biggest personalities telling you to go into crypto,” Miami Heat basketball star Jimmy Butler said in a video shared to Twitter on Wednesday. But they have no idea who you are or how much money you have. You are the only one who can accomplish it. “Believe in yourself… and conduct your own research.”
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, sponsored the film. According to Bloomberg estimations, Binance’s Chinese-Canadian CEO Changpeng Zhao is now the world’s wealthiest crypto billionaire, ranking No. 15 on the list of the world’s wealthiest persons with a net worth of $73.4 billion—before that’s counting his cryptocurrency.
FTX, based in the Bahamas, and Crypto.com, based in Hong Kong and Singapore, are likely to have paid millions for 30-second commercials during the forthcoming championship game, according to CoinGecko. In addition, Bit buy joined with Miami Heat player Kyle Lowry for a Super Bowl advertisement, marking the first time a Canadian crypto firm has collaborated with a professional athlete.
A request for comment from the exchanges that purchased Super Bowl ads was not immediately returned.
According to Dave Sutton, CEO of marketing firm TopRight, the “Super Bowl moment has a certain value that just doesn’t exist elsewhere.” A Super Bowl ad might provide an excellent return on investment (ROI) for newer companies like cryptocurrency exchanges, which are less established and usually perceived as riskier, according to marketing experts.
The Super Bowl might be the “greatest platform” for smaller, lesser-known firms to build recognition, according to John Antil, associate professor of marketing at the University of Delaware who specializes in Super Bowl advertising.
Crypto enterprises, like other brands, must raise consumer awareness, engage them, and earn their trust. However, because crypto investments are seen as dangerous by the general public, the latter is more significant—especially when it appears in a well-known and expensive event like the Super Bowl.
Still, according to marketing expert Antil, there is a “significant dispute” about whether Super Bowl commercials are worth the money. “No one has yet devised a method for calculating the return on investment (ROI) of a Super Bowl commercial.” “Most aspects learned from the broadcast are impossible to convert to a cash value,” he stated.
This year’s Super Bowl advertising will feature at least five or six crypto firms. He warned that the ‘Crypto Bowl’ could end up being just like the Dot-Com Super Bowl of 2000. Antil claims that “most dot-com companies in the [2000] broadcast didn’t last till the next year.”
Some speculate that Binance’s self-produced Twitter ad will give it an advantage over its competition. According to Sutton, Binance is allowing its competitors to pay for primetime advertising to raise mainstream crypto awareness while conserving its own marketing expenditures to promote its own brand story. According to Simon, this “counter-programming method” is brilliant if well-executed. According to him, the exchange is marketing itself as an “investor-friendly offering.” It’s a clever strategy to stand out both before and after the big game.”
Binance has avoided splashy sponsorship partnerships with professional sports teams, leagues, and stars, unlike its primary competitors. FTX and Crypto.com have made headlines in recent months for their arena naming rights purchases and alliances.
These crypto firms are going “head-to-head” during the Super Bowl, according to a Binance representative, “recruiting famous celebs to seduce viewers… without teaching them on crypto [fundamentals].”
The company’s Jimmy Butler commercial is just the beginning of a social campaign that will kick off on Feb. 7 and will sarcastically tell consumers: “Don’t listen to celebs about your financial independence.” Learn cryptography and have faith in yourself.”
Also read: GameStop is launching its NFT marketplace on carbon-neutral blockchain platform