Tom Brady and Gisele Bndchen to Participate in $ 20 Million Campaign for Crypto Exchange

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The FTX cryptocurrency exchange is trying to level up in the United States with more established competitors through a new ad campaign featuring the married couple of great footballer Tom Brady and model and wife of business Gisele Bndchen.

The U.S. affiliate of the international crypto derivatives exchange FTX plans to invest $ 20 million in the campaign, which begins Thursday in the National Football League season kickoff game between Tampa Bay and Dallas. The campaign will run on NFL broadcasts throughout October with elements of digital advertising, the company said.

Newcomers to the scene, said FTX.US president Brett Harrison, referring to the crypto services landscape in the United States

The company needs to familiarize consumers with its technology, customer service and offerings, while competing against incumbents like Coinbase Global Inc. or Kraken, Mr Harrison said. We know we had to go into some sort of mass branding, advertising, sponsorship work to be able to do that, he said.

This has led FTX into sports marketing.

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Mr. Brady and Mrs. Bndchen, who in an ad titled FTX. You in it? call acquaintances, including New York Jets superfan Fireman Ed, to join the platform, announced in June that they would take a stake in FTX. The company said on Tuesday that National Basketball Association player Steph Curry would also receive a stake in FTX for serving as a brand ambassador.

FTX also entered into a naming rights deal worth $ 135 million for the stadium where the NBAs Miami Heat play, now known as the FTX Arena. And the company said this year that it has entered into a deal to become the official cryptocurrency exchange for Major League Baseball. Referees will wear the FTX logos on their uniforms as part of this agreement.

Leading partners help signal that FTX is a reliable and trustworthy company, Mr. Harrison said.

With increasing interest in cryptocurrency, scams followed. The United States Federal Trade Commission said reports of investment scams have exploded since October 2020, with nearly 7,000 people between October and March reporting losses.

Mr Harrison said the FTX campaign is trying to reach both those who are familiar with cryptocurrency and have a number of options to choose from, and those who are new to the space and don’t know by. where to start. He said the campaign is aimed at increasing overall brand awareness as well as new registrations, deposits, transactions, app downloads and other activities. FTX worked with its creative advertising agency, dentsuMB, on the campaign, as well as with dentsus 360i on media efforts.

There has been a lot of interest in the cryptocurrency space, but the advertising component has shown gray areas, said Robb Fahrion, co-founder of Flying V Group, a digital marketing firm that has worked with crypto clients. .

TikTok in July banned users from promoting sponsored content on cryptocurrencies, for example, after previously banning ad placements for cryptocurrencies, crypto trading platforms and more. Last month, Google further relaxed the rules for crypto ads that meet certain requirements after banning them in 2018.

Gemini Trust Co., the cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, suggested in a 2019 ad campaign that it could protect investors in an evolving field. Some industry players are pushing people to use the term digital currency rather than cryptocurrency, arguing that the term crypto seems less reliable.

The relative newness of the industry and changing rules pose questions when planning a crypto-related marketing campaign, Fahrion said.

Obviously there is interest, there is obviously a belief in the products, in the projects, in cryptocurrency in general, but there is still a lot that needs to be fleshed out from a security perspective. compliance, Mr. Fahrion said. And then that trickles down to marketing and advertising, and how far, what can and can’t we do?

El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as its national currency, allowing people to use a digital wallet to pay for everyday goods. This is what the risky experience of impoverished nations looks like. Photo credit: Marvin Recinos / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images

Write to Megan Graham at [email protected]

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