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Bengals vs Rams, BNB vs CRO. Who Will Triumph?
Crypto aficionados will be tuning in to the sporting event of the year and watching their screens carefully on Sunday; not for the battle between the AFC Championship winners Cincinnati Bengals and the NFC title holders Los Angeles Rams, but for the much-anticipated onslaught of cryptocurrency-based promotions within the largest televised advertising event of the year.
Super Bowl LVI will be held at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, shared home of Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams. In 2019 San Fransico based SoFi Technologies Inc, who offer cryptocurrency trading through a partnership with Coinbase, engineered a deal to acquire the naming rights to the stadium for 20 years at a record-breaking price of $30 million per year. An agreement that held the title of most expensive naming rights until early 2022 when the iconic Staples Arena was renamed the CRYPTO.COM Arena in a 30 year deal worth a staggering $35 million per annum.
2022 is fast becoming the year of the aggressive foray into mainstream advertising for cryptocurrency companies, in a battle to become the first to crack the huge untapped market worth billions in customer acquisitions. Advertising slots in and around the Super Bowl are priced at an eye watering premium, with firms paying reported fees between $5.8 million and $7 million for a 30 second advert on game day. These prices are doing little to dissuade the big hitters of crypto, with the advertising roster reading like a dream team of centralised exchanges.
Crypto.com, who this week were confirmed as official title partner of the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, will once again run with their previously criticised “Fortune Favors The Brave”featuring Acadamy Award winning actor Matt Damon; the cryptocurrency behemoth will be hoping the deluge of negativity following the adverts first outing has now subsided.
Crypto derivatives exchange FTX are planning an innovative Bitcoin giveawaywith their advert scheduled for the second half of the game, where 4 lucky winners will receive BTC to a value relating to the time the advert airs. American Football legend Tom Brady is rumoured to be featured, in a bid to entice the captive football fan audience; although this is as yet unconfirmed.
Binance are making a clever play of their own, shunning the highest costing advertisement slots, and focussing on pre and post game. Their campaign headed by Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler will warn would-be investors not to listen to celebrities when it comes to matters of finance, and to “Do Your Own Research” before each and every investment decision is made. Coming off the back of a strong push into the sports world with sponsorship of the recently completed Africa Cup of Nations, Binance will be hoping that a sustained presence at the world’s largest events will bolster their position as the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
A second Miami Heat player will appear in an advertisement, with Canadian company Bitbuy featuring the NBA star Kyle Lowry in a comedic skit, warning investors not to miss out on the crypto craze, as they watch as he misses repeated shots. The attempt at producing will be aired in Canada immediately after the halftime show.
Even regular Super Bowl advertisers such as Budweiser are joining the crypto push during this year’s event, with the American Beer brand running an NFT contest during the game. For the primary alcohol partner of the Super Bowl to choose a cryptocurrency promotion during the prime advertising time of the game shows the appetite and popularity for the technology, and big business is predicting a bumper payday will follow.
Finally, COINBASE are confirmed to have purchased advertising space during the event but have not hinted to the content that will be released.
By the time the winners' rings are being instagrammed by the victors on Sunday, we will know whether the astronomically priced attempts at mainstream acceptance have been a masterstroke play on par with David Tyree's "Helmet Catch" at Super Bowl XLII; or a monumental fumble with echoes of Leon Lett's over confidence at Super Bowl XXVII.
Crypto is making a play at the largely untapped mainstream market, and the “Crypto Bowl” of 2022 will certainly be an event not to be missed.
